SEOUL, South Korea--(BUSINESS WIRE)--While the coronavirus pandemic is worsening globally, Korea’s outstanding quarantine measures and medical service system are gaining traction.
Since the spread of COVID-19, Korea has been successful in preventing the spread of the disease through a systematic approach including the use of pre-diagnostic tests and epidemiological investigations and turned out to be a best practice for the international community.
In February, when the coronavirus was highly infectious in Korea, the Korean government conducted an average of 20,000 tests daily. Also, drive-through and walk-through tests made testing procedures quicker and even ensured the safety of health workers.
By utilizing GPS data and cutting-edge technology for epidemiological investigations, the Korean government could identify the number of individuals who were in contact with those who tested positive, then ensured the individuals to take self-quarantine measures according to the Infectious Disease Control and Prevention Act.
Such development of Korea’s medical technology was possible thanks to the great efforts made by the Ministry of Health and Welfare (MOHW) and the Korea Health Industry Development Institute (KHIDI). In 2017, the Korean Accreditation Program for Hospitals serving Foreign patients (hereinafter referred to as “KAHF”) has been introduced to offer quality medical services to international patients visiting Korea. Since then, KAHF has been contributing to enhancing the reliability and awareness of Korea’s international medical services.
KAHF is a program to select and designate medical institutions that offer excellent international medical services and a safe medical environment according to the Act on Supporting of Overseas Expansion of Medical Services and Attraction of International Patients.
The KAHF program assesses whether each medical institution is ready to offer quality international medical services and has a system to protect the safety of patients in a rapidly changing global healthcare market. Each year, excellent medical institutions are selected and accredited through the KAHF program which has strict and complicated evaluation system.
Currently, four medical institutions have been accredited and offer excellent medical services: CHA Fertility Center, JK Plastic Surgery Center, HanGil Eye Hospital, and Kim Byoung Joon Ledas Varicose Vein Clinic. At a time when the coronavirus is threatening the safety of patients who need medical treatment, the accredited medical institutions are expected to become a new ray of hope for international patients as the designated hospitals strictly comply with the COVID-19 safety measures.
KAHF-accredited hospitals are making utmost efforts to ensure the safety of patients through the use of QR codes to fill out medical questionnaires, checking body temperatures, prohibiting beverages within the hospital, and managing guardians.
Find out more about the KAHF program at http://www.medicalkorea.or.kr, the official website for Medical Korea as well as the official Youtube channel for Korea Health Industry Development Institute (@KHIDI).
