Ministry of Health and Welfare Selects Samsung Medical Foundation, Catholic Medical Center, and Kakao Healthcare
Building a Trust-Based Environment for Healthcare Data and Medical MyData Utilization
Samsung Medical Foundation, Catholic Medical Center, and Kakao Healthcare Co., Ltd. have been selected as specialized institutions to safely manage healthcare data and lead the expansion of personalized digital healthcare services.
The Ministry of Health and Welfare announced on the 23rd that, in cooperation with the Personal Information Protection Commission and the Korea Health Industry Development Institute, it has designated three 'specialized institutions for personal information management in the healthcare sector' (hereinafter referred to as specialized institutions) to support the safe management and use of personal information in the healthcare field.
These specialized institutions, as stipulated by the Enforcement Decree of the Personal Information Protection Act, are organizations, corporations, or groups that receive healthcare information and provide personalized digital healthcare services. The designation is valid for three years. This is the first time that such designations have been made in the healthcare sector since the implementation of the designation review system for personal information management institutions in March of this year.
Specialized institutions must possess a certain level of technology, expertise, safety measures, and financial capability. During the designation process, a comprehensive evaluation was conducted, including compliance with medical and personal information protection laws and regulations, the level of technical and managerial protection measures, and overall expertise in operating personal information management systems.
With the recent surge in demand for healthcare data utilization due to the spread of medical MyData, digital healthcare, and artificial intelligence (AI)-based medical services, the importance of a professional and systematic support system for personal information management is growing. This is essential to prevent privacy breaches and to create a trustworthy data utilization environment. In response, the Personal Information Protection Commission introduced the MyData (personal information transfer right) system across all sectors in March, along with the designation review system for personal information management institutions. Considering the sensitivity and specificity of healthcare information, the authority to designate specialized institutions was assigned to the Minister of Health and Welfare.
The Ministry of Health and Welfare plans to continue strengthening privacy protection policies tailored to the healthcare sector, taking into account the balance between privacy protection and data utilization. In addition, together with the Personal Information Protection Commission and the Korea Health Industry Development Institute, the ministry will further enhance the specialized institution designation and review system to increase trust throughout the healthcare data utilization ecosystem.
Choi Kyungil, Director of the Healthcare Information Policy Division at the Ministry of Health and Welfare, stated, "The designation of specialized institutions for personal information management in the healthcare sector will serve as an opportunity to strengthen public trust in the protection of personal information, which is more important than ever as the use of healthcare data expands." He added, "We will actively support the growth of the digital healthcare industry through safe and responsible data utilization."
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