New Severance Hospital More Like Hotel
by Kwon Ji-young
More like a hotel than a hospital, Yonsei Severance Hospital in Seoul has become the first hospital in Korea to do away with paperwork and introduce the “ubiquitous” concept where patients use a digital Smart Card for medical records, prescriptions and bills.
A lavish consecration ceremony took place Wednesday in front of the new building in Sinchon, with 1,500 guests looking on, including a descendant of Louis Severance, the hospital's founder, and 40 descendants of missionaries.
The ubiquitous concept refers to a paperless system where everything within the hospital is digitized and integrated in a network to speed up processing of patients. In the old hospital, patients received numerous paper slips at each of the registration, examination, and payment steps.
“I can’t believe my eyes. It’s such a great change from the crudeness of the old hospital. It was like a market back then; we were pushed around all the time; now it is like a hotel. So much so that it is overwhelming,” said Kim Young-soon, a 42-year-old outpatient.
Patients previously had to carry their personal information, examination records, treatment bills and medical prescriptions on individual paper slips around the hospital while running from one booth to another.
The ubiquitous system digitally archives all these slips of paper on a Smart Card, called U-Severance Medical-Information Archiving and Retrieving Technology, which works in the same way as Seoul transportation cards.
Upon touching a computer terminal with the Smart Card, patients can register for an examination, pay for food, parking and prescriptions. Doctors will also use digital examination charts in place of paper charts, by using laptops to monitor all patients’ records.
While the ubiquitous operation is still underway and won’t be fully implemented until the end of the month, the interior of the hospital has undergone a metamorphosis and now has a luxurious interior comparable to that of an airport or five-star hotel.
Thirty-one elevators and 12 escalators move patients from floor B3 to 21 of the hospital, which has 1,400 rooms. On the first floor with the main lobby, there is a food court, banks and a convenience store. On the 20th floor there is a VIP ward and Sky Lounge.
With classical music filling the hall and modernist paintings hung on every wall, the hospital has a modern interior with marble floors and sunlight pouring in through many windows. Each floor of the hospital has a balcony with a mountain view. As well as a rooftop garden, the top floor has a large auditorium and chapel.
“I am feeling very good. It’s so clean and spacious,” said a 72-year-old patient, walking out of the food court with a smile on his face.
In the recent evaluation in April, Yonsei Severance ranked 37th of 78 medical agencies in Korea, with a grade B in patient management, C in the emergency room and operations, and A in the serious patient care categories.
Hospital officials ascribed the disappointing ratings to the 40-year-old facilities and claimed the new U-Severance's motto as “The First and Best” as it boasts of being the pioneer of the ubiquitous hospital.
Korea’s first modern hospital, the Severance was built over a 5-year period at a total cost of 266.5 billion won. It was designed by a consortium of Junglim Architecture and Ellerbe Becket, an American architecture firm.
Also view these other stories on the hospital opening:
“Ubiquitous” Hospital - the Shape of Things to Come English News
Severance Hospital Opens New Building Korean Times
Contact: news@ellerbebecket.com
