Harvard Medical International Announces New Association with Asan Medical Center in Korea

In a historic agreement signed Feb. 14, Harvard Medical International Inc., on behalf of the Medical School, formed an inter-institutional alliance with the Asan Medical Center in Seoul, Korea.

Asan Medical Center (AMC) is recognized as one of the premier medical institutions in Korea. The new association means that Harvard Medical School will make its resources available to AMC for broad-ranging educational and research initiatives for physicians, nurses, and other professional and administrative staff.

"This association of Harvard Medical International with the Asan Medical Center is a tangible realization of Harvard Medical School's goal of sharing knowledge and experience on an international level. I sincerely hope that this initiative may serve as a model for other collaborations within a global network of medical institutions," said Daniel C. Tosteson, Dean of the Harvard Faculty of Medicine, in his capacity as chairman of the board of directors of Harvard Medical International.

Asan Medical Center has sealed the agreement to become a Harvard-affiliated medical institution for five years with a substantial contribution to Harvard Medical International. The unrestricted award will be used to support and strengthen academic programs at Harvard and its affiliated medical institutions. To recognize the relationship of AMC with HMI and Harvard Medical School, AMC will be designated as a Harvard-affiliated medical institution. This relationship will be based upon specific, designated, collaborative programs in teaching, research, and medical care. Programs will be developed jointly by AMC and Harvard, and will be funded by AMC in accordance with predetermined goals and priorities. Examples of how the relationship will be put into practice include:

* HMS consultants will work with AMC faculty on a professional development program for medical, nursing, technical, and administrative staff at AMC.

* Collaborative research programs will be devised and undertaken by HMS and AMC postdoctoral staff.

* HMS consultants will work with AMC faculty to design, develop, and evaluate curricula for both undergraduate and postgraduate medical education at AMC.

* HMI has been asked by AMC to incorporate a patient referral system for coordinating the admission of selected categories of Korean patients to the HMS-affiliated teaching hospitals in Boston.

Asan Medical Center was founded in 1989 under the auspices of the Asan Foundation for Social Welfare. The Foundation was established in 1977 entirely with the private funding of Ju Yung Chung, then chairman of the Hyundai Group. AMC is the leading teaching hospital of the University of Ulsan College of Medicine, which was funded by the Hyundai Group. "We are committed to establishing the finest medical institution. Through the agreement with Harvard Medical International, we hope to enhance medical education and research, and consolidate our position as the premier provider of high-quality patient services in Korea." said Pyung Chul Min, director general of Asan Medical Center.

The policies and procedures governing the alliance will be administered in Boston by Mitchell Spellman, director of International Exchange Programs at HMI, and by Changgi D. Hong, senior associate director of AMC and dean of the University of Ulsan College of Medicine in Seoul.

Robert Crone, president and chief executive officer of HMI, is enthusiastic about the new association: "HMI was founded last year as a means of evaluating the requests made of the Medical School for its involvement with medical programs worldwide. From the outset we were impressed by the quality of the Asan Medical Center, and we are delighted that Harvard Medical School will have the opportunity to work with them."

HMI is presently involved with fostering scholarly exchange programs and health care projects in many parts of the world, including: Saudi Arabia, Oman, Cyprus, Malaysia, Taiwan, France, Brazil, Pakistan, Thailand, India, China, Singapore, Japan. Discussions are also under way with Kuwait, Costa Rica, and the Philippines.