Table of Contents
- 1 Yonsei University Medical Center transitions to focus on severe diseases
Opening of overseas medical centers, including in China - 2 How does the integration of innovative treatments like ion therapy and robotic surgery at Yonsei University Medical Center compare to traditional medical practices, and what implications might this have for the future of healthcare delivery and patient care?
Yonsei University Medical Center transitions to focus on severe diseases
Opening of overseas medical centers, including in China
Keum Ki-chang, director of Yonsei University Medical Center, explains future hospital management strategies at a press conference on the 19th. Yonsei University Medical Center, which operates Severance Hospital, Gangnam Severance Hospital, and Yongin Severance Hospital, said, “We will actively introduce innovative medical services such as new medical technologies and new drugs to set a new standard for top-tier general hospitals.”
At a press conference held at Yonsei University on the 19th, Geum Ki-chang, director of Yonsei University Medical Center, said, “We have been treating patients with severe and incurable diseases by preemptively introducing new medical technologies.” “We will be reborn as a hospital that provides treatment,” he said.
The three hospitals affiliated with the medical center are supporting the project to support the structural transformation of high-level general hospitals, which the government is promoting as part of medical reform, and are reducing the proportion of existing general and short-term hospital beds and changing the infrastructure to focus on severe diseases instead. We plan to speed up the transition to a specialist-centered treatment system, such as increasing the ratio of specialists and activating specialists dedicated to hospitalization.
Director Geum said, “It is right for all Severance Hospital to treat patients with severe diseases, and treat mild patients at primary and secondary hospitals.” Uncertainty is a very big problem. “For the project to succeed, compensation for essential medical care must be strengthened and treatment fees for seriously ill patients must be raised significantly,” he emphasized.
At Yonsei University Medical Center, the number of outpatient and inpatient patients decreased by 12.0% and 27.1%, respectively, in the first half of the year (January to June) as residents left the hospital in February of this year. Yonsei University Medical Center’s medical revenue also decreased by 127.7 billion won compared to the first half of last year. Director Geum said, “With the loss of about 700 residents, the operating room was operating at half capacity and the hospital rooms were less than 50% full, which was a huge blow,” adding, “We are creating a stable income for the hospital through non-medical income through activation of donations and industrialization of medical care.” “I will do it,” he said.
Yonsei University Medical Center has been focusing on treating severe incurable diseases, including being the first in Korea to introduce innovative medical technologies such as ion therapy and robotic surgery. The intermediate ion treatment, which started last year, has treated 378 people with prostate cancer, 45 people with pancreatobiliary cancer, 6 people with liver cancer, and 8 people with lung cancer as of early this month, and no serious side effects have occurred to date. Next year, we plan to expand the scope of application to include head and neck cancer.
We are also actively pursuing overseas expansion. Yonsei University Medical Center, together with Youngone Trading, is promoting a medical center that will include a 600-bed hospital and school in Bangladesh. In October next year, the 300-bed Qingdao Severance Rehabilitation Hospital will open in Qingdao, Shandong Province, China.
Jinhan Lee, medical reporter and doctor likeday@donga.com
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How does the integration of innovative treatments like ion therapy and robotic surgery at Yonsei University Medical Center compare to traditional medical practices, and what implications might this have for the future of healthcare delivery and patient care?
Develop open-ended questions focusing on the key topics covered in the article. Prepare questions that encourage discussion and different viewpoints.
1. How has the departure of residents from Yonsei University Medical Center impacted the hospital’s financial health, and what measures are being taken to address this issue?
2. What is Yonsei University Medical Center doing to promote non-medical income streams to stabilize its finances in the face of declining medical revenues?
3. In what ways has the hospital’s innovative treatment of severe incurable diseases, such as introducing ion therapy and robotic surgery, positively impacted patient outcomes and medical research in Korea?
4. Can you discuss the potential risks and benefits associated with expanding the hospital’s footprint overseas through partnerships in Bangladesh and China?
5. How do you think the COVID-19 pandemic has affected the delivery of healthcare services globally, specifically in the areas of research and patient treatment?
