South Korea and India Share Experiences on Quality Improvement

Government funded insurance programs are uniquely positioned to drive quality improvement and cost control in healthcare systems. The Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service (HIRA) in South Korea has built one of the most advanced systems for quality and cost control of healthcare services in the world. ACCESS Health works closely with HIRA through our work with the Joint Learning Network for Universal Health Coverage.

Earlier this year, ACCESS Health helped arrange a visit for a delegation from South Korea to Telangana, India so they could explore opportunities to work together to improve healthcare quality and control costs through the government funded insurance program. ACCESS Health works closely with the Aarogyasri Healthcare Trust in Telangana. The Aarogyasri healthcare insurance in Telangana covers roughly thirty million people. Meanwhile, the National Health Insurance in South Korea covers roughly fifty million people.

The delegation from South Korea was impressed with the investments Aarogyasri had already made, noting how the technology systems in Telangana are now much more advanced than those of many middle income countries. Aarogyasri has made important investments in information technology and is now in a very strong position to improve quality and cost control of healthcare services across the state. The team from South Korea was also impressed by the leadership’s commitment to improve the quality of care and the cost control of the program.

ACCESS Health, the Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service in South Korea, and the Aarogyasri Healthcare Trust are now developing a shared work plan for a collaboration to improve the quality and cost control of the government funded insurance in Telangana. We believe this can be a first step in a collaboration that will inspire many other states and countries to use data to dramatically improve quality and cost control of healthcare.