[Editorial] Digital hospital exports

Korea is set to create a new promising export industry by combining its advanced information technology with high-quality medical services and world-class construction prowess.

The new export item emerging from this combination is a digital hospital ― an IT-based hospital in which all medical information, including patients’ medical records and doctors’ instructions, is collected, stored and communicated electronically.

A digital hospital is paperless. Its IT infrastructure allows transmission of digitalized images between medical devices, thus eliminating the need to manually file, retrieve and transport film jackets.

At a digital hospital, handwritten prescription slips are a thing of the past, as doctors enter their instructions for the treatment of patients directly into a computerized system. This not only reduces the room for error in filling prescriptions but shortens waiting times.

The paperless environment of a digital hospital goes beyond storing of patient records to other aspects of hospital management, including communication with customers and supply-chain management.

A digital hospital thus enhances the quality of patient care, helps doctors treat a larger number of patients per hour, and minimizes costs for each patient. According to an industry estimate, digitalization can cut the cost of treating patients by about 30 percent.

Given the huge benefits of digitalization and the continuing rise in health care costs, it is not difficult to foresee a surge in global demand for digital hospitals. In recent years, hospital construction has been on the rise. This year alone, some 2,000 new hospitals will be set up around the world. Digital hospitals are expected to account for a growing share of new hospitals.

Korea is well poised to tap into this new market, given that some 80 percent of its hospitals have already been digitalized. Hence, in March this year, a group of hospitals and medical equipment producers teamed up with construction companies and other related firms to harness their export potential.

These companies, about 70 in total, launched the Korea Hospital Export Agency to make more systematic efforts. Their business strategy is to offer a total package, ranging from hospital design and construction to medical equipment and IT infrastructure as well as training and education for hospital staff.

The agency is confident of success because few can imitate its approach, which calls for cooperation among a large number of partners. KOHEA has recently received proposals for hospital construction from South American countries, including Ecuador and Peru. It is also in negotiations on hospital projects with countries in the Middle East, Central Asia, Southeast Asia and Africa.

Lee Min-hwa, head of KOHEA, says the agency would be able to export digital hospitals worth $2 billion by 2020. As prospects for this new business look bright, other players are moving to enter it. For instance, Samsung Group companies, including Samsung Medical Center, Samsung Corp. and Samsung SDS, recently began collaboration to export hospitals.

More recently, Severance Hospital, which is affiliated with Yonsei University, forged a partnership with SK Engineering and Construction to promote exports of digital hospitals.

Digital hospitals have the potential to emerge as a new growth engine for Korea. Exporting hospitals is a lucrative business in its own right. On top of that, it can boost exports of homemade medical equipment and pharmaceuticals, publicize the excellence of Korean medical services and attract foreign patients to Korea.

Hence the government needs to provide financing support for developing countries to import Korean digital hospitals. It also needs to cultivate project managers who can coordinate the complex processes involved in exporting a hospital.

Domestically, the government should pave the way for digitalized hospitals to provide health care services using ubiquitous networks ― remote monitoring, diagnosis and treatment of patients using digital links. Such services are essential to reducing health care costs and taking better care of elderly people.

Korea stands a good chance to become a global leader in ubiquitous health care as it has extensive IT infrastructure and competent companies capable of converging IT and medical services. The government should not let the opportunity slip away.