SOUTH KOREA Law and Practice Contributed by: Kyungsun Kyle Choi, Eui Seok Kim, Han Kyul Nam and Eun Sun Jang, Kim & Chang
The MOHW and the National Health Insurance Service (NHIS) have funded pilots of mobile interventions, such as smoking cessation and diabetes coaching apps. Hospitals often pre- scribe mobile apps to patients; some clinics direct diabetic patients to use CGM-linked smartphone apps. The mHealth market is pro- jected to grow at a CAGR of 20% from 2025 to 2033, driven by the ageing population and Adoption of EHR systems is nearly universal in South Korean healthcare. A 2015 survey found 100% of tertiary hospitals and 99% of general hospitals had an EMR system, along with 95.4% of smaller hospitals and 91.9% of clinics (see the National Library of Medicine website). These rates have only increased since then. Hospitals use commercial EHR platforms or in-house soft- ware to document patient care. demand for remote care. Electronic Health Records The government runs an EMR certification pro- gramme to ensure baseline functionality and interoperability, facilitating data sharing among healthcare organisations. Clinics often use EHRs linked to the national insurance claims system for billing. South Korea is also building a nationwide health data exchange. The My HealthWay platform, launched in late 2020, allows patients to view and download their health records consolidated from multiple hospitals. As of September 2023, My HealthWay connects 860 medical institu- tions (including nine tertiary hospitals, 13 gen- eral hospitals, and 838 smaller clinics), provid- ing access to 113 types of health data (see the National Library of Medicine website). By 2025, the platform is expected to link records for over eight million patients.
Another national data system is the Health Insur- ance Review and Assessment Service (HIRA)/ NHIS claims database, which contains de-iden- tified records for nearly all South Koreans and is widely used for reimbursement and research. Remote Patient Monitoring RPM is a growing area in South Korea, especially for chronic diseases and elderly care. The gov- ernment and insurers have a chronic care pilot programme where nurses monitor, remotely, patients’ blood pressure and glucose. Smart wearable devices (like blood pressure cuffs or glucose meters) are frequently used by patients, with remote transmission to clinics. The COVID-19 experience also spurred the use of at-home monitoring, such as patients uploading pulse oximeter readings via apps. South Korean cities have experimented with IoT monitoring for seniors: Seoul’s “Untact Care” program (since 2020) installs motion and safety sensors in vulnerable elderly homes, with inci- dents like falls triggering alerts. Similar projects in Jeju Island and rural areas use IoT bracelets or mats to monitor daily health indicators. Diabetic patients often use continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) systems, which are widely adopted in South Korea. Certain home ECG devices transmits patient ECGs to an AI engine for early heart attack detection (see Vuno’s web- site ). Digital Therapeutics Since the MFDS has approved the first DTx under the existing medical device regulatory framework, the DTx market in South Korea has been growing. As of January 2025, five digital therapeutics have been approved by the MFDS.
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