Gov't to foster digital healthcare as new growth driver
來源：開云體育手機app下載發布日期：2023-02-02 00:08:55 瀏覽：3
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| First Vice Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy Park Jin-kyu. Korea Times file |
The government will establish an institutional framework to create a market and a healthy ecosystem for digital healthcare services, a key growth driver to underpin the economy, the trade ministry said Thursday.
High-tech digital medical services will be used to treat the elderly and patients with chronic diseases, many of whom have limited access to high-quality, and in some cases, costly medical services.
The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy said the government will help businesses with the development of data convergence-oriented services including effective use of digital devices and treatment services for residents in remote rural areas.
A law will be enacted to facilitate remote digital healthcare services, with continued discussions with doctors, pharmacists and other healthcare professionals.
The government will develop a methodology for digital treatment device development and test evaluation technologies, enabling a speedy implementation and application in the private sector.
It will help create market demand, mostly by encouraging the use of high-tech services at state-run organizations. Promotional activities will be strengthened to help local service providers and device manufacturers with overseas market expansion.
Artificial intelligence-based image analysis solutions will be strengthened to help improve the speed and accuracy of existing image diagnostics.
Discussions will begin to establish a legal basis for data use for medical purposes, with privacy and safe and secure data protection considered.
The government will revise related regulations to make treatment involving certain digital healthcare devices with outstanding performance eligible for coverage under the state-run National Health Insurance Service.
"Digital healthcare is an industry representative of digitization and convergence of future technologies encompassing big data and the metaverse," First Vice Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy Park Jin-kyu said.
According to a survey conducted by the ministry of 363 firms in the digital healthcare services and device manufacturing industries, the industry registered over 1.35 trillion won ($1.1 billion) in sales last year, with the number of workers standing at 11,775.
Intelligent health care services accounted for over half, or 752.6 billion won. Sixty percent of those surveyed said they entered the business after 2016.
When multiple answers were allowed, some 71 percent said low market demand was the biggest difficulty, followed by financing (53 percent) and labor costs (43 percent).
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