Hanwha Life to Reapply Upon Meeting Research Standards
Review Committee Results on Data Provision Expected by End of This Month
[Asia Economy Reporter Oh Hyung-gil] Last year, insurance companies that were rejected after applying to use public medical data are pushing for reapplication, drawing attention to the decision of the National Health Insurance Service (NHIS).
According to the insurance industry on the 17th, Hanwha Life recently reapplied to the NHIS for the use of medical data. The results are expected to be announced around the end of this month following the review process of the NHIS National Health Information Data Provision Review Committee.
In September last year, five insurance companies including Hanwha Life applied to the NHIS to use medical data. However, the review committee rejected the request, stating that the companies failed to comply with scientific research standards and violated the principle of minimizing data provision. It is reported that Hanwha Life supplemented its research plan together with the medical community to meet the scientific research standards.
A Hanwha Life official said, "We have thoroughly supplemented the parts that were not approved last year and have now reapplied," adding, "We hope that a path for utilizing public medical data will open in line with the data era."
Other companies whose applications were rejected, such as Samsung Life and Hyundai Marine & Fire Insurance, are also preparing to reapply through their respective departments. It is expected that other insurance companies will follow suit depending on Hanwha Life’s review results.
Since the provision of health and medical data was suspended in 2017, the insurance industry has been creating insurance products or calculating premiums using data imported from overseas. However, this data did not accurately reflect domestic conditions, presenting limitations.
In January last year, the Ministry of Health and Welfare specified through the ‘Health and Medical Data Utilization Guidelines’ that medical data can be used for scientific research, clarifying that scientific research includes industrial purposes such as research and development or improvement of new products and services, which changed the atmosphere.
In July last year, the Health Insurance Review & Assessment Service granted final approval for data use to six insurance companies, opening the way for the utilization of public medical data. However, since then, no additional cases of permitted use have occurred.
An insurance industry official said, "It is important to establish a foundation for data utilization to develop insurance products specialized for vulnerable groups such as the elderly or those with pre-existing conditions, or to provide healthcare services," adding, "A progressive review is necessary."
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