The ‘CDTB Colloquium’ was held online by KUBS(Dean=Bae Johngseok) and hosted by the Center for Digital Transformation & Business(CDTB, Head=Kim Byung Cho) on January 20th (Wed). Guest speaker Yoo Seung Hyun, professor of endocrinology at Korea University Medical Center, gave a lecture titled The Who, What and Why of Future Health Care – How is change made.’

“Changes that would have took several years are happening in just nine months because of COVID-19.” Professor Yoo emphasized that we are living in the age that rapidly changes. He pointed out untact diagnosis as a major change in the medical sector. The rise of remote medical treatment was seen more abroad due to complete lock downs, but Korea also has 1.08 million cases of this up to January as treatment via telephone were temporarily allowed. Professor Yoo pointed out that “We must be cautious about whether remote medical treatment is being implemented by burdening the medical community. Without their agreement and sufficient policies on remote medical treatment, the medical community could take on excessive responsibility.”

Professor Yoo then suggested positive aspects and points to beware when using AI in the medical sector. He introduced a saying that “AI itself will not replace doctors themselves, but rather doctors that utilize AI will replace doctors who do not use AI” and claimed that “Medical AI will not replace doctors artificially but augment the doctor’s abilities.” Medical AI will be especially useful in analyzing complex medical data and giving doctors insight. However, without meticulous planning, AI might deter treatment and training AI may become an additional burden to physicians. Legal responsibility is also an important issue in medical AI.

“Massive volumes of medical data are now viewed as important as assets. For medical data to be used in a valuable manner, business administration based on data analysis plays an important role,” Professor Yoo said. Medical service must be designed with a focus on patients and guarantee a certain quality level. In the past, it was difficult for patients to possess an organized copy of their medical data or give it to businesses that can utilize it. Now, patients can use technology such as ‘My data’ platform and solve these problems. For a successful medical service model that uses data and analyzes it to be implemented, a business approach is needed.

Professor Yoo explained that future health care is far more complex than having the doctor and patients as two parties. Not only the government, insurance companies, and pharmaceutical companies, but medical device providers and investors will also be included in the vast stakeholder group. Therefore, it is important for medical related businesses to review what value their services will provide. Professor Yoo concluded the lecture by saying, “Future health care has already arrived. Let us all work together for future health care that puts humans first.”

Meanwhile, KUBS founded the Center for Digital Transformation & Business (CDTB) in 2019 as a platform to lead the digital transformation era and promote connection between industry, university, and institute. CDTB is planning and carrying out various special lectures on digital transformation.