AI Primary Healthcare Era Begins Nationwide, Expanding to Public Health Centers and Underserved Clinics

Reviewed and Approved at the 12th National Policy Coordination Meeting: “AI Primary Healthcare Strategy”

AI to Be Deployed Across the Healthcare Spectrum, from Emergency and Public Health to Local Clinics

Building a “Healthcare AI Highway” and Developing a Korean Sovereign Medical AI Also Planned

The government has finalized its “AI Primary Healthcare Strategy” to address gaps in regional, essential, and public healthcare through artificial intelligence (AI). Moving forward, public health centers and medical clinics in underserved areas will be equipped with AI-powered clinical support tools, and AI will be actively utilized in patient transport, hospital selection, and public hospital treatment processes.

On August 6, the Ministry of Health and Welfare announced that the “AI Primary Healthcare Strategy,” developed in collaboration with the National AI Strategy Committee and the Ministry of Science and ICT, was reviewed and approved at the 12th National Policy Coordination Meeting presided over by the Prime Minister. Under the vision of “AI that safeguards life, healthcare innovation for all,” the strategy comprises three main pillars and twelve key initiatives: ▲AI-driven healthcare innovation experienced by citizens in daily life, ▲nationwide digital infrastructure for AI healthcare innovation, and ▲development of a sustainable AI healthcare ecosystem.

The government cited the entry into a super-aged society, soaring healthcare demand, worsening shortages of regional medical professionals, and the deepening medical divide as the main drivers for the strategy’s implementation. Particularly, as the number of township public health clinics without assigned public health doctors is projected to rise from 730 in 2025 to 1,083 in 2027, the government plans to utilize AI as a core means to innovate regional, essential, and public healthcare.

Accordingly, the “Primary Care AI Package,” which assists with image interpretation, voice-based electronic medical record documentation, and chronic disease management, will first be introduced to public health centers, community health posts, and primary care facilities in medically underserved areas nationwide. In remote islands and mountainous regions with a shortage of medical personnel, visiting nurses will conduct AI-based remote collaborative home care in partnership with physicians at a distance, using AI-analyzed patient data. Vulnerable clinics will be provided with AI package vouchers to enhance diagnostic speed and accuracy.

In the field of emergency medical care, the “Integrated Emergency AI Platform,” which provides real-time AI support for ambulance transport and optimal hospital selection, will be piloted in Daegu in the second half of this year. The platform will analyze patient conditions from the transport stage and recommend suitable hospitals in real time, connecting to the hospital’s treatment capabilities to reduce delays. Within hospitals, an AI-based Emergency Room Clinical Decision Support System and an advanced emergency medical information network will be established to maximize the golden hour for emergency patients.

Patient convenience will also be substantially improved. The government plans to develop an integrated system using the “Personal Health Record (PHR)” so that medical records and imaging such as CT and MRI can be shared across hospitals, eliminating the need to repeatedly copy CDs when changing hospitals. In addition, the “National AI Health Assistant” will be introduced, enabling AI to translate complex medical jargon, prescriptions, and test results into plain language and offer personalized health management services.

For public healthcare, a “Public Healthcare AI Highway” will connect 72 regional hub public hospitals. Starting with nine hospitals this year, the network will expand to 30 hospitals next year and eventually cover all 72 by 2029. This will enable a range of AI services—image interpretation, record keeping, patient referral/discharge summaries, and medical knowledge provision—to be widely adopted in regional public hospitals. Aging information systems at local medical centers will also be replaced with cloud-based solutions compatible with AI applications.

In the mid- to long-term, the government will establish a national healthcare data hub and initiate the development of a uniquely Korean “sovereign medical AI” based on domestic clinical data and proprietary AI models. In the second half of this year, national bio big data for 120,000 individuals will be opened first, with plans to expand this to 700,000 by 2029 and 1 million by 2032. To reinforce personal data protection, AI ethics guidelines for healthcare and medical security protocols will be established, alongside efforts to enact the Digital Healthcare Act.

Additionally, the government will promote the adoption of AI in medical institutions by developing an appropriate reimbursement system for AI-based medical services. Efforts will also include expanding R&D investment in regional national university hospitals, fostering AI and biohealth talent, and building a global AI hub, thus supporting the creation of the broader industry ecosystem.

Minister of Health and Welfare Chung Eun-kyung stated, “AI is a tool to fill the gaps in regional, essential, and public healthcare and to safeguard people’s lives,” adding, “With this AI Primary Healthcare Strategy, we will work closely with relevant ministries to ensure that all citizens, wherever they are nationwide, can truly experience AI-powered healthcare innovation by implementing this strategy thoroughly.”

...by implementing this strategy thoroughly,” she added.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.