RIYADH: South Korea will help Saudi Arabia in setting up a “Hospital Information System” (HIS) and and a disease control systemin state-run hospitals, a Korean official Embassy said on Thursday.

“This is included in the framework of cooperation to strengthen the health care partnership between the two countries, which was signed during the South Korean minister’s recent Riyadh visit,” he said.

Currently, six hospitals here are working with a consortium of South Korean hospitals and companies to establish the HIS, an automated system that controls the overall management of hospital.

The information under HIS ranges from medical records, prescriptions of patients and medical imaging devices such as CTs and MRIs.

Moreover, the system also includes the management of outpatients, patients admitted and discharged from the hospital, the management of treatment charges, personnel management, payment management of hospital staff, and the management of hospital equipment and medical devices.

Notably, the establishment of such an efficient system requires vast expertise and technology in terms of office automation and management information systems; therefore, the framework also focuses on diverse areas including joint research and training of Saudi paramedical personnel to efficiently handle HIS.

The Korean Health Ministry and the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will help Saudi doctors and nurses receive training in Korea to help them establish a disease control center.

A South Korean Health Ministry official said the two countries will also exchange treatment information on new infectious illnesses such as MERS-CoV and the Zika virus and will also share know-how on how to administer health insurance systems.

Earlier, commenting on the framework, Bok-hyun Nam, health attaché, at the Korean Embassy said, “It is a milestone for wider cooperation in the health domain.”

South Korea has also invited Saudi drug and medical equipment companies to participate in Asia’s largest biotech event, Bio-Korea, which will be held in southern Seoul from March 30 to April 1 this year.