"Which hospital do you go to if you want to be treated like a human being?"
For patients and caregivers heading to the hospital, a national agency has offered a clear answer to that question. Keimyung University Dongsan Hospital (President Kim Jun-hyung) ranked No. 1 overall among 376 medical institutions nationwide in the "2025 (fifth) Patient Experience Assessment" announced July 31 by the Health Insurance Review & Assessment Service.
Beat All 376 Hospitals... A Landmark Second Straight No. 1 Nationwide
After taking first place among the nation’s 47 tertiary general hospitals in the 2023 (fourth) assessment, it rose this time to the top among all hospitals in South Korea, including general hospitals. The result secures its standing for a second consecutive time as the "top hospital patients are most satisfied with."
The Patient Experience Assessment is the only national evaluation system in which patients who were actually hospitalized—rather than doctors or hospitals grading themselves—directly score medical staff service, comfort and empathy regarding their condition, the medication and treatment process, and the hospital environment. That is why a No. 1 ranking in this assessment signals more than a courtesy score; it reflects the highest standard of a genuine "patient-centered culture."
All Seven Categories Score in the 90s
The report card Keimyung University Dongsan Hospital received in this assessment was overwhelmingly positive. It posted scores as high as 97 in patient safety and hospital environment (97.76) and overall evaluation (97.77), and swept top-tier marks across all seven categories: nursing (97.13), physicians (96.09), medication and treatment process (96.17), patient rights protection (96.23), and emotional support (94.68). That put it at the top of the 376 institutions nationwide with a standout overall score of 96.55.
Goodbye to Soulless "Hello"... Developed 83 Communication Manuals In-House
The hospital said the key to the performance was moving away from "soulless kindness training" and building what it called a "real communication system" patients can genuinely feel. Dongsan Hospital focused its efforts on improving what patients most want from hospitals: "comfort and empathy regarding their condition." Rather than relying on courtesy that simply bows and scrapes, it established its own approach, arguing that smooth communication eases patients’ anxiety and improves clinical efficiency. To that end, it developed 83 "customized communication manuals for all staff" that can be used immediately on the floor and rolled them out across the hospital.
Thoughtful Ideas That Eliminated Patient Frustration
Beyond the communication manuals, the hospital said, it also introduced a set of practical tools aimed at addressing patients’ frustrations from admission to discharge. Patients responded strongly to tools such as a "rounds question card," which helps them anticipate rounds times that once felt uncertain and jot down questions in advance; a "missed-rounds notification card" that lets them know a doctor stopped by; and a "bedside welcome card" that greets inpatients.
The hospital also sought to improve patients’ experience by providing earplugs for those kept awake by hospital noise and introducing a text-message service that provides real-time updates on surgical status.
From Doctors to Caregivers... The Entire Hospital Moved as One Team
These changes were not the work of a single department. The hospital said voluntary participation by all staff, including medical personnel, proved decisive. In each clinical department, fellow physicians directly trained residents and faculty members, broadening on-the-ground buy-in, while the nursing division also activated a three-step implementation strategy tailored to each unit’s characteristics.
It went further by conducting integrated training that included new hires and employees of partner companies such as caregivers, ensuring patients experience consistent "patient-centered service" at every touchpoint from the moment they enter the hospital to the moment they leave.
Kim Jun-hyung, president of Dongsan Hospital, said, "This meaningful achievement—ranking No. 1 nationwide for a second consecutive time in the Patient Experience Assessment—is the result of all staff joining forces and dedicating themselves to innovating our hospital culture from the patient’s perspective." He added, "We will continue to go beyond treating disease and set the standard for a ‘patient-centered hospital’ where patients are fully respected and can feel warm comfort."
