One Day Health Screening at Seoul Central Clinic

Ms. Kim had health screening at Seoul Central Clinic last fall. The reason she chose Seoul Central Clinic is because of pleasant environment and the one-day health screening service including the test result consultation at the same day.
She was had health screening every year and the result had shown no problem before. However, at this time, the result said that she had early stage of cervical cancer. She was frustrated and scared. Seoul Central Clinic transferred her to a neighboring university hospital for further care. Then, she had a successful surgery successfully at a university hospital and now enjoys healthy life. She said, “Seoul Central Clinic examined and showed the result at the same day and scheduled the surgery for me at a university hospital in few days. This fast process of Seoul Central Clinic saved my life.”
Seoul Central Clinic, located in Jongro-Gu, Seoul, has nine medical departments; Imaging center, gastroenterology, dermatology, cardiology, pulmonology, family medicine, gynecology, neurology and plastic surgery.
The Seoul Central Clinic offers various health screening programs. The most luxurious one is VIP health screening which cost ranges from 3,000,000 to 6,000,000 KRW. As you may notice, these prices are a lot cheaper than those at university hospitals although test procedures and health screening devices such as PET-CT, MDCT, MRI or MRA, are similar. Seoul Central Clinic is equipped with the latest and advanced medical devices, whose value cost more than ten billions.
Besides the VIP health screening, Seoul Central Clinic also offers a variety of health screenings, for example, health screening for specific disease such as cancer or dementia and for specific people such as couple or students. One day service which is only available in Seoul Central Clinic examines, analyzes and shows the result of health screening in one day. If a patient needs further treatments, Seoul Central Clinic transfers a patient to a larger medical center, for example, Seoul National University Hospital, Severance Hospital, Samsung Seoul Hospital or St. Mary Hospital.
Dr. Minsuk Shin, a president of Seoul Central Clinic, said, “17,000 patients came for health screening last year. Especially, foreign patients were very satisfied with our VIP health screening. We are planning to actively introduce our VIP health screening to foreign patients.”  

Jongho Chung, an editor
Hanhyung News

Health Screening Provides Valuable Information

It is always too late to have health screening when you have a symptom of diseases. The purpose of health screening is to find and cure the disease at its early stage. People may need to have health screening regularly in order to prevent risks of disease. These days, we all have busy lives with not enough time to take care of ourselves. Some people are afraid of having health screening because of anxiety about a negative diagnosis. However, health screening regardless of a positive or negative diagnosis provides valuable information in managing a patient’s health.

Many people ask me at what age they should start getting health screening and how frequently they should do so. It depends on many intrinsic and extrinsic factors such as a person’s life style. Based on my experience, I’d like to say that 30-year-old is a good age to start an annual health screening. Health screening basically includes a chest X-ray, a Gastroendoscopy, a Pulmonary Function Test, an Electrocardiogram Test (EKG), an abdominal ultrasound test, a physical measurement and a variety of clinical examinations such as blood or urine testing. In addition, a vision test, an auditory test or an intraocular pressure test can be added upon request. The clinical examinations not only test function of internal organs including liver, kidney and pancreas, but also measure levels of hormones or substances, for example, a cholesterol, an albumin and an amylase etc.

Some tests of health screening are affected by digesting process. Therefore, it is best to have health screening starting at 7 to 8 o’clock in the morning and finishing at 10 to 11 o’clock without having breakfast. In Seoul Central Clinic, automatic health screening analyzes and records all data by a computer, which can be done within three hours.
The health screening procedure usually starts with urine test. Buscopanl, a chemical which is injected before the gastroendoscopy test, may interrupt urine flow. So, a urine test should be always performed before the gastroendoscopy test. After the urine test, a venipucture is performed for a blood testing followed by an EKG test. A diagnosis by a doctor will be performed next. Lastly, a patient has a chest X-ray, an abdominal ultrasound test and gastroendoscopy.


A general procedure of health screening:
Urine test -> Venipucture -> EKG -> Diagnosis by a doctor -> Chest X-ray, Abdominal Ultrasound -> Gastroendoscopy, Pulmonary Function Test -> Physical Examination


Staffs in Seoul Central Clinic can modify the procedure of health screening based on customers’ needs. When seeing a result, understanding what those numbers or graphs mean is more important than simply focusing on the words, ‘negative’ or ‘positive.’ Although the result says ‘negative,’ the numbers may represent higher risk for specific disease. Therefore, health screening can guide a patient to have a better life style and also reduces risks.

Jeon Kwon, M.D.
Seoul Central Clinic

Health Screening for My Parents in Overseas

My parents stay in another country and visit Korea once a year. I’ve always wanted them to have health screening while visiting Korea. But it wasn't so easy to arrange the schedule because they were always busy during their visit. After I heard Seoul Central Clinic offers the one-day health screening service, I made an appointment for my parents. It was done in a day, and they explained us about my parents’ health thoroughly. Moreover, my parents were very satisfied with the customer service at Seoul Central Clinic. They said the staffs at Seoul Central Clinic have better customer service skills than anyone in the U.S.

- Junghwan Im

Great Health Screening

One of my friends recommended me Seoul Central Clinic for health screening. I am very picky and I have never been satisfied by other hospitals. However, Seoul Central Clinic is the first hospital to meet my expectation. Doctors and nurses are very kind and friendly. They made me feel very comfortable during the check up. I am going to bring my sister to Seoul Central Clinic soon.

- Jason Kim

Fast Health Screening

In the Seoul Central Clinic, I was able to take health screening and check the result at the same day. It’s unbelievable! Compared to Seoul Central Clinic, other hospitals made me wait at least a week for the result. However, Seoul Central Clinic did great job on the fast processing. In addition, the staffs in Seoul Central Clinic were very kind and know how to care patients. I am glad that I decided to go to Seoul Central Clinic and definitely recommend it to everyone I know. I will come back next year for a regular health screening. Thank you!

- Minho Lee

Health Screening

A few days ago, I brought my dad to Seoul Central Clinic for health screening. Since my dad is very old, I have been worried about his health. Fortunately, there was no problem with the result. A doctor explained us about what the numbers on the result meant and nurses were very kind. Moreover, I was really surprised about their speedy process from initial examination to the result. I want to thank all of you at Seoul Center Clinic.

- Jeemin Kang

Providing effective treatment for hypertension with Home Health Care System

Recently Mr. P, in his mid of 50s, visited a hospital for hypertension. His blood pressure has never gone down although he has been taking medication for a while. His problem was ‘white coat hypertension’ which shows higher blood pressure in hospital while normal at home, and the medicine he was prescribed with only based on higher blood pressure measured at the hospital. This case shows us why we need a home-based health care system. Hypertension is closely related to diet, exercise, and psychological status, which happens at home. Therefore, the most important part for hypertension treatment is the home care system. However, in most cases, patients forget to mention vital factors when talking to doctors. The patients should let the doctor know detailed information. In order to do so, the patients with hypertension should record his/her blood pressure twice a day and note them. Although the psychological status is hard to record, the patients should describe his/her psychological status as detail as possible every day. Since it is not easy to take care of oneself without others’ help, it is highly recommended to set up the professional home health care system that connects between hospital treatment and home health care. This will help providing the patient’s detailed information regarding to the doctors.
Home health care system monitors blood pressure, blood sugar, BMI, meals and exercise, then automatically forwarded to health care managers at hospital. This allows patients to have online consultation with health care managers via video chat. The accumulated data from the system is also transferred to the doctor for accurate diagnosis and effective treatment plan.
The huge companies such as LG CNS co. ltd., and Intel Inc. also jumped into the market of home health care system for patients with chronic diseases in cooperation with medical facilities. The development of this home health care system is expected to create a new paradigm of effective hypertension treatment.


Written by Woo-Jin Yang
The director of Seoul Central Clinic