At HIMSS25, a Message About True Connectivity, from South Korean Leaders
The opening keynote session at HIMSS25, being held at the Venetian Sands Convention Center this week, spotlighted the leadership being shown by senior leaders at the Samsung Medical Center, the most prestigious tertiary medical center in Seoul and in South Korea. SMC president Dr. Seung Woo Park spoke first, and was then joined onstage by SMC CMIO Dr. Meong Hi Son, as the two leaders sat down for a discussion with Hal Wolf, HIMSS’s president and CEO. They addressed an audience of more than 5,000, gathered in one of the large ballrooms inside the Venetian Sands.
Dr. Park made it clear from the start that his organization is committed to health equity, stating that “We are very proud that health equity is built into our vision statement, and we will continue to support every person to the best of our ability.” He went on to discuss some of the technological, workflow, and patient experience advances that SMC leaders have achieved in the past decade, innovations that led to SMC becoming the first Asian health system to receive HIMSS’ coveted Davies Award for HIT achievement.
At Samsung Medical Center, Park said,” Our story is one shaped by challenges, resilience, and transformation, as we have continuously redefined our mission,” with the support of the “unwavering dedication and collective intelligence of our caregivers” and staff.
SMC pioneered the first health information exchange in South Korea in 1998; 5,000 patient care organizations are now connected to it. SMC was also the first in South Korea to become paperless and to become filmless in its radiology department.
Meanwhile, Park reported, he and his colleagues have been focusing strongly on moving into the next generation of their electronic health record, with the keywords for that initiative being “standardization, optimization, collaboration, and digitization.”
Park shared about the creation of the health system’s DARWIN initiative, with DARWIN standing for “Data Analytics and Research Window for Integrated kNowledge.” DARWIN is further being empowered through the health system’s recent inauguration of its PRISM Platform, which has provided patients seamless support across the patient journey.
Improving the worklives of clinicians has been top of mind in the technological advances taking place at Samsung Medical Center, Park noted. Indeed, he told the audience, “I believe a major cause of burnout in healthcare stems from providers unable to focus on their workflows.” As a result, he reported, “We introduced AI tools for nurses for patient assessments and documentation. Reducing redundant physical workloads for clinicians was also important.” And, related to their efforts, he noted that the hospital’s nurse turnover rate has been reduced by nearly 40 percent over the past several years, from 9 percent to 5.9 percent.
Not everything has been easy, Park noted; it took seven years to achieve success in the challenge of creating a closed-loop medication system. But the leaders at SMC worked hard on that area, resolved the issue, and were able to achieve Stage 7 in HIMSS’s EMRAM (Electronic Medical Record adoption Model) model; it also became the first patient care organization in the world to achieve Stage 7 DIAM (Digital Imaging Adoption Model); it achieved both Stage 7 levels in 2023.
Further, Park noted, “In today’s healthcare landscape, demand is increasing, resources are strained. The key to overcoming these challenges lies in actionable and transparent information.” Thus, the creation of DOCC, the hospital’s Data-based Operation and Communication Center, which is working in sync with DARWIN, to empower data-driven decisions and optimize hospital operations.
Park addressed the question of AI, stating that “The key to accountability and sustainability lies in using IT correctly,” he said. AI can reduce errors by opening the window to creativity. My second term as CEO this year. I do not expect the road ahead to be easier. At times, it feels like we’re navigating towards the perfect storm. But the principles should not change: we are dedicated to caring for other people, and to reshaping the healthcare environment.” As a result of all their innovative work, Park noted, SMC has in the past five years welcomed 2,588 global visitors from 33 countries, to find out how he and his colleagues have transformed care delivery, operations, and technology.
Next, Park welcomed onstage the hospital’s CMIO, Dr. Meong Hi Son; and she brought with her Nova and Lumi, two robots designed to support pediatric patients. The two humans and two robots sat down for a freewheeling discussion with HIMSS CEO Hal Wolf. Dr. Son did a demo of the two robots, in English, with the robots demonstrating how they talk to and interact with pediatric patients.
Per technological advances, Son said that “Flexibility and robustness are often seen as tradeoffs. To achieve a balance, we actively integrate input from medical professionals, ensuring the system reflects real-world experience. We are recognizing clinicians’ experience;: it’s not just about improving workflows, but respecting their work. One of the biggest frustrations comes from the feeling of not being respected as professionals; it’s very discouraging. So it’s really important to help them leave a legacy and help them feel respected. We can’t do everything they want. In any innovation process, choosing what not to do is as important as choosing what to do.”
And, asked about any “secret sauce” to their success, Son replied to Wolf, “There’s no secret sauce: we all have the same challenges around limitations of resources; we have to prioritize based on urgency and importance. But we examine the values, and measure them relative to one another. And even when there’s no conflict, it doesn’t mean our c-suite will pay for everything. But it will come with time.”
Earlier, Wolf, in introductory remarks to the audience, said, referring to HIMSS’s vision statement, “We are very proud that health equity is built into that vision statement, and we will continue to support every person to the best of our ability.” He reaffirmed that statement during a press briefing an hour later. Wolf also said, per the current policy and political landscape, that “Scenario planning is necessary in the ‘unsettled’ policy and payment environment. We’ve built scenario planning into our sessions” at the conference. In that regard, he noted Government Relations meeting, Nursing Informatics meeting, Public Policy Change-Making Luncheon, Public Policy Breakfast, all incorporated scenario planning. And, he noted that, “In Europe, the AI Act will have global impacts.” Wolf confirmed during the press briefing that the estimated attendance at HIMSS25 is 28,000, up from the 26,000 of last year.
