Himchan Hospital has become the first local medical institution to open a branch in Sakhalin Island, Russia. The Sakhalin Himchan Hospital aims to play the role of attracting and caring for patients in Far East Russia.
In Russia, medical technology is relatively underdeveloped, and many patients opt for treatment abroad. The preference for Korean medicine is high, and the number of patients coming to Korea for treatment is increasing as the two countries are geographically close.
Himchan Hospital has decided to operate a clinic specializing in joints and spinal pain directly in Russia as there are many Russia patients.
The hospital will run rehabilitation and physical therapy rooms as post-rehabilitation are essential for patients that undergo joint or spinal surgery. The Sakhalin Himchan Hospital will focus on the non-surgical injection treatment room on the first floor, and outpatient clinic, and the rehabilitation and physical therapy center on the second floor.
It has also established a remote video call system, through which Korean and Russian medical professionals can directly treat Russian patients. Himchan Hospital physicians will check up on patients in Sakhalin Himchan Hospital through the video system twice a week. The hospital will also include a physical therapist in the video chat so they may discuss future physical therapy during the video call.
The hospital expects that the video call system will allow them to provide systematic rehabilitation of patients who visited the Korean branch of the hospital as well as first comers.
The hospital will also operate a two-track system by locally treating patients who need non-surgical injections or physical therapies while sending those who require surgery to the hospital’s Korean branch.
“We plan to expand our hospital chain in Russia by advancing into regions such as Moscow, St. Petersburg, Irkutsk, by settling the Korean medical system at the Sakhalin Himchan Hospital,” Himchan Hospital President Lee Su-chan said. “Therefore, Sakhalin Himchan Hospital is expected to play a role as a bridgehead for medical exchanges between Russia.”