How to find medical institutions in Korea that are reliable and popular with foreign patients.
It is no doubt that being sick abroad is hard because foreign patients often find it difficult to look for medical institutions that they can trust. How can one find hospitals or clinics staffed with board-certified physicians and have extensive experiences serving foreign patients and good facilities? For those in Korea, KAHF shows the answer.
PART 1. Korean Accreditation program Hospitals for serving Foreign patients (KAHF)
1) What is KAHF?
Let us imagine a situation where you are staying in Korea for a long-term business trip. A fortnight ago, you started noticing this strange pain in your leg. Sometimes, you feel fine, but on bad days, you have this painful pulling sensation that prevents you from sleeping. You definitely need a checkup, but you do not know any hospitals in Korea. In that case, how would you choose what medical institution you will go to? The one near your workplace? The one with good facilities? The one that your acquaintance recommended? You may trust your acquaintance, but even so, you do not know whether the clinic has any experience dealing with foreign patients.
The choice would be much simpler if you knew about KAHF. It is an accreditation system that selects medical institutions that offer excellent medical services to foreign patients in Korea through a stringent evaluation and validation processes, the only one of its kind in the country. It is an acronym that means “Korean Accreditation program Hospitals for serving Foreign patients.” This system is backed by the Ministry of Health and Welfare, and it was introduced in 2017 to enhance the recognition and reliability of Korean medical services.
Medical institutions designated as thus can use the accreditation logo for two years. Memorize this logo before you start searching for medical institutions.
2) How do they earn the KAHF logo?
The purpose of KAHF is to provide a high-quality medical service to foreign patients and offer information on excellent medical institutions designated as such. Not all medical institutions can earn this logo. Only those who can offer excellent medical services to foreign patients and are equipped with patient-safety systems can acquire this accreditation through a stringent validation process by the Korean government.
STEP 1. Application from medical institutions
STEP 2. Field survey at the institution
- Specialized services geared toward foreign patients, such as respect toward foreign patients, processing systems for medical disputes, and interpretation services
- Patient safety systems, such as the presence of board-certified physicians, medicine management, operation management and facility and environment management
STEP 3. Survey results review
STEP 4. Designation (accreditation)
3) What are the standards for accreditation?
A question comes to your mind: there are many registered medical institutions for foreign patients in Korea, but how are they evaluated, and under what standards? After all, medical institutions have a great variety of facilities, staffing, and safety systems.
KAHF has two main evaluation systems in place for this purpose: the “Foreign Patient Specialization System (56 items)” for enhancing medical service satisfaction among foreign patients, and the “Patient Safety System (93 items)” for guaranteeing patient safety. Both systems are subdivided into subcategories amounting to a total of 149 items in the survey. This ensures that the institutions are strictly evaluated from multiple angles.
| Ⅰ. Foreign Patient Specialization System |
Major Items (Total of 56 Survey Items) |
| 1. History of foreign patient treatment and operation system |
- Annual history of foreign patients’ treatment
- Foreign patient (or guardian) satisfaction survey
- Management services for inpatient admission, discharge, and outpatient registration
- Provision of interpretation services
|
| 2. Board-certified physicians |
- Board-certified patient care system
▶ Patient plans established and explained to the patients by board-certified physicians
|
| 3. Patient rights and medical dispute prevention |
- Patient rights
▶ Respect toward patients’ bodily privacy and personal information, religious facilities, etc.
- Medical dispute prevention and processing procedures
- Patient dissatisfaction and complaint management
|
| Ⅱ. Patient Safety System |
Major Items (Total of 93 Survey Items) |
| 4. Patient safety guarantee |
- Clear communication among medical staff
- Precise performance of surgeries/treatment
|
| 5. Patient care |
- Emergency response
- Patient safety during surgery/treatment
|
| 6. Medicine management |
- Medicine management
- Management of medicine intended for injections
▶ Disposable sterile syringes, intravenous catheters, etc. Compliance with safety management standards
- Medicine delivery
|
| 7. Infection management |
- Infection control for medical devices
- Disinfection, sterilization, and laundry management
|
| 8. Facility and environment management |
- Hazardous material safety management
▶ Safety management for hazardous materials, medical waste, radioactive materials, etc.
- Medical device safety management
|
PART 2. KAHF-Accredited Medical Institutions
1) What are the designated medical institutions?
KAHF-accredited medical institutions that have satisfied the stringent standards detailed above are as follows. These select hospitals are publicly certified based on their medical services’ quality and safety by the Korean government,and are currently the most popular medical institutions among foreign patients.
- JK Plastic Surgery Center | The hub of K-beauty and cosmetic surgery, chosen by visitors from 100 countries
- HanGil Eye Hospital | A greater vision for the eye
- Kim Byoung-Joon LEDAS Varicose Vein Clinic | The global standard for varicose vein treatment
- CHA Fertility Center Seoul Station | The number one fertility clinic in Korea
※ New medical institutions are planned to be added in December 2021.
2) JK Plastic Surgery Center
1. JK성형외과
- Treatments Offered | Cosmetic surgery
- Target Countries | United States, China, Japan, Russia, the Middle East, Mongolia, Vietnam, etc.
- Language Service Available | English, Russian, Chinese, and Japanese
This is the only cosmetic surgery clinic in Korea that is KAHF-accredited. Having been designated three consecutive times since 2017, it certainly has a track record of excellence in offering systematic medical services for foreign patients. This clinic offers cosmetic surgery for the eyes, nose, breasts, body shape, and other areas with 23 years of expertise.
JK Plastic Surgery Center is visited by patients from nearly 100 countries around the world, including Russia, Middle Eastern countries, and Southeast Asian countries. Their multilingual website testifies to their dedicated effort in serving foreign patients, where services are offered in six languages, namely English, Chinese, Japanese, Russian, Arabic, and Indonesian. The clinic also has dedicated coordinator offering personalized simultaneous interpretation at all times, and patient agreement forms are offered in different languages. JK Plastic Surgery Center is also notable for having a high score in infection management, from the sterile air shower booth at the entrance of the operating room to the operating room itself of the international sanitization standard.
Photographs provided by JK Plastic Surgery Center
- LocationJK Building, 835, Nonhyeon-ro, Gangnam-gu, Seoul
- Telephone+82-2-777-0337 (dedicated telephone line for foreign patients)
- Operating HoursMonday to Friday 09:30–18:30, Saturday 09:00–16:00, closed on Sunday and public holidays
- Websitehttps://www.jkplastic.com/en
2. HanGil Eye Hospital
- Treatments Offered | Ophthalmology
- Target Countries | Russia (and other Commonwealth of Independent States [CIS]) and United States
- Language Service Available | Russian and English
HanGil Eye Hospital has two great distinctions to its name. The first is being the only specialized ophthalmology hospital designated by the Ministry of Health and Welfare four consecutive times. There are only 10 specialized ophthalmology hospitals in Korea, and HanGil Eye Hospital is the only one in Incheon. The second one is that the medical institution has been KAHF accredited three consecutive times. The former testifies to the hospital’s excellence in size, infrastructure, and research, while the latter certifies the hospital’s provision of excellent medical services at an international level. The hospital is especially popular among patients from Russia, Kazakhstan, and Uzbekistan.
The best thing about this clinic with 36 years of history is the one-day, one-stop treatment system. The hospital encompasses six specialized centers and one clinic: Cornea and Cataract Center, Glaucoma Center, Retina Center, Oculoplastic and Orbital Surgery Center, Pediatric Ophthalmology•Strabismus•Amblyopia•Neuro-Ophthalmology Center, Refractive Surgery Center, and the Dry Eye Clinic.
Photographs provided by HanGil Eye Hospital
- Location35, Bupyeong-daero, Bupyeong-gu, Incheon
- Telephonewhats app +82-10-5322-5708
- Operating HoursMonday to Friday 08:30–17:00, Saturday 08:30–13:30, closed on Sunday and public holidays
- Websitehttps://hangileye.co.kr/I_eng
3. Kim Byoung-Joon LEDAS Varicose Vein Clinic
- Treatments Offered | Varicose vein
- Target Countries | Russia and English-speaking countries
- Language Service Available | English, Russian, and Chinese
This clinic has focused on varicose vein for the past 20 years. It is the only medical institution in Korea to acquire the KAHF and Joint Commission International (JCI) accreditations at the same time. The clinic’s expertise is reflected in its Laser Endovenous Duplex-Guided Ablation Sclerotherapy (LEDAS) Varicose Vein Centralized Solution, a process that uses laser therapy and injections instead of the conventional treatment of injections that the clinic has helped to establish. This non-incisional treatment only requires localized anesthesia and minimizes hemorrhages and scarring, allowing the patient to return to their daily life on the same day of the treatment. The clinic has completed more than 18,000 surgeries
and is working hard to elevate the recognition of Korean medical services under a mission to set the global standards of varicose vein treatment. It also has a global network of seven international health centers in five countries around the world, through which the clinic leads the global standards of varicose vein treatment. In 2021, the clinic also made a trademark registration of LEDAS as a varicose vein medical brand in China.
Photographs provided by Kim Byoung-Joon LEDAS Varicose Vein Clinic
- Location12F, 10, Seomyeonmunhwa-ro, Busanjin-gu, Busan
- Telephone+82-51-634-8275
- Operating HoursMonday to Saturday 09:30–18:30
- Websitewww.global.kbjledas.com
4. CHA Fertility Center (Seoul Station)
- Treatments Offered | Gynecology
- Target Countries | United States, China, Japan, Russia, the Middle East, and Mongolia
The foremost infertility research institute in Korea and the culmination of CHA Medical Group’s 61 years of gynecology expertise is the CHA Fertility Center (Seoul Station). This 5000 m²–sized center has 17 board-certified specialists specializing in everything from conventional treatments, such as in-vitro fertilization, to cutting-edge infertility treatments, such as 37 Egg Bank (Egg Freezing) and preimplantation genetic diagnosis. CHA Fertility Center Seoul Station is the first infertility clinic in Korea to be KAHF-accredited two consecutive times, with special commendations to its specialized medical services for foreign patients.
The medical institution has signed memorandums of understanding (MOUs) with major hospitals in regions where many of the patients come from, such as China, Russia, the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) (Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, etc.), and Mongolia, and has provided Korean Medical Service Sharing Project to promote awareness of the excellence of Korean medical services. CHA Medical Group’s international network of 71 clinics in 7 countries, including the United States, Japan, Australia, and Singapore, also helps attract patients to the clinic.
Photographs provided by CHA Fertility Center (Seoul Station)
- Location2nd floor, Seoul Square, 416, Hangang-daero, Jung-gu, Seoul
- Telephone+82-2-2002-0399
- Operating HoursMonday to Friday 08:30–17:30, Saturdays and public holidays 08:30–12:30
- Websitehttps://seoul.chamc.co.kr/en/
