[Sportschosun Jang Jong-ho] The Health Insurance Review & Assessment Service (HIRA), led by Hong Seung-kwon, and the National University Hospital Association, headed by Nam-Jong Paik, president of Seoul National University Hospital, are joining forces to prepare for an AI-driven transformation in public healthcare.
On the 15th, HIRA and the 10 national university hospitals under the association held a signing ceremony for a joint cooperation agreement on the AI transformation of essential public healthcare in local communities.
The two sides also agreed to actively pursue joint research and development for the AI transition of regional, essential and public healthcare, as well as the broader health and medical sector.
The participating institutions said they had agreed to work closely together to successfully introduce and expand artificial intelligence technologies across essential and public healthcare infrastructure nationwide, reduce regional disparities in medical services, and create an environment where all citizens can access high-quality essential care regardless of where they live.
The 11 institutions also agreed to carry out joint research and development in areas including linking health and medical data among participating organizations and building AI training infrastructure, jointly developing and testing AI-based essential and public healthcare service models, operating AI education programs to strengthen the capabilities of local essential medical personnel, and proposing global-level standards and policies for medical AI technology. To that end, they will launch and operate a working-level consultative body for the promotion of AX in regional, essential and public healthcare alongside the agreement.
At the signing ceremony, the 'National University Hospital Medical AI Ethics Charter' was also unveiled. It sets out the ethical principles and implementation standards to be followed throughout the research, development, introduction, operation and education of medical AI.
Through the charter, national university hospitals across the country pledged to ensure that no patient is disadvantaged or excluded from treatment because of medical AI, and to work so that the benefits of medical AI are shared equally by all citizens.
Nam-Jong Paik, chairman of the National University Hospital Association and president of Seoul National University Hospital, said, "Seoul National University Hospital successfully developed medical AI last year through industry-academia-research cooperation with NAVER and others, reaching a level comparable to world-leading AI systems such as ChatGPT." He added, "Building on that achievement, we aim to bring together the health and medical data, research capabilities and clinical expertise of national university hospitals, which serve as responsible medical institutions for essential regional care, in order to secure world-class medical AI infrastructure and services in the shortest possible time."
Hong Seung-kwon, president of HIRA, said, "Since taking office, I have been accelerating work innovation using AI and health and medical data. If HIRA's vast health and medical data are combined with the outstanding clinical capabilities of national university hospitals, there will be a strong synergy to close gaps in regional, essential and public healthcare." He added, "Through this agreement, we will successfully build AI-based personalized medical service models and continue to communicate and cooperate actively with the medical community for the healthy development of the health care ecosystem and the promotion of public health."
Jang Jong-ho, bellho@sportschosun.com
