Science and Technology Community: "COVID-19 Requires a Hospital Bed Control Tower"

[Asia Economy Reporter Junho Hwang] South Korea's science and technology community is joining forces to provide timely treatment for severe COVID-19 patients.

The Korea Federation of Science and Technology Societies will jointly hold an online forum at 4 p.m. on the 3rd with the National Academy of Medicine of Korea and the Korean Academy of Science and Technology under the theme "Actual Practice and Solutions for Severe COVID-19 Patient Care during the Pandemic."

This forum was organized to seek solutions to problems such as delays in timely treatment despite patients being in critical condition due to the rapid increase in confirmed cases. Specific discussions will be held on establishing a control tower for critical patients to efficiently allocate and utilize limited hospital bed resources.

The forum will be chaired by Professor Junhee Woo, head of the COVID-19 Special Committee of the National Academy of Medicine and an infectious disease specialist at Ulsan University College of Medicine. Following this, Professor Seokkyung Hong, a critical care and trauma surgeon at Ulsan University College of Medicine, will present on "Actual Severe COVID-19 Patient Care in the Daegu-Gyeongbuk Region," and Professor Kyungman Jeon, a respiratory medicine specialist at Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, will discuss "South Korea's COVID-19 Severe Patient Treatment Guidelines." Professor Jehyung Kim, a respiratory medicine specialist at Korea University College of Medicine, will present on "Response Measures for Severe COVID-19 Patient Care."

In the thematic discussions, Professor Hyungsik Shin from the National Medical Center will cover "COVID-19 Infection Treatment in South Korea," Professor Yunseok Ko from Ulsan University College of Medicine will address "Global Perspectives on Severe COVID-19 Patient Care," Chairperson Miyoung Shim of the Hospital Critical Care Nursing Society will discuss "Current Status and Measures of Critical Care Nursing," and Professor Sungjin Hong from the Catholic University College of Medicine will talk about "Prospects for Severe Patient Care in South Korea."

The Federation of Science and Technology Societies stated, "As COVID-19 infections enter their third month, the number of severe patients and fatality rates are steadily increasing, making the establishment of a rapid response system in medical settings increasingly important. This forum aims to explore various issues and solutions related to securing and allocating medical resources and building treatment systems for critical patients. With the participation of experts from various fields, it is expected to provide practical help to both frontline medical staff and patients."

The forum will be held online and broadcast live on YouTube and KakaoTV.