Big data drives precision medicine in Asia

SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA — Health leaders from Taiwan, South Korea, and Singapore recently convened at the HIMSS24 APAC conference to discuss the operationalization of big data for precision medicine.
Its panel session, “Nationwide Initiatives in Healthcare Transformation — The Power of Big Data and Personalised Medicine,” highlighted significant challenges such as privacy concerns, systems interoperability, and limited research capabilities that impede the effective use of big data in healthcare.
Collaborative strategies for data integration
The panel included experts like Dr. Kee Yuan Ngiam of Singapore’s National University Health System, Dr. Eric Chuang from Taiwan’s Industrial Technology Research Institute, and Dr. Hyun-Young Park from South Korea’s National Institute of Health. They shared insights on their countries’ efforts to integrate healthcare data:
- Singapore has launched HEALIX, a cloud-based platform designed to streamline data integration.
- Taiwan is advancing its Health Data Taiwan initiative through projects led by its Ministries of Health and Welfare and Economic Affairs.
- South Korea is pursuing the National Bio Big Data Project to collect comprehensive clinical, demographic, and genetic data from one billion individuals.
Addressing privacy and interoperability
Strict data regulations present significant challenges in South Korea and Taiwan. Dr. Park noted a cultural reluctance in South Korea to share genetic information without explicit consent.
“Many researchers are interested in using hospital genomic data, but medical institutions and civic groups often resist the use of such sensitive information without individual consent,” he stated. “In Korea, a person dealing with a genetic disease may not want to share that information even with their family.”
To address these concerns, South Korea’s national project collects data with consent while adhering to privacy laws.
In Taiwan, interoperability issues arise from hospitals operating distinct IT systems.
“Even though Taiwan has a national health insurance program like in Korea, each individual hospital or medical center is running their own IT system… [which makes it] very challenging and difficult to exchange data,” Dr. Chuang explained.
The Taiwanese government is promoting common data exchange standards like HL7 FHIR to mitigate these challenges.
Building research capacity
Singapore’s unified electronic health record (EHR) system causes fewer interoperability issues. However, Dr. Ngiam pointed out that the primary challenge is effectively utilizing available data. He stressed the importance of operationalizing genomic insights for meaningful applications in healthcare.
To address these challenges, Singapore is investing in training large language models to manage vast amounts of genomic data without physically moving it. This approach aims to create practical abstractions of genomic data for clinicians and researchers.
“I hope that we are able to use genomic data in more meaningful ways going forward,” Dr. Ngiam noted.
Future directions in precision medicine
Taiwan is heavily investing in precision medicine by subsidizing genomic testing through its national insurance system and allocating NT$10 billion (US$300 million) for cancer drug development.
Meanwhile, Dr. Park envisions using genetic data in South Korea for newborn screening, chronic disease prediction, and personalized health management.
The development of large multimodal models (LMMs) that incorporate various data formats is anticipated to enhance big data research in healthcare further. Dr. Ngiam expressed optimism about future applications of LMMs in integrating proprietary healthcare data across different regions.
Despite the challenges, these Asian nations are making significant strides in leveraging big data for precision medicine. By addressing privacy concerns, improving interoperability, and enhancing research capabilities, they are paving the way for more personalized and effective healthcare solutions.