[Diary Point · Reporter Kim Jeong-hoon] South Korea’s Ministry of Health and Welfare launched a pilot run of the “Public Medical AI Highway” on the 11th, linking Gangwon National University Hospital with Yeongwol Medical Center. Drawing on hospital electronic medical records (EMR), the system drafts documents such as referral letters and discharge summaries. The government plans to expand the network to 72 public hospitals nationwide by 2029.
The “AI Highway” bundles medical AI models, a dedicated communications network, national GPU resources, and a standardized platform for connecting hospitals. The package is offered to regional public hospitals to lower the cost of adopting medical AI and reduce the burden of building infrastructure, so smaller local hospitals can use it too.
In the demonstration, a pediatric patient was referred from Yeongwol Medical Center to Gangwon National University Hospital, then went through surgery and discharge before being transferred back to a local hospital. Three AI agents compile test results, vital signs, and medication history into a draft transfer referral. They also help with pre-anesthesia assessments, discharge summaries, and transfer opinion letters.
Writing a transfer referral by hand used to take more than 10 minutes. The AI-generated draft was shown to take under one minute. Medical staff review and edit the AI-generated documents and then sign them electronically, and the attending physician remains responsible for final decisions about the patient.
The system is built into the EMR screens doctors already use, rather than running as a separate program. By the end of this year, eight sites will test EMR and picture archiving and communication system (PACS) integration, security, and clinical effectiveness. They include Seoul National University Hospital, Gangwon National University Hospital, Chonnam National University Hospital, the Seoul, Seosan, Seongnam, and Yeongwol medical centers, and Gwangju Christian Hospital.
The ministry plans to begin full-scale rollout in April 2027, designating 27 new hospitals and expanding participation to as many as 35 institutions. After that, it aims to connect 72 public hospitals by 2029, including provincial medical centers and Red Cross hospitals.
Smoother record sharing and document preparation between hospitals could reduce the paperwork burden on medical staff during patient transfers and referrals in regional areas, and support cooperation among care providers. Health Minister Jeong Eun-kyeong said, “Wherever you live and whichever public hospital you visit, we want to build a country where advanced medical AI protects people’s health.”