North Korea's health ministry has ordered provincial hospitals to join a national medical computer network, expanding a digital health system previously limited to Pyongyang in a push to modernize healthcare across the country.
According to a Daily NK source in North Korea who requested anonymity for security reasons, the health ministry issued the order to its provincial branches on Feb. 7, directing them to digitalize medical services and boost data-sharing connections with hospitals in the capital.
The initiative calls for the creation of a "smart medical information service system" that digitizes patient medical records, prescription records and test results and stores them on central servers so that hospitals nationwide can access them in real time. Health authorities believe Pyongyang hospitals will be able to assist provincial facilities and perform remote joint treatments once the expanded system is in place. The order also instructed provincial health authorities to avoid causing treatment suspensions or medical gaps during the construction of the digital networks.
The move aligns with healthcare modernization policies long championed by North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. At the completion ceremony for Pyongyang General Hospital in October of last year, Kim described the ruling party's healthcare strategy as one of "concurrent operations," calling for lifting up the nation's healthcare sector by "simultaneously constructing central hospitals, provincial hospitals, individual healthcare facilities and nationwide healthcare service infrastructure." Health authorities have since taken on the task of equipping provincial hospitals with advanced digital systems to enable real-time information exchange with Pyongyang, in addition to constructing new hospital buildings in the regions.
Reactions on the ground have been mixed. Some medical teams welcome the prospect of systematically managing patient records and receiving professional guidance from Pyongyang hospitals, while others worry about the added burden of entering large volumes of data into the system on top of their regular duties.
The most pressing concern, however, is basic infrastructure. Without expanded communication networks and stable power supplies to support 24-hour server operations, the digital system risks becoming unworkable.
"The key is whether the digital network operates normally," the source said. "With power going out regularly, you can't use the information, no matter how much you digitize it."
