Ministry of Health and Welfare unveils AI healthcare strategy

South Korea's Ministry of Health and Welfare said Thursday that the government had adopted an AI basic healthcare strategy aimed at closing gaps in regional, essential and public healthcare.

The ministry said rapid population aging is increasing demand for care while staff shortages in underserved areas are worsening regional healthcare gaps. It projected that public health subcenters in towns and townships without assigned public health doctors would rise from 730, or 59.5%, in 2025 to 1,083, or 86.9%, in 2027.

Public health centers, health subcenters and primary-care providers in underserved areas will receive AI tools to interpret X-rays, automate clinical records and manage chronic diseases.

The strategy includes pilot AI-enabled remote home consultations in islands and mountainous areas, pairing visiting nurses with doctors located elsewhere. It plans an integrated emergency platform in Daegu in the second half of this year to help ambulance crews identify suitable hospitals in real time.

The plan also includes a My Health Record-based system for sharing medical records and CT and MRI images among hospitals. A public AI health assistant would translate prescriptions and screening results into everyday language and provide tailored health guidance.

The strategy calls for a government GPU-based public-health AI platform linking 72 public hospitals, starting with a nine-hospital pilot in the second half. The network is set to expand to 30 hospitals in 2027 and all 72 in 2029. The government also plans to begin developing a Korean sovereign medical AI in 2027 using domestic clinical data and proprietary AI models for regional public hospitals.

"AI is a tool that fills gaps in regional, essential and public healthcare and protects people's lives," Health Minister Jeong Eun-kyeong said.