Viewing and Managing Medical Records, Even from Home

Overview

Until recently, citizens faced significant inconvenience, needing to visit medical institutions in person to gather health information scattered across various organizations. Without a means to integrate and utilize this information, individuals found it difficult to proactively access and manage their medical records.

The government established a system (Health Information Highway) in August 2022 to build a MyData digital platform environment in the healthcare sector. This system supports individuals in:

1. consolidating their health information in one place,
2. providing data to desired recipients (based on consent), and
3. directly utilizing the data.

Project description

The 'Health Information Highway' is an information system that enables individuals to easily access and manage their personal medical data (PHR, Personal Health Records) scattered across multiple locations, and to transmit and utilize it in a standardized format wherever desired.

*Acts as a network hub, serving as a highway for health information to flow from data-holding institutions (primarily medical institutions) to the individual or data-utilizing institutions.

Data transmission via the 'Health Information Highway' requires explicit consent from the individual. Currently, transmission follows the medical institution-individual-medical institution or medical institution-medical institution model → Third-party transmission will be enabled after legislation is enacted.

• Provided Data
  • In addition to information held by public institutions (e.g., health screenings, vaccinations), it integrates and provides information held by medical institutions (12 items), including past medical treatment/medication history, diagnostic test/surgery records.
    *(Public Institutions) National Health Insurance Service (treatment history, health screening history), Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service (medication history), Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (vaccination history)
    (Medical Institutions) 1) Patient Information, 2) Medical Institution Information, 3) Physician Information, 4) Diagnosis Details, 5) Prescription Details, 6) Diagnostic Tests, 7) Imaging Tests, 8) Pathology Tests, 9) Other Tests, 10) Surgical History, 11) Allergies and Side Effects, 12) Medical Records
    **(Participating Medical Institutions) As of the end of 2024, 26 tertiary general hospitals, 24 general hospitals, and 954 clinics/hospitals are connected. By 2025, connection to all tertiary hospitals (47 institutions) will be completed, and connection to general hospitals will be expanded.
• My Health Record App
  • Utilizing the 'My Health Record App' linked to the Health Information Highway platform, all health information is comprehensively managed and provided—including viewing, storing, and transferring—with the individual's consent.

Progress of the Medical MyData project

Key technological features

• API (Application Programming Interface) for Service Integration
  • API provided as a standardized specification from the platform to application services: Ensures stability and reliability when transmitting and receiving medical information between the Health Information Highway platform and application services
  • Composed of data inquiry APIs, dynamic consent APIs, support APIs, etc., used by application services to link with the platform
• Establishment of a data linkage system with medical institutions' Electronic Medical Record (EMR) systems

Expected outcomes

In emergency Citizens can easily access and manage their medical data through the Health Information Highway without having to individually search for past medical treatments, prescriptions, health screenings, and other personal medical information. Medical institutions can also view patient records with consent, improving healthcare services.

Citizens can actively participate in health management through daily health monitoring and wearable devices. The application of AI technology is expected to provide significant utility value to citizens in the future.
*(August 2023 survey results) Based on a practical usage test involving 966 general citizens and an online anonymous survey, respondents indicated it was helpful when transferring to other hospitals or clinics (91.7%) and for routine health management (84.5%), confirming it as a platform providing tangible benefits to the public.

Launch year: 2022

Attribution

Case study courtesy of the National Information Society Agency, Republic of Korea, Apolitical's Content Partner. Sourced from Use Cases of Public AI Service, Vol.1,  https://eng.nia.or.kr/site/nia_eng/ex/bbs/View.do?cbIdx=31975&bcIdx=28997&parentSeq=29031