Jeong Hoon-jae, CEO of Bplus Lab, creator of 'Eodi Apa': "AI Medical Interview Algorithm Creates New Healthcare Ecosystem"

[Interview] Former Director of Seoul Bumin Hospital Shares Field Experience
Guiding 120-130 Main Symptoms, 1500 Detailed Diseases
Doctor's Inquiry Exactly... Benefits for Patients and Medical Staff
Non-Face-to-Face Medical Platform to Launch in September
Expected Public Benefits Including Reduced Chronic Disease Medical Costs
Also Founded Venture Capital... "Collaboration with Multiple Players"

Junhoon Jae, CEO of Bplus Lab.

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Gwanju] "It is a time when the core values of healthcare are gradually changing. We aim to create a new medical ecosystem through an artificial intelligence (AI) medical inquiry algorithm."

There are often times when you feel discomfort somewhere in your body and need to visit a hospital, but you don't know where to go. Unless you are a medical professional, most patients can only guess and visit various departments such as internal medicine, surgery, otolaryngology, orthopedics, and so on. Sometimes, they first visit a local clinic but end up going to a different hospital or a larger hospital because the department they visited is not the right one, resulting in not receiving proper treatment. In such cases, the timing of receiving medical care is delayed, and the illness may worsen during that time.

Since its initial release in November 2018 and continuously upgraded, Be+LAB’s smartphone application 'Eodiapa' is equipped with an AI medical inquiry algorithm function that can alleviate such patient concerns. The usage is very simple. After launching the app, press the AI medical inquiry button, enter basic health information such as name, date of birth, height, weight, and blood type, and then search for the symptoms you have.

For example, if you enter 'lower back pain,' it first asks about the duration of the symptom and then lets you select the current painful area. By answering questions about previous medical history, pain intensity, the trigger for the pain, and main symptoms, the AI algorithm provides about three possible predicted diseases. When you select a predicted disease name, it introduces the definition of the disease, incidence rate, symptoms and causes, diagnosis and treatment methods, as well as recommended departments and nearby hospitals. Jung Hoonjae, CEO of Be+LAB, explained, "We reflected the logic doctors use when taking medical histories directly into the AI medical inquiry algorithm," adding, "Currently, it can guide 120 to 130 main symptoms and 1,300 to 1,500 detailed diseases."

Hospital Director Entering Digital Healthcare

CEO Jung’s main profession is a physician. He obtained a specialization in orthopedics and served as the director of Seoul Bumin Hospital for seven years from 2014 until last year. Having been involved in the medical field for nearly 20 years, his interest in digital healthcare arose from his experiences on the front lines. Jung said, "I felt that the core values of diagnosis and treatment held by hospitals were gradually being diluted due to changes in the times," and added, "I wanted to change the inconvenience in the process of connecting patients beyond the strictly conservative space of hospitals."

Bplus Lab 'Eodi Apa'

'Eodiapa' embodies CEO Jung’s deep considerations. The development of the AI medical inquiry algorithm was aimed at solving the problem of patients who have symptoms but do not know what disease they have. Jung is confident that the AI medical inquiry algorithm will be helpful not only to patients but also to medical staff. He emphasized, "The initial starting point of medical activity is the medical inquiry. If the inquiry is completed in advance through the algorithm, it is like the doctor has pre-studied the patient, enabling better diagnosis even in a short time." In particular, linking the electronic medical record (EMR) system with AI medical inquiry can reduce charting burdens and can be utilized with various medical data.

Dreaming of a New Medical Ecosystem

CEO Jung plans to launch a non-face-to-face medical platform using AI medical inquiry in September. Existing telephone or video methods sometimes fail to properly connect patients and medical staff. By pre-checking major symptoms through the AI medical inquiry algorithm, patients can meet more suitable medical professionals. Jung stated, "Although Korea’s medical policy system is good, it is questionable whether it can sustain providing high-quality medical care with limited resources," and added, "It is time for changes that reduce medical service costs through IT data." He further explained, "Ultimately, the goal is to provide a platform that covers chronic disease diagnosis, prescription, prevention, management, and education."

He also mentioned the need for various collaborations and linkages as digital healthcare develops. This is why he recently founded a separate venture capital (VC). Jung said, "There are truly various players and platforms in the healthcare ecosystem," and noted, "Through investment and nurturing of good companies, we can fill the gaps." However, he did not overlook the importance of public interest. He hopes that the medical ecosystem based on the AI medical inquiry algorithm will lead to effects such as resolving medical accessibility issues and reducing medical expenses for chronic disease patients. Jung concluded, "Healthcare services should not be thought of the same way as platforms for food delivery or calling taxis," and said, "If it can contribute to solving current medical delivery system problems such as the concentration in tertiary hospitals and lowering national medical costs, it would be meaningful."