Is Korea Turning to AI to Solve the ER Crisis?

By Liam On May 22, 2024

Amid doctors’ strikes, The Ministry of Health and Welfare in South Korea has announced a new project that will leverage artificial intelligence to develop a clinical decision support system for emergency departments.

It will invest 22.8 billion won ($16.7 million) over the next five years in the project, which aims to achieve the following objectives:

Set up an ER database
Develop technology to optimize the treatment process in the Emergency Room
Develop an AI model for experiencing the Emergency Room
Develop a CDSS for predicting conditions such as cardiac arrest, cardiovascular disease and sepsis

The The project involved five major hospitals, including Samsung Medical Center, Seoul Asan Medical Center, Korea University Medical Center, Gangnam Severance Hospital and Hanyang University Hospital.

The Korean National Emergency Medical Center will also join the project to provide data and support AI demonstrations, while MOHW’s Korea Health Industry Promotion Agency will also provide support through task management, evaluation and consultation.

WHY IT MATTERS

In a statement, the MOHW said it initiated the project to explore national-level solutions to urgent hospital problems, especially the lack of emergency medical supplies and poor medical capabilities of health facilities outside metropolitan cities.

The government has also noted demand among members of the Korean Society of Emergency Medicine and the Korean Society of Artificial Intelligence in Medicine for AI in emergency rooms, which will enable early detection of patient deterioration and shorten patient waiting times supports.

THE BIG TREND

Since February, around 10,000 trainee doctors across the country have gone on strike, resigning en masse and going on strike en masse to protest the government’s plan to increase admissions to medical schools – a move designed to expand the healthcare workforce to meet the growing demand for healthcare at once. of Asia’s rapidly aging societies. Their collective action has put pressure on emergency departments, with many forced to cut hours and cancel life-saving procedures. Since then, the government has brought in armed forces and retired doctors to keep the public health system running.