Initiatives in digital health and medical data utilization are advancing in South Korea and Hong Kong. In Seoul, the Ministry of Health and Welfare (MOHW) and the city government are supporting health and medical startups. They are granting access to de-identified hospital data for research and focusing on AI technologies. Seven startups will be chosen to connect with 43 hospitals and will receive up to 50 million won ($35,000) and expert consultation.
Hong Kong has upgraded its eHealth mobile app. Users can now view pathology reports through the Investigations function 14 days after release. Since its 2021 launch, eHealth provides access to nine types of electronic health records (EHRs) with upcoming features like radiology images, Chinese medicine prescriptions, and dental check-up records. This aligns with the five-year eHealth+ plan aimed at integrating healthcare data sharing and management.
South Korea’s National Cancer Center uses natural language processing (NLP) models to convert breast pathology reports into structured formats for cancer research. Fine-tuned NLP models developed by Google achieved high accuracy rates of 96%. Recent changes in government regulations now allow medical data format conversion, enabling NLP use.
In summary, these advancements in Seoul and Hong Kong reflect a broader trend toward improved healthcare through better data utilization. The initiatives in AI-driven technologies, eHealth app expansion, and NLP models are set to enhance medical data accessibility and foster innovative healthcare solutions.
