Foreign Medical Tourists Are Coming!...ID Hospital Visiting Patients Increase
The number of patients from January to May increased by 14.3% compared with last year and 35.8% compared with 2020
As the sky, blocked due to Covid-19, has been opening, the number of medical tourists coming to South Korea is increasing.
According to ID Hospital on June 20, the number of foreign visiting patients from January to May this year has increased by 14.3% compared with the same period of last year. If compared with 2020, the increase is even higher at 35.8%.
If the comparison is made only for May, the number of foreign patients has increased by 19.6% compared with last year, and 55.1% compared with 2020.
From January to May, foreign patients increased by 40.7% in dentistry, 22.8% in dermatology, and 5.4% in plastic surgery compared to the same period of last year. Except March, when the number of new COVID-19 cases peaked, the number of foreign patients has been increasing by an average of 20% or more every month.
When Budi Gunadi Sadikin, Health Minister of Indonesia, visited ID Hospital last year, he made a proposal of additional medical projects in Indonesia to the hospital. Currently, it has entered Thailand, Indonesia, Japan, and Vietnam through a master franchise contract.
As the number of foreign patients is increasing, the hospital deployed dedicated translators of over 20 languages including English, Chinese language, Japanese, Thai and Arabic onsite for customer consultation and reservation, operating rooms, recovery rooms and lounges.
The quality of medical services has also been improved by establishing a ‘pro-doctor’ system, which can accurately solve beauty missions for each age group. A ‘pro-doctor’ is a specialist who has proven clinical experiences and academic knowledge in a field.
An official from this hospital said, “As excellent medical technology is known along with K-Culture, it seems the number of foreigners visiting ID Hospital is increasing with the sky routes opening,” and added, “In line with government policies, we are researching and developing various online and offline methods to ensure that domestic and foreign customers can enjoy the best medical services in the safe environment.”
[WIKI KOREA=Kim Sun, Reporter]