Most trusted destination for medical tourism in Asia, South Korea represent a blend of tradition and modernity, making it ‘hot destination for medical tourism’ declared by CNN media house. Based on Bloomberg innovation Index, South Korea is declared most innovative in healthcare practices.
South Korean medical tourism industry seems to develop year by year as the number of medical tourists is increasing continuously. Initially, South Korea fetched medical tourists primarily for spine related issues, but scenario has promptly changed. The country has emerged as a preferred destination for cancer treatments, organ transplants, cosmetic dentistry and others. Use of herbal medicine to treat the disorders and using supercomputers for treatment purpose reflects diversity of medical excellence of South Korea.
South Korea has 26 Joint Commission International (JCI) accredited hospitals. This accreditation represent an international standard that evaluates and accredits healthcare institutions in Asia, Europe, Middle East and South America. KOIHA is another accreditation which evaluates a healthcare institution based upon parameters like performance management, administrative management and value patient care.
Speaking of cosmetic procedures, cosmetic and plastic surgery have become the country’s speciality. South Korean skin care products are well known and enthusiastically accepted across the world. South Korea has got the highest per capita rate of cosmetic surgery. Cosmetic clinics are spread in large number across the country executing broad scale of cosmetic surgeries annually.
Cancer treatment, cardio-vascular surgeries and orthopaedic treatments are additionally provided. The country take pride in offering success rate of 90% for common cancers leaving Canada and US behind them. Survival rate of gastric cancer is around 70%.
South Korea employs robotic surgeries and proton therapies and became the first country to exploit the electrocauterization technique used to remove harmful tissues.
Artificial intelligence-based supercomputers are installed at Gachon University Gil Medical Centre and other hospitals to store data of cancer patients and suggest appropriate treatment plan.
South Korean government believes in affordable healthcare and have developed supportive system result being the treatments in South Korea are way affordable compared to US (United States), Japan and UAE (United Arab Emirates). Price packaging is offered to medical tourists looking for plastic surgery or routine check-up. Up to 40% can be saved on flight, travel and accommodation cost.
High disparity of costs in simple surgery like wisdom teeth removal offers accurate reflection of how affordable the healthcare in South Korea is. The wisdom teeth removal surgery in US consumes $800 if the patient is uninsured whereas it barely takes $30 in South Korea for similar therapy.
Lumbar spine surgery in South Korea costs around $20,000. In US, the cost may touch $100,000, and it may increase more considerably depending on the hospital or the region one is living in.
Exceptional standards of medical professionals and supporting staff, shorter wait time for the procedures, use of advanced and innovative technology in the treatment and extremely low cost are the pillars of the boosting medical tourism in South Korea.
Hospitals
The hospitals in South Korea follow the healthcare standards set by Commission International (JCI) and Korea Institute for Healthcare Accreditation (KOHIA). Around 29 hospitals in South Korea are accredited by JCI which has set strict quality standards that the accredited hospitals need to follow. KOIHA evaluates a healthcare facility based on parameters, such as performance management, administrative management and quality of patient care. The certified hospitals are strictly monitored by the accreditation bodies to ensure the quality of healthcare is as per the international standards.
South Korea is a leading medical tourism destination in the world which has been attracting foreign patients with advanced medical technologies during the past decade. South Korea has received worldwide recognition for its excellent hospitals and highly competent doctors who have experience of vast working in different parts of the world and are capable of handling even the most complicated cases with ease. Proving quality care at an affordable cost, South Korea is declared most innovative in healthcare practices which helps the country to offer a wide range of procedures with excellent results. Some other factors which contribute to the growing popularity of South Korea in medical tourism, are a wide range of food options, scenic value, affordable accommodation, visa availability, transportation facilities, and language assistance.
Handling a large number of successful procedures, the talented doctors in South Korea use their deep expertise in performing various procedures with high precision and accuracy. The world-class doctors in South Korea have earned degrees from reputed universities and have experience of working in different countries, which makes them efficient in handling even the most complicated cases with high success rates. The doctors aim to provide quality care with complete patient satisfaction by following medical protocols and international standards. The doctors focus on preventative medicine to check complications and believe in treating patients with a human touch.
The required essential documents might vary as per your destination, so it is suggested to check with the concerned authority before traveling. Make a list of all the documents you might need in South Korea in order to make sure that you do not miss any of them. Some other things documents you may need are currency/forex card, travel insurance paper, international SIM card. When you are traveling to South Korea for medical treatment, you should carry essential documents like test reports, records, doctor referral notes, medical History, passport copies, residence/ driver’s license/ bank statement/ details of Health insurance.
The most sought-after procedures in South Korea are
. South Korea has reported the highest per capita rate of plastic surgery, according to a recent survey and the country is flocked with a high number of cosmetic clinics. Other most sought-after procedures available in South Korea are hip and shoulder replacement, cancer treatment, organ transplant, and cardiovascular surgeries. South Korea has made landmark achievements in cancer treatment and some advanced techniques used to remove cancer cells are robotic surgeries and proton therapies.
The cities that attract a large number of medical tourists in South Korea are Incheon, Daegu, Seoul, Busan, Cheonan, and Cheonan. These cities have modern infrastructure, world-class hospitals, and highly trained doctors which contribute to providing quality treatment. These cities have gained popularity in medical tourism due to several other reasons like transportation facilities, cheap accommodation, more food options, language assistance. A large number of plastic surgeries are formed in Seoul every year and the city is flocked with several aesthetic centers.
A very stringent process is followed by the Korean embassy for obtaining a visa for traveling to the country. The candidate needs to produce all necessary papers citing the medical cause and the referral certificate signed by the registered medical expert. A medical visa authorizes a person to accompany a patient who is traveling to South Korea for seeking medical treatment. A declaration from the patient or a family member, along with all documents explaining the details of the treatment signed and stamped by the concerned hospitals/doctors is required.
South Korea is growing as a very popular medical tourism destination with many multispecialty hospitals in the world, such as:
The multispecialty hospitals in South Korea are equipped with the most advanced equipment and the latest medical technologies and are supported by high-end infrastructure to provide world-class treatment. The hospitals adopt a patient-centric and holistic approach for providing world-class treatment and strictly comply with healthcare standards and protocols to ensure quality. The hospitals are backed by highly skilled and trained doctors who are efficient in performing even the most complex surgeries with great accuracy and precision.
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