The AI-driven system was trained on a vast dataset comprising about 8 million records, including treatment information, injury details, and physician opinions from 580,000 resolved cases over the past five years. (Image courtesy of Pixabay/CCL)
SEOUL, Jul. 3 (Korea Bizwire) – The South Korean government has developed an artificial intelligence (AI) model to determine appropriate treatment periods for workers injured on the job, marking a significant shift in the management of industrial accident claims.
The Ministry of the Interior and Safety, in collaboration with the Korea Workers’ Compensation and Welfare Service, announced on July 2 the completion of the development and validation of an “AI Analysis Support Model for Industrial Accident Insurance Treatment Periods.” This model is set to be fully implemented in the assessment of workers’ compensation cases.
Traditionally, when injured workers applied for extensions of their treatment periods, a team of about 20 full-time doctors and 1,300 part-time consulting physicians employed by the Workers’ Compensation and Welfare Service would review the cases. This process typically took around eight days from application to decision.
However, with approximately 80% of cases falling into categories where decisions were relatively straightforward, officials recognized the need for a more efficient, data-driven approach to the consultation process.
In response, the two government agencies spent nearly a year, from August 2023 to June of this year, developing and testing the AI model. The system was trained on a vast dataset comprising about 8 million records, including treatment information, injury details, and physician opinions from 580,000 resolved cases over the past five years.
The AI model utilizes neural network algorithms, commonly employed in medical data analysis, to process this extensive historical data. It has been integrated into the existing Labor Insurance System operated by the Workers’ Compensation and Welfare Service, with necessary regulatory changes implemented to facilitate its use.
The Ministry of the Interior and Safety (Image courtesy of Yonhap)
Government officials expect the new AI-driven approach to reduce processing times for treatment extension reviews by at least four days and generate significant administrative cost savings.
“This AI model represents a prime example of how data-driven administration can improve operational processes and contribute to the welfare of our citizens,” said Vice Minister Ko Ki-dong of the Ministry of Interior and Safety. “We aim to expand the application of AI and data analysis to create tangible changes that benefit both the public and front-line services.”
M. H. Lee (mhlee@koreabizwire.com)
