Chronic diseases such as diabetes and high blood pressure hinder healthy longevity because they cause stroke, heart disease and various complications. The social expense from this is also enormous. The Ministry of Health and Welfare said on the 9th that it will solve these problems by enabling chronic diseases to be managed with artificial intelligence (AI) in daily life.
The Ministry of Health and Welfare and the Korea Health Industry Development Institute (KHIDI) held a briefing on the chronic disease patient AI transformation (AX) project on the morning of the same day at the President Hotel in Jung-gu, Seoul. As the population ages, the number of people with chronic diseases is increasing, and social expense is rising. The ministry plans to reduce this burden by managing chronic diseases with AI.
Yeon Mi-young, Head of Team at the Korea Health Industry Development Institute (KHIDI), said, "Our country has reached a stage where the management of a continuously increasing number of chronic disease patients is essential," and noted, "We need to shift from treating after chronic diseases develop to predicting beforehand to reduce the socio-economic burden."
The ministry supports the commercialization of products that can manage chronic diseases with AI. The policy is to bring AI-driven management deep into everyday life. For example, local residents can analyze blood sugar, blood pressure and pulse with AI to detect diseases early. It is also possible to receive health management methods linked to diet, exercise and sleep habits.
Medical staff can also use AI in the field. AI can automatically record the details of patient consultations or support the reading of imaging diagnostics. This would allow medical staff to reduce unnecessary administrative work and focus on patient care. AI can also improve treatment accuracy.
Eleven government ministries, including the ministry, are carrying out the AX project to support the commercialization of AI products. The ministry will proceed with the project in connection with local governments, medical institutions and AI corporations. The plan is to strengthen primary care for chronic disease patients and enable demonstrations of remote collaborative care. To this end, it plans to provide 1.41 billion won per project.
The ministry said it can use AI to reduce regional medical disparities and strengthen public health care. Kim Hyun-suk, the ministry's director for advanced medical support, said, "Providing fair treatment opportunities to medically vulnerable groups is one of the health and medical tasks," adding, "We expect AI to help in this area."
Head of Team Yeon said, "We will manage chronic diseases with AI so that health inequality does not occur due to the concentration of medical resources in the Seoul metropolitan area," adding, "We will strengthen trust in public health care and ensure that residents in vulnerable areas can receive treatment in a timely manner."