Abu Dhabi Health Authority said it has signed strategic agreements with four of leading South Korean hospitals for the full scale referral of patients from the emirate to these  hospitals.

The hospital service agreement is the first-of-its-kind to be made by Korean government with a foreign country and aims to boost collaboration in a patient treatment-reference system with Abu Dhabi.

Under this deal, the four hospitals - Samsung Seoul, Seoul National University, Asian Medical Center and Seoul St. Mary's Hospital - will send bills to the Health Authority-Abu Dhabi, within six months of providing medical services to patients.

The Health Authority-Abu Dhabi will then pay all bills in Korean currency through the UAE Embassy in Seoul within 45 days of a request being submitted.

The Health Authority-Abu Dhabi is now selecting the first group of patients to be sent for treatment to Korea, said the chairman of the board of directors Mohammed Sultan Al Hameli and CEO Zaid Daoud Al Siksek during the signing ceremony in Seoul.

The senior officials of the Ministry of Health and Welfare and The Korean Health Industry Development Institute were also present.

According to the UAE officials, the Health Authority-Abu Dhabi expected to dispatch patients to the Korean hospitals beginning early next year.

'Korea and the UAE are expected to expand their co-operation to include diverse fields, such as the export of medical institutions and healthcare systems based on IT technology, which is one of South Korea's strong points, and training program for international doctors,' said Al Hameli.

The agreement is also expected to serve not only as a bridgehead for cooperation in medical tourism between South Korea and the UAE but also as a new engine for the Korean medical and related industries to make inroads to the Middle Eastern market, he added.-TradeArabia News Service