OBJECTIVES

: To determine the awareness and willingness-to-pay for smart healthcare among the general population of Korea

METHODS

: A survey was conducted during December of 2017 using data obtained via an Internet-based survey from 500 randomized people between 20-59 years old. To make a generalized selection, it was conducted across the nation on a pro-rata basis covering seven regions. The survey instrument included questions regarding demographics, preferences, importance and affordability

RESULTS

: About smart healthcare awareness, 78.2% of respondents replied that they had heard about smart healthcare but only 14% were well-informed about it. The main channels of exposure to information were from internet news articles, TV news and health information programs One-way remote-monitoring is allowed under medical law in Korea but only 20% were aware of this, while 80% of respondents were misinformed

This survey has a 95% confidence level with a ±4.4% sampling error

CONCLUSIONS

: As a result of the population aging and an increase of healthcare expenditure, interest in cost-effective healthcare services has been rising while the healthcare service paradigm has been gradually shifting from treatment to prediction, prevention and personalized medicine. Aligned with this trend, smart healthcare services will play an important role for effective disease management and improved quality of life. We could find that to make that happen, providing the right information to the general population and developing prescient political system are very important