Notice
Trust among patients and the public in large university hospitals has reached a critical low following repeated conflicts between the government and the medical community. In numerous surveys, a majority of the public responded that neither the government nor the medical sector prioritizes patients. Regional and essential medical services, previously managed by university hospitals, have worsened, pushing regional healthcare to the brink of collapse. Patients nationwide are increasingly concentrated in Seoul's university hospitals. To resolve this polarization—characterized by concentration in the metropolitan area and medical vacuums in regional areas—creative private sector participation and monitoring are urgently needed.
Jointly promoted by Institute of University Evaluation Inc. and The Korea Economic Daily, the private evaluation of university hospitals with 500 or more beds is the first comprehensive large-scale hospital evaluation attempted in Korea. This evaluation model is highly significant as it systematically examines large hospitals, which serve as the core axis of the domestic medical system. By evaluating a synthesis of patient-centered services/safety, research/education performance, and public healthcare roles, it can lead not only to hospital self-improvement but also to advancements in healthcare policy discussions. In particular, by emphasizing patient satisfaction and safety, it will contribute to improving patient rights and help develop the medical industry by highlighting international competitiveness among hospitals.
Currently, the only hospital evaluation in Korea is conducted by the Ministry of Health and Welfare (HIRA), and private sector-led evaluations are non-existent. To resolve various issues within the medical system, it is urgent to re-examine and improve service levels from a patient-centered perspective. Recent medical-government conflicts have clearly demonstrated the limitations of policies that exclude the voices of patients. Therefore, medical reform needs a paradigm shift that evaluates medical services from the perspective of patients and the public and reflects these findings in policy, rather than being supplier-centered (government/medical sector).
In terms of global hospital evaluations, the U.S. news magazine Newsweek and the global data firm Statista have been the sole providers, annually announcing the World's Best Hospitals rankings since 2019. However, hospital evaluations are difficult on a global scale due to the strong specificities of each country. Newsweek's evaluation also relies heavily on peer surveys among medical professionals (weighted at approximately 50%), which limits its absolute reliability. Nevertheless, as it is the world's only such evaluation, large domestic university hospitals are making every effort to achieve higher relative rankings in these results.
Institute of University Evaluation Inc. and The Korea Economic Daily have presented a fair and transparent evaluation model to ensure the effectiveness of the results. Ultimately, university hospital evaluation can evolve into a mechanism that reflects social demands such as strengthening medical publicness, enhancing healthcare equity, and securing global competitiveness in the medical industry. If the government, the medical community, and civil society cooperate to create a healthy healthcare ecosystem based on these evaluation results, it will serve as a positive opportunity to increase public trust and the right to health.