SEOUL, South Korea, Dec. 5, 2011 /PRNewswire-Asia/ — The Ministry of Health and Welfare and The Korean Health Industry Development Institute announced that the Health Authority-Abu Dhabi and four Korean hospitals, including Samsung Seoul Hospital, Seoul National University Hospital, Asian Medical Center and Seoul St. Mary’s Hospital have signed an agreement to collaborate in a patient treatment-reference system in Abu Dhabi, on November 25. This agreement represents the first of its kind to be made by the Korean government with a foreign country and paves the way for the full-scale referral of patients to Korean hospitals by the Health Authority-Abu Dhabi. Three officials from the Health Authority-Abu Dhabi visited South Korea on November 24-26 to sign this hospital service agreement. They included the Chairman of the Board of Directors Mohammed Sultan Al Hameli and CEO ZaidDaoud Al Siksek. Under this hospital service agreement, the four Korean hospitals will send bills to the Health Authority-Abu Dhabi within six months of providing medical services to patients. The Health Authority-Abu Dhabi will pay all bills in Korean currency through the UAE Embassy in Seoul within 45 days of a request being submitted. The Health Authority-Abu Dhabi is now selecting the first group of patients to come to South Korea. It is expected to dispatch patients from Abu Dhabi to the four Korean hospitals, possibly beginning early next year. The agreement with the Health Authority-Abu Dhabi is a visible outcome of the efforts of the Korean Government to expand international cooperation in the area of healthcare and medicine and to promote the nation’s medical institutions. South Korea and the UAE are expected to expand their cooperation to include diverse fields, such as the export of medical institutions and advanced healthcare systems based on the IT technology, which is one of South Korea’s strong points, and training program for international doctors. The agreement is also expected to serve not only as a bridgehead for cooperation in medical tourism between South Korea and the UAE, but also as a new engine for the Korean medical and related industries to make inroads to the Middle Eastern market, the ministry said. It added that the agreement will also help South Korea to upgrade its reputation as a provider of medical services in the Middle East, which will help it emerge as a major partner in the area of healthcare and medicine in the region. For more information, please contact Yang Ji-young of the Korea Health Industry Development Institute’s International Medical Department on +82-43-713-8248 or [email protected].