The Danish Embassy, Keimyung University Dongsan Medical Center and Danish medical-tech firms on Thursday co-hosted the 2021 Health-Tech Workshop to boost cooperation on smart hospitals.

According to the Danish Embassy, the workshop sought to enhance cooperation between Dongsan Medical Center, which will be upgraded into a smart hospital by 2025, and Danish companies specializing in health technology.

The workshop presented Denmark’s Super Hospital project to transform 18 hospitals in the Scandinavian country by equipping them with state-of-the-art technology and data-driven systems. It is comparable to the Korean government’s smart hospital initiative to create a highly digitized and sustainable health care system.

The event also gave Danish firms including Cercare Medical, Datapult, and Gain & Co., an opportunity to pitch solutions for revolutionizing health care by using cutting-edge technology such as artificial intelligence and big data.

According to Danish Ambassador Einar Jensen, Korea and Denmark face similar health care challenges and could both benefit from further cooperation.

“Korean smart hospital project is very ambitious and with Denmark who is in process of building super hospitals, is a great opportunity for Korea and Denmark to cooperate and share knowledge on the topic,” Jensen said.

A representative from the Keimyung University Dongsan Medical Center said the center would work toward the advancement of medical science by transforming into a patient-centered smart hospital. It would continue to exchange know-how and expertise with those involved in Denmark’s Super Hospital project and Danish companies.

Jakob Skaarup Nielsen, CEO of Healthcare Denmark, a public-private nonprofit that co-hosted the event with the embassy, said he hoped the workshop would foster more collaboration between Korean hospitals and Danish companies, especially in the fields of health care technology and telemedicine.

Key stakeholders in the Korean health care system including the Korea Health Industry Development Institute, Dongsan Medical Center, Kyungpook National University Hospital, and the Korea Telemedicine Society, also participated in the workshop.