To create future revenue sources, hospitals should move beyond establishing electronic health records (HER) toward developing a “lifelog,” an expert said Thursday.

He added that they can turn various medical data research into a business that can generate non-medical revenue.

Dr. Kim Jong-yeop, a professor of otolaryngology and the head of Biomedical Research at Konyang University Medical Center, made these and other points at the K-HOSPITAL+HEALTH TECH FAIR with HIMSS 2023 seminar held by the Korean Hospital Association at COEX, southern Seoul.

Kim said that while various national projects are being promoted to utilize medical data in hospitals, it is necessary to reflect on whether they have reached the point of helping to improve public health.

"We have created a system that can analyze data in hospitals, but there are demands from the government and society to create greater value," Kim said. "These government officials were asking ‘what the results of the large-scale budget spending on making medical data-centered hospitals and K-cure projects were.’"

It is a great comfort that the datafication of medical information in hospitals has made the treatment environment more convenient, Kim said. However, hospitals have yet to create services that can help improve health (through related projects). He added that They have conducted many data-related projects but need to look at what other data exists.

Kim emphasized that hospitals should start developing lifelog data. Lifelog refers to information (log) recorded in an individual's daily life.

"As continuous glucose monitors have had a tremendous impact on the daily lives of people with diabetes, funding for clinical trials related to medical devices worldwide has been concentrated in endocrinology," Kim said. "This phenomenon will spread to other medical departments in the future. We will continue to see the medical landscape change as a device enters the market and begins to deliver meaningful results."

He said that new data research could be the next growth engine for hospitals.

According to Kim, Harvard Medical School's (MGH) medical revenue totaled 3.6 trillion ($2.76 billion), and its medical losses were 94.8 billion won. However, its non-medical revenue reached 363.6 billion won, resulting in a gross profit of 268.8 billion won.

Johns Hopkins Hospital has a similar revenue structure. Of its 2.1 trillion won in medical revenue, it has a medical loss of 40.8 billion won, but non-medical profits of 144 billion won have led to a gross profit of 102 billion won.

"In the future, hospitals should start developing lifelogs along with electronic health records," Kim said. "To maintain quality medical care, hospitals must increase non-medical profits by growing data-based research and generating revenue. Hospitals must increase non-medical profits by growing data-based research and generating revenue.”

Kim went on to say, “Heart rate, steps, distance traveled, and calories, which make up the majority of the parameters collected by medical devices, can be used in a variety of fields. However, when lifelog data is combined with hospital data, great synergy can be achieved."