Seoul National University Hospital (SNUH)'s newly appointed President and CEO Kim Young-tae unveiled the hospital's new vision to spearhead the Korean healthcare industry and transform the hospital into one of the most advanced and exemplary hospitals in the world.
Kim was appointed as new president and CEO on March 15.
At a press conference held on Friday, Kim emphasized the increasing significance of effectively managing and integrating both medical and non-medical data, and leveraging cutting-edge technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI).
"In the case of our hospital, we are planning to systematically use the large amounts of data we accumulated for several years," he said. "The digitalization process will help the hospital transition from the existing practice-based healthcare into value-based healthcare."
Kim said the soaring medical costs are creating a significant financial burden on patients and could potentially impede their access to adequate healthcare if the current practice-based medical care model persists.
"Therefore, we need value-based healthcare that improves patient outcomes while reducing healthcare costs," he said.
As a first step transition into value-based healthcare, Kim stressed the need to adopt a Korean digital healthcare platform.
The newly appointed SNUH President further elaborated that the "Future Children's Hospital Project" and the upcoming Seoul National University Baegot Hospital would be pivotal in driving these transformations.
SNUH first plans to develop advanced neonatal diagnosis and treatment, rare diseases, and pediatric cancer diagnosis and treatment by accumulating large-scale data through the Future Children's Hospital Project, Kim said.
Afterward, the hospital will develop innovative new digital healthcare technologies that can promote early diagnosis, and customized and advanced treatment through the Seoul National University Baegot Hospital, which is scheduled to be established in 2027.
"Afterward, we plan to supply the new system to other public hospitals nationwide and later export it overseas," Kim said.
The new CEO also emphasized the crucial role of SNUH as the nation's central hospital and pledged to reinforce essential medical care services and the overall public healthcare system throughout the country.
Kim emphasized the critical importance of securing an adequate number of doctors to revitalize the ailing essential healthcare system. He further announced plans to establish a permanent committee, by converting the existing task force dedicated to securing essential doctors, to solely focus on this critical objective.
For affiliated hospitals, Kim said SNUH would promote the specialization of treatment for each hospital.
SNUH will treat rare and incurable diseases while Seoul National University Bundang Hospital will be a digital innovation hospital, and Seoul National University Boramae Hospital will eliminate medical blind spots, Kim said.
Also, Seoul National University Baegot Hospital, Gijang Neutron Center, and the National Fire Hospital will be characterized according to the purpose of establishment, he added.
SNUH has a large internal and external network, and the hospital will further develop such strengths to create better synergies, he noted.