Severance Hospital has built a referral system with local obstetrics clinics that allows expectant mothers to receive prenatal care near their homes and move quickly to specialized treatment at a tertiary hospital if a high-risk pregnancy is identified.
The hospital said on the 20th that a team of obstetrics and gynecology professors — Kwon Ja-young, Jung Yun-ji and Kwon Ha-yan — developed an integrated platform called the Severance OB Group that divides prenatal care duties with local medical institutions. Nine obstetrics clinics in Seoul, Gyeonggi Province and Incheon are currently taking part, and the hospital plans to expand the partnership to secondary care institutions.
The platform assigns roles to each institution based on a patient's risk level and stage of pregnancy. Routine prenatal checkups are handled by partner clinics in the community, while Severance Hospital takes on specialized care such as detailed ultrasound screening for fetal abnormalities and counseling on delivery methods. After childbirth, patients are referred back to the partner clinics for continued care. The hospital also established a standardized prenatal care protocol organized by week of pregnancy.
A fast-track system was introduced to reduce treatment delays for high-risk pregnancies. Previously, clinic staff had to arrange appointments directly between the patient and the tertiary hospital. Under the new system, the hospital's care coordination center contacts the patient directly to schedule the visit. When fetal abnormalities or intrauterine growth restriction are detected, patients can receive specialized care through a one-stop fast track.
The referral process has also been simplified. Severance Hospital developed an app called Severance Easy Referral, which lets medical staff and patients sign electronically on mobile devices and attach referral forms and test results. The app cuts down on the complicated signature and record-transfer procedures previously required, making the system easier for local clinics to use.
"Expectant mothers do not need to receive all of their prenatal care at a tertiary hospital, but what matters is having a system that connects them quickly to specialized care when a high-risk situation arises," said Kwon Ja-young, a professor of obstetrics and gynecology at Severance Hospital. "The key is building a complementary system in which local clinics provide accessible prenatal care while tertiary hospitals focus on high-risk pregnancies, specialized treatment and delivery."