$2 million e-ICU project is launched in regional Korea
South Korea’s Ministry of Health and Welfare has announced 2.5 billion won ($1.7 million) in funding to launch a network of remote ICUs in regional hospitals next year.
WHAT IT’S ABOUT
Based on a press release, the core of this network is an integrated control center for monitoring the status and condition of patients in ICUs in small and medium-sized hospitals.
It will have an alarm system that can quickly detect deterioration or worsening of the patient’s condition. The control center will also be staffed 24 hours a day by staff who will monitor information such as patient status, bed usage and abnormal symptoms.
The control center will also enable collaboration between hospitals if necessary, the MOHW said.
Two regions and their medical hospitals will initially be chosen to set up a remote ICU next year; The ICUs are expected to be operational in 2026.
WHY IT’S IMPORTANT
MOHW is launching the e-ICU project as part of solutions to address the lack of healthcare resources and infrastructure in regional medical institutions. It will also solve problems in the operation of ICUs in regional hospitals, strengthening their ability to treat critically ill patients.
In the past decade Rates for ICU beds per 100,000 adults in South Korea has increased, according to a local survey.
Another study also noted this regional differences in the number of ICU beds and length of stay from 2011 to 2019: two regions, Seoul and Gyeonggi-do, accounted for almost half of the country’s total ICU beds and length of stay, which researchers say reflects centralization of the healthcare system indicated . They also predicted that ICU bed occupancy could double by 2030.
THE BIG TREND
In addition to the ICU, South Korea is also focusing on easing pressure on overburdened emergency departments. In May, the MOHW announced a $17 million project to develop an AI-driven clinical decision support system for emergency medicine. The ministry has involved major hospitals such as Samsung Medical Center and Asan Medical Center in this five-year project.
Two more AI-based emergency systems are part of projects recently announced under the Korean Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health – one is a regional emergency system for patient classification and transfer and the other is a centralized real-time critical patient transfer management system.
ON THE RECORD
“Actively using Korea’s world-class ICT technology to promote information exchange among hospitals will be an effective solution to address the lack of regional medical personnel and infrastructure,” said Koh Hyung-Woo, director of MOHW Advanced Medical Support .