The 2023 Fall Academic Conference of the Korean Society of Medical Informatics (KOSMI) marked a significant milestone in the field of medical informatics, centering on the theme "Beyond Data: Actionable AI." Continuing KOSMI’s 35-year tradition of annual meetings, the conference convened healthcare professionals, researchers, industry experts, and policymakers (
Table 1). This year’s event highlighted the dedication to multidisciplinary collaboration and the growth of the field within South Korea.
The opening session, led by Organizing Committee Chairman Hak-Jong Lee, expressed appreciation for the attendees and looked forward to advances in next-generation medical informatics. Society President Dae-Jin Kim discussed the latest developments in digital health interoperability and practical applications of artificial intelligence (AI). Min-Soo Park, the Second Vice Minister of Health and Welfare, emphasized the government’s initiatives to enlarge the AI medical market and enhance international competitiveness. Meanwhile, Seongnam Mayor Sang-Jin Shin outlined the city’s ambition to establish itself as a biohealth hub by 2028. Keynote speaker Hyun-young Park, Director of the National Health Research Institutes, addressed the integration of medical information with precision medicine. She spoke about the current challenges, international trends, and the plan to collect and share data from one million participants for a national biobank project.
Over the course of 3 days, symposia covered a wide range of topics, from the high suicide rates among Korean men to the ethical development of AI, and from the role of healthcare big data in assessing disease risk to the importance of systematic data collection and the promise of AI in medical diagnostics. The conversations also dealt with the trading of medical data, the use of AI in drug development, and the training of interdisciplinary medical scientists. Additionally, the symposia explored the intelligent curation of medical data, the application of advanced large language models like GPT-4 (Generative Pre-trained Transformer 4) in the analysis of electronic medical records, and the latest national statistics on cardiovascular disease.
The industry sessions showcased innovative collaborations between technology and healthcare. Kakao Healthcare explored the concept of federated learning using real-world data. Meanwhile, Naver’s HyperCLOVA X highlighted its capabilities for AI-assisted disease management. Additionally, Zoom’s SDK tailored for healthcare applications, EZCareTech AI’s progress in extracting information from medical data, and GE Health’s AI technology designed for medical institutions were prominently featured.
The KOSMI conference highlighted the transformative potential of AI and communication technologies in healthcare, highlighting innovation, data privacy, and operational efficiency. It set the stage for future advancements in the field.
Acknowledgments
This summary of the conference is based on daily KOSMI updates, which were made possible by the valuable input and efforts of KOSMI’s Academic Committee members as below: Min-Gul Kim, Jeonbuk National University; Nakyung Lee, Konyang University; Seo Hung Lee, SeSeung LLC; Jisan Lee, Gangneung-Wonju National University; Mona Choi, Yonsei University; Hyun Wook Han, Cha University; Jeong Ho Hong, Keimyung University Dongsan Medical Center.
Table 1
Highlights showing the success of the 2023 Fall Conference of the KOSMI
Category |
n |
Participant |
1,361 |
Symposium |
27 |
Poster presentation |
80 |
Oral presentation |
40 |