BUSAN < invest Korea

According to Yonhap News,

About 14,000 foreign patients visited hospitals in Busan Metropolitan City last year, a whopping 40 percent increase from 2011.

According to the Busan Metropolitan City Government’s survey on 257 hospitals, 14,125 foreign patients received medical services in the city last year.

The figure is a 41 percent rise from 10,031 in 2011. When the number of foreign patients visited last year is divided by nationality, Russia ranked first with 37.7 percent (5,333 people), followed by China (1,670), Japan (1,542), the US (1,329), the Philippines (672), and Vietnam (421). The number of Russian patients visited the region has more than doubled in a year, considering 2,409 in 2011.

A surge in the number of Russian patients was resulted from insufficiency of public medical services in Vladivostok and Khabarovsk and shorter travel time to Busan Metropolitan City than Moscow, thanks to direct flights.

When the number of foreign patients visited last year is divided by hospital, Inje University Haeundae Paik Hospital ranked top with 1,643, followed by Dong-A University Hospital (1,358), and Kosin University Gospel Hospital (1,357).

Many of the foreign patients hospitalized last year suffered from severe illnesses, such as cancer and cardiovascular diseases.

Source: Yonhap News (Mar. 5, 2013)

** This article was translated from the Korean.