Seoul’s Top Five Hospitals See Surge in Patients from Outside the Capital Region
Seoul, South Korea – A recent report reveals a significant increase in patientstraveling to Seoul’s top five hospitals from outside the capital region, highlighting the growing demand for specialized medical care in the city.
According to data submitted by theNational Health Insurance Service (NHIS) to the National Assembly’s Health and Welfare Committee on September 27th, 2024, oneout of every four patients treated at Seoul’s top five hospitals in 2023 came from outside the Seoul metropolitan area. This translates to 721,930 patients, representing 27.1% of the total2,660,146 patients treated at these institutions.
The five hospitals included in the report are Seoul National University Hospital, Yonsei University Severance Hospital, Asan Medical Center, Samsung Medical Center, and Catholic Universityof Korea Seoul St. Mary’s Hospital.
The trend of patients seeking medical care in Seoul from other regions has been steadily increasing over the past four years. The proportion of out-of-town patients at these hospitals has risen by 21.6% in the past four years, a rate twice as high as theincrease in patients from the Seoul metropolitan area (11.9%).
The increase is particularly pronounced for patients with serious illnesses and rare diseases. Between 2020 and 2023, the number of cancer patients and heart disease patients traveling to Seoul for treatment increased by 18.2% and23.1%, respectively.
This trend underscores the growing reliance on Seoul’s top hospitals for specialized medical care, particularly for complex and critical conditions. The increasing number of patients from outside the capital region highlights the need for further development of healthcare infrastructure and resources in other parts of the country to address the growing demandfor specialized medical services.
Sources:
- Yonhap News Agency (2024, September 27). Seoul’s Top Five Hospitals See Surge in Patients from Outside the Capital Region. Retrieved from [link to original article]
- National Health Insurance Service (2024). Data submitted to the NationalAssembly’s Health and Welfare Committee.
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