The Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC) said yesterday that it has entered into a collaboration with two South Korean hospitals, formalising an agreement that will see the three organisations explore potential areas of collaboration in healthcare.
The collaboration explored opportunities for staff from HMC and Asan Medical Center (AMC) and Seoul St. Mary’s Hospital (SSMH) in South Korea to plan and perform complex procedures together, specifically in the areas of Cardiology, Orthopedics and Transplantation.
To inaugurate this collaboration a medical forum was organised between HMC, the Ministry of Public Health and the South Korean embassy in Qatar in the presence of Dr. Young-tak Kim, Director of Asan Medical International (AMC), Dr. Yongsik Kim, Professor at SSMH, Heung-kyeong Park, South Korean ambassador to Qatar and Dr. Minwon Lee, Director General of Global Health Care Bureau of the Ministry of Health and Welfare of South Korea.
This new collaboration will direct the resources available to healthcare professionals in both countries and pave the way for new and innovative patient care.
HMC’s Deputy Chief Medical Officer and Director of Medical Education, Dr. Abdullatif Al Khal said, “We were pleased to be approached by the Koreans where they offered the opportunity to collaborate with AMC and SSMH. We look forward to sharing ideas and developing more ways to improve the care we give to patients in Qatar.” Mrs. Minwon Lee, Director General of Global Health Care Bureau of the Ministry of Health and Welfare of South Korea said, “HMC, AMC and SSMH are world-renowned medical institutions. This collaboration between those two excellent Korean hospitals will benefit patients in both of our nations. I am looking forward to hearing many success stories in the future.” Representatives from Asan Medical Center and Seoul St. Mary’s Hospital in Korea also toured HMC and viewed live procedures whilst also taking part in many joint discussions and presentations with HMC staff. Also during the visit the Korean medical teams were involved in conducting surgical procedures jointly with medical teams from HMC. This included orthopedics, liver transplant and cardiac procedures. In particular, the first case of Living Donor Liver Transplantation in Qatar was done jointly, led by prominent Korean doctor, Dr. Sung-Gyu Lee, President of Asan Healthcare System and his team, in collaboration with Prof. Hatem Khalaf, Clinical lead of HMC Liver Transplant and his team.
This will be the first significant outcome of implementation for the MoU on Cooperation in the Field of Healthcare and Medical Sciences, signed in November 2014 on the occasion of the visit of the Emir H H Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani to South Korea. HMC will continue to explore further cooperation with leading Korean healthcare systems, said a statement.
© The Peninsula 2016
