- Cloud transformation of health facilities through cloud vouchers and consulting -
- Expand the application of Dr. Answer software, such as Dr. Answer Clinic (8 clinics across the country), Dr. Answer 2.0, Dr. Answer Military, Dr. Answer Pediatrics, etc. -
- Support securing the golden hour for emergency patients through nationwide AI ambulances -
- Support medical AI software experts through Dr. Answer Software School -
- Nurture Dr. Answer as a flagship brand of K-Medical software; support overseas market entry of medical AI software companies
- Proactive response for future health services, such as AI-based solutions to infectious diseases, digital medicine, medical metaverse -
□ The Ministry of Science and ICT (“MSIT”; Minister Lim Hyesook) and relevant ministries (Ministry of Health and Welfare; Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy; Ministry of Food and Drug Safety; National Fire Agency; etc.) announced the plan for making the Republic of Korea as a leading nation for precision medicine software at the 43rd Meeting of the Central Emergency Economy Management Headquarters (chaired by the Minister of Economy and Finance/Deputy Prime Minister) held on August 12 (Thursday).
o The MSIT set 11 tasks under the three pillars of ① Spreading tangible results in people’s daily lives, ② Fostering an ecosystem for global-level precision medicine software and ③ Preparing next-generation health services, after taking comments from experts, including medical circles and medical software companies, and participating with relevant ministries.
- First, to spread tangible results in people’s daily lives, the ministry will support cloud transformation of health facilities, facilitate the adoption of domestic medical AI software in eight health facilities across the country through Dr. Answer Clinic, and gradually deploy AI ambulances nationwide.
- Second, to foster an ecosystem for global-level precision medicine software, the ministry will open the K-medical data dam and Dr. Answer platform, while supporting the growth of medical AI software companies by helping them develop medical AI software and improving regulations for medical device approval process.
- Last, to prepare next-generation health services, increase the number of rare pediatric diseases eligible for Dr. Answer Pediatrics diagnosis from two to eight, and acquire AI-based solutions to infectious diseases, digital medicine and medical metaverse technologies.
o The key points of the Precision Medicine Software Action Plan are as follows:
1. Spreading tangible results in people’s daily lives |
□ The government has established the measures to spread tangible results in people’s daily lives, by rolling out key precision medicine software projects of the Digital New Deal, such as the Cloud Hospital Information System, Dr. Answer and AI Ambulance.
o With the Ministry of Science and ICT, the Ministry of Health and Welfare, and the Ministry of the Interior and Safety at the center, the discussions for cloud transformation of the health sector will begin. Expanding cloud voucher support will pave the way for systematic accumulation of medical information and robust patient information exchange between hospitals.
o In eight hub areas across the country, Dr. Answer Clinic will be operated at designated general hospitals or clinics and various medical AI software solutions will be provided so that the residents can access high-quality medical service powered by AI near home, without having to go to large hospitals in Seoul Capital Area.
- Dr. Answer Clinic will be a platform for using various medical AI software solutions and help health professionals, greatly contributing to reducing health service gaps between regions.
o Meanwhile, the National Emergency Department Information System (NEDIS, Ministry of Health and Welfare) will be connected with Fire Information System (National Fire Agency) to lay foundation for nationwide operation of AI ambulances. Metropolitan cities will pursue nationwide coverage in stages, such as opening calls for applications to support paying initial deployment cost (15 ambulances and budget for installing equipments in four medical institutions).
* Ministry of Science and ICT (technology development, initial spread), Ministry of Health and Welfare (system), National Fire Agency (collaborate in increasing coverage)
- Proactive support will be provided to give appropriate first aid and facilitate prompt transfer of patients, from the emergency location to emergency medical center, to ensure every patient can be treated within golden hour.
- In order to improve medical service quality of primary, secondary, and military medical institutions, Dr. Answer 2.0 (twelve diseases) and Dr. Answer Military (nine diseases) will be developed. The scope of AI application will be expanded, such as developing medical AI SW for intelligence analysis of cancer pathology and prognosis management of patients with severe diseases.
2. Creating global precision medicine SW ecosystem |
□ A robust precision medicine SW ecosystem will be created, which can support the entire cycle from medical AI SW development to marketing and overseas expansion. This will ensure domestic medical AI SW companies to promptly enter emerging markets and grow in a stable manner.
o “Korean medicine data dam”, including data dam (medical data, aihub.or.kr), health and medical big data, and national bio big data will be built and made publicly available.
- Consulting service will be provided in developing medical AI SW, in areas such as processing medical data and designing AI training system. Startups will receive support for them to swiftly and stably advance into markets, by sharing “Dr. Answer service platform.”
< Comparison between before and after sharing service platform >
Category | Existing platform | Dr. Answer platform |
Sales method | Individual sales (limits of supply chain) | Joint sales |
Operating method | Deliver service based on demand | Provide cloud services (SaaS) |
Strengths and weaknesses | Limited solutions of individual companies | Provide diverse solutions in single platform |
Global expansion | Limits of marketing each solution | Co-marketing of diverse solutions |
o AI SW training will be provided to employees of IT companies to nurture medical AI SW professionals, and medical AI SW development and dissemination will be promoted. In addition, “Dr. Answer SW school” project will be implemented for supporting education of people who are working in institutions using medical AI SW, including Dr. Answer.
| Dr. Answer SW school | |
| |
o Trainees: Staff of medical institutions using Dr. Answer and participating in Dr. Answer 2.0 project o Curriculum: Dr. Answer 101, Health data processing 101, Medical AI 101 and Medical AI device authorization system |
o Dr. Answer brand, which is registered as trademark in nine countries, including the U.S., Europe, and Japan, will be fostered as a representative Korean medical SW brand. In order to promote Dr. Answer brand around the world, domestic platform* will be linked with medical AI SW to support global expansion.
* Support joint entry of related products and services, such as domestic cloud-based social media and hospital information system
3. Preparing next-generation health services |
□ Third, AI will be deployed to improve diagnosis of rare pediatric disease (RPD) that had previously been a time-consuming process, and also to systematically respond to infectious diseases. Support will be provided to secure relevant technologies for digital medicine, that works similar to medication, as well as medical metaverse that can be utilized in medical practice and training.
o Taking a major step forward to lead AI diagnosis and treatment of rare pediatric diseases, support will be given to develop Dr. Answer Pediatrics, which is expected to relieve the suffering of patients and their families, by expanding the number of rare pediatric diseases to benefit from AI application from current two to eight as it takes a long time to diagnose rare pediatric diseases due to the difficulties in making precision diagnosis.
* (Dr. Answer 1.0) 2 types of rare pediatric diseases (Developmental disabilities, hard of hearing) → (Dr. Answer Pediatrics) 8 types of rare pediatric diseases*, expected to improve diagnosis by up to 10%
** ①Rare inherited metabolic disorders (IMDs), ②Multiple congenital malformations, ③Cranial nerve disorders, ④Congenital heart disease, ⑤Congenital kidney abnormalities, ⑥Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), ⑦Congenital immunodeficiency disorders, ⑧Pediatric hemato-oncologic disease
o To effectively respond to the repeated occurrence of infectious diseases that emerge every few years, an AI-based infectious disease control system, including on-site response, preventive measures for virus entry, and epidemiological investigation, will be developed. AI will be integrated with treatment and support for confirmed cases, enhancing the survival rates and supporting their recovery.
o Digital medicine that can produce similar therapeutic effects without medication with advanced software will be developed and trialed, with priority given to digital medicine that can treat autism, emotional disorders, and addiction. The government will also push for development of three core technologies* for immersive and interactive digital medicine.
* ① Develop and run simulation of individually customized XR Twin, ②Visualize biometric data obtained from inside the human body, ③XR Interaction
o Support will be provided to develop technologies that can create high precision digital medical twin and run simulations for people with neuromusculoskeletal disorders (brain injury, etc.) and provide exercise guidelines. In particular, eXtended Reality twin technology will be applied in medical practice and training to strengthen emergency nursing in the military and support private sector adoption.
□ Minister of Science and ICT Lim Hyesook highlighted “It is important to continue to build upon the achievements of the Digital New Deal so that all Koreans can feel tangible changes in the healthcare sector, which is directly related to people’s lives.”
o She said that the Ministry “will implement the Plan to Lead Precision Medicine Software Technology without delay so that precision medicine software can help extend healthy life years of our people and emerge as an industry with great potential, by strengthening the country’s DNA (data, network, AI) capacity and further expanding their use.”
For further information, please contact Deputy Director Kim Seong Hwan (vlftmd@korea.kr) of the Ministry of Science and ICT.