Sharing Your Hope

Asan Medical Center

Asanbyeongwon-gil 86, Songpa-gu, Seoul 138-736, Korea Tel. 82-1688-7575

http://amc.seoul.kr

A Passion for the Health of Humankind

We take our challenges to heart, engaging in continuous

research and development to become a global healthcare

leader.

Mission _ Building a world free from poverty and disease.

Contributing to the health and well-being of society through advanced medical examinations,

treatment, education and research based on an unwavering passion and a determined spirit.

Vision _ Helping patients lead fuller lives.

Asan Medical Center is Korea’s most-trusted hospital; a hospital that exceeds the global standards

in medical treatment; a hospital where creative research and education takes place; a hospital that

employees take pride in; a hospital that grows and develops based on sound practices.

Asan Medical Center was established by the Asan Foundation. During Korea’s intense focus on economic

development, the Asan Foundation initiated a variety of projects to enhance the quality of life for all citizens, including the

underprivileged. The Foundation created medical welfare programs for medically vulnerable regions, scholarship projects to

help outstanding personnel and teenagers from financially challenged households, social welfare support projects, and

research and development support projects to drive academic research.

Historically, the Asan Foundation has placed a special importance on medical welfare projects, including the establishment

of hospitals with professional medical staff and modern medical treatment facilities in areas with limited access to medical

treatment, such as Jeongeup in North Jeolla Province, Boseong in South Jeolla Province, Boryeong in South Chungcheong

Province, Yeongdeok in North Gyeongsang Province, and Gangneung in Gangwon Province. The Asan Foundation recog-

nized the need for a professional hospital that would offer world-class medical treatment and act as a ‘hub’ for regional hos-

pitals. This recognition led to the opening of Asan Medical Center on June 23, 1989, with 23 departments and approximately

1,000 beds. Since then, Asan Medical Center has expanded to a 2,630 bed tertiary care facility and grown into the largest

hospital in Korea.

The determination of Asan Medical Center to become a ‘patient-oriented hospital’ that assists the under-privileged members

of society is demonstrated in the medical services it provides, as well as the various and continuous social welfare endeavors

it embarks on.

Today, like any other day,

Asan Medical Center holds fast to its founding spirit:

The philanthropic principles of meeting

The growing demand for specialized treatment

For the underprivileged in society.

Asan Medical Center was founded in the spirit of philanthropy and

continues to provide the science of specialized medicine to all in need.

A Patient-centered Medical Complex

Asan Medical Center is Korea’s largest medical institution, with a gross floor area of

454,792 m2, approximately 8,000 employees, 9,000 outpatients, 2,600 hospitalized

patients and an average of 200 complex surgical procedures performed daily.

Asan Medical Center has substantially altered its medical treatment systems and

environment to become a hospital where patients do not have to wait and where the

privacy of patients is respected. To this end, it is truly ‘a medical complex based on a

new concept’, where people can access medical services while enjoying nature, cul-

ture and the arts.

The patient-oriented mindset of Asan Medical Center is manifested in its space. In

2008, a new building opened and the East and West buildings were remodeled.

Equipment and personnel were organized in such a way to ensure the one-stop han-

dling of all medical examinations, treatments and tests. We further minimized patient

waiting times by adopting state-of-the-art medical systems and quick and convenient

administrative work-handling systems. The new building houses independent depart-

ments, including the Children’s Hospital, the Department of Obstetrics/Gynecology,

the Department of Ophthalmology and the Department of Plastic Surgery. The East

Building is primarily occupied by the neurology, lung disease, cardiology and adult

disease departments. The West Building comprises Korea’s largest cancer center,

which features an integrated medical examination and treatment system and the Di-

gestive Disease Center.

Medical services for patients have been enhanced within each professional area by

securing more space for the convenience of patients and their guardians. In addition,

certain areas of the hospital, including the rooftop park and lobby, were designed as

spaces where nature and culture merge, thereby delivering the true energy needed

for optimal recovery.

A Premier Hospital that Performs

the Most Surgeries in Korea and Boasts

the Highest Success Rate in the Nation

Asan Medical Center fosters new hope in the human effort to overcome incurable dis-

eases.

The Center is ranked No.1 in the number of surgeries performed to treat 13 of the top

30 diseases, including the removal of brain tumors, hepatic resections, stent place-

ments and endoscopic biliary tract surgeries. Asan Medical Center is particularly

renown for cancer-related surgeries.

Of the 35 general hospitals across the nation, Asan Medical Center ranked first in the

number of surgical procedures performed for 9 of the 10 most common cancers.

These achievements were made possible through integrated medical examinations,

innovative treatments, patient support systems and advanced medical treatments

that span all fields of medicine, including radiology, laboratory medicine and pathol-

ogy.

Our Challenges and Successes have

Astonished the Medical Field Worldwide

Organ transplantation, often referred to as the ‘flower of modern medicine,’ is where

Asan Medical Center’s determined spirit has achieved the most outstanding results.

Asan Medical Center successfully carried out Korea’s first heart transplant, followed

by the nation’s first simultaneous transplantations of the kidney and the pancreas,

and the world’s first modified right lobectomy and liver transplant. With these ground-

breaking procedures, Asan Medical Center became a world leader in the field of

organ transplantation.

Since Korea’s first stent surgery for a patient with angina pectoris, performed at the

Heart Disease Center, Asan Medical Center has conducted approximately 1,500 sur-

geries per year and enjoys a global reputation for providing outstanding medical treat-

ment. These services give new hope to patients who suffer from heart disease.

In terms of treatment for hematologic malignancies, such as leukemia, Asan Medical

Center’s history of excellence has substantially resolved the difficulties faced by bone

marrow donors, beginning with a successful half-match bone marrow transplant in-

volving a parent donor and a child recipient. The Center has also identified the causes

of incurable pulmonary hypertension and paved the way for the effective treatment of

this disorder.

The Ministry for Health, Welfare and Family Affairs designated Asan Medical Center as

an ‘innovative cancer research-centered hospital’. Our large, clinical research-cen-

tered hospital demonstrated its capabilities and potential during a large government-

run program aimed at creating a research-centered hospital that represented Korea.

This achievement was made possible by the outstanding human and material re-

sources of the center, the abundance of clinical information available, and the Cen-

ter’s leading role in cancer-related biotechnology, including the development of a

novel anticancer drug.

Asan Medical Center also plays a leadership role in clinical research. The Clinical Re-

search Center for Ischemic Heart Disease and the Clinical Research Center for

Chronic Obstructive Airways Disease are performing leading roles in international clini-

cal studies and were featured as research programs in the Korean Standard Medical

Treatment Guidelines Development Project organized by the Ministry for Health, Wel-

fare and Family Affairs. Asan Medical Center was also designated as a ‘Clinical Center

in the Seoul Area’, thanks to its continuous investments in clinical tests and research.

A Leader in Innovative Cancer Research

The most important element in becoming one of the world’s best hospitals is fostering

outstanding experts. Based on the recognition of this fact and with an open mindset,

Asan Medical Center has established extensive training programs: In 1990, we imple-

mented Korea’s first integrated medical education program with our partner, the Uni-

versity of Ulsan College of Medicine. In 1995, Asan Medical Center became the first

hospital in Korea to introduce a practical training-oriented sub-internship program for

medical students across the nation, which has since garnered a great deal of atten-

tion. In 2003, Asan Medical Center incorporated a ‘pain experience program’ into the

intern orientation course to encourage doctors to place the highest priority on human-

ity. By offering a wide range of humanity education programs, including volunteer pro-

grams at social welfare facilities, the center enhances the ethical mindset of doctors

and encourages them to become true guardians of the welfare of others.

Asan Medical Center trains not only medical residents, but also nurses and foreign

medical personnel. In 2006, the center became the first university hospital in Korea to

launch an overseas training program for residents, and later implanted various other

programs to foster the world’s top experts, such as the observership program with

Harvard-affiliated institutes, the student research program, and the United States

doctor’s license test support program have garnered considerable attention.

The Asan Academy, an employee-training center, offers systematic training that al-

lows all employees of Asan Medical Center to provide optimal medical & administra-

tive services as professionals in their respective fields.

We Aim at Educating

the World’s Best Medical Personnel,

with a Passion for Humanity

Asan Medical Center ensures patient satisfaction by systematically managing the

quality of medical treatment. In 1993, we formed Korea’s first dedicated medical

treatment quality improvement team, which developed various medical examination

and treatment indexes and shared the results of their analyses. Through such efforts,

the Center has maximized the quality of medical services.

Upon opening its doors, Asan Medical Center formed Korea’s first dedicated infection

management team, which has effectively lowered hospital infection rates to levels

below those in advanced nations. The center was also the first in Korea to employ a

comprehensive antibiotics management program and form an antibiotics manage-

ment committee to prevent the misuse of antibiotics.

Asan Medical Center operates one of the world’s largest intensive care units, and

functions as a quaternary medical institution that welcomes seriously ill patients who

cannot be treated at other university hospitals or comprehensive professional medical

treatment institutes.

The Emergency Medical Center maximizes the efficiency of urgent medical treatment

with a rapid medical examination and treatment system that includes chart-free med-

ical examinations and treatments, standardization of the medical examination and

treatment process, patient safety programs and operation of an Addiction Information

Center.

In addition, Asan Medical Center routinely invests in cutting-edge medical equipment,

including the gamma knife, CT, MRI, MRS and PET systems. Our state-of-the-art

medical information system has transformed Asan Medical Center into a digital, glob-

ally competitive hospital.

Improving the Quality of Medical Treatment

with Cutting-edge Technology

Asan Medical Center continuously promotes development and innovation by cooper-

ating with various medical institutes, including the University of Ulsan College of Medi-

cine. Currently, Asan Medical Center is in partnership with Partners Harvard Medical

International (PHMI) and the Imperial College London, both of which are world-ranked

institutions and thus shares the opportunity to explore the latest medical research and

developments through a series of joint symposia.

The Cancer Center opened its doors in 2009, thereby initiating an academic ex-

change and medical personnel training program with the Dana Farber Cancer Institute

of Harvard Medical School, which holds a global reputation in the field of cancer ther-

apy.

The ‘Angioplasty Summit-TCT Asia Pacific’, led by Asan Medical Center, has grown

into an international symposium attended by leading heart disease experts from the

U.S., Japan, Canada, France and other countries. The symposium exerts a significant

influence on domestic and foreign medical sectors. The ‘Airway Vista’, an international

symposium held for the first time in the Asia Pacific region at Asan Medical Center,

demonstrates the leadership role assumed by Asan Medical Center in research per-

taining to Chronic Obstructive Airways Disease (COAD).

Collaboration with the World’s Leading

Medical Institutes

Asan Medical Center is a patient-centered hospital that constantly strives to increase

patient satisfaction through patient-oriented hospital facilities and operation systems.

In particular, we have established a medical examination/treatment reservation sys-

tem, simplified administrative processes, improved test systems, promoted coopera-

tive medical treatment systems, and reduced patient waiting times. The Center

addresses even the most minor complaints from patients and guardians through the

open counseling center and customer voice system.

Asan Medical Center engages in activities that ensure a healthy life for all members of

society, not just the hospital’s patients. The Center endeavors to spread love through

warm-hearted medical practices, including Korea’s largest free medical examination

and treatment project, the Referral Center’s medical examination and treatment net-

work of local doctors, a special medical cost support program for patients who could

otherwise not afford medical treatment, volunteers who assist their neighbors, con-

certs of love that provide comfort to those in sickbeds, free health lectures that pro-

vide accurate medical information and introduce the latest treatment methods, and

volunteer medical care activities in needy overseas areas.

We strive to ensure that our hospital is not simply a place for medical examinations

and treatments, but rather that it instills a sense of trust and allows for quality daily life.

A park and an art gallery within the hospital, as well as regular concerts, have trans-

formed Asan Medical Center into a cultural space that benefits patients, visitors and

local residents.

A Patient-centered Hospital-

We are Truly your Neighbors

Asan Medical Center has been described as “a hospital that provides the highest

quality medical examinations and treatments in Korea; a hospital that stands besides

its neighbors and engages the spirit of sharing; a hospital that respects the rights of

patients and their families.” These are just a few of the reasons why nearly 9,000 ex-

perts named Asan Medical Center the most respected hospital in Korea for 3 consec-

utive years, beginning in 2007.

In honor of its outstanding medical feats and respect for patient-oriented values, Asan

Medical Center has been recognized for its excellence by patients, the medical sector

and brand evaluation organizations.

• 2009 Named Korea’s most-respected hospital for 3 consecutive years

(Korea Management Association Consulting)

• 2008 Best Brand Award (Korean Customers’ Forum)

No. 1 in global customer satisfaction (JMA Management Center)

Korea Social Contribution Award (Korean Customers’ Forum)

• 2006 No. 1 in the National Brand Competitiveness Index (NBCI)

• 2005 Named Korea’s top hospital (Ministry for Health, Welfare and Family Affairs)

• 2004 Outstanding organization in managing organ transplantation (KONOS)

• 2003 ‘Customer Satisfaction Award’ of the National Productivity Award

(Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Energy)

• 2002 Presidential Award for Consumer Protection (Korea Consumer Agency)

First hospital to receive recognition for outstanding services

(Korea Management Association Consulting)

• 1998 No. 1 in customer satisfaction, general hospital category

(Korea Management Association)

The Most-respected Hospital in Korea

“What we shouldn’t forget above all is that we established the hospital to contribute to the establishment

of a welfare society where all citizens can live a happy life. I ask all hospital employees to develop a sense

of duty and a sense of being protectors of people’s health. You are asked to do your best for the patients

and their families and to heal and console them. I also hope that all of you help to create a hospital full of

compassion and humanity by being kinder to those less privileged in our society, including the emotionally

and physically disabled and senior citizens and children in financially tight conditions, in line with the

founding principle of the Asan Foundation.”

From the opening remarks for Asan Medical Center, given by Asan Foundation founder Chung Ju-Yung.

A hospital that aims for the pinnacle of medicine,

yet retains humility in its healing arts.