The end of the beginning
Much has been achieved, far more remains to be done By Jung Min-ho, Kim Eil-chul
How has Korea's healthcare industry grown into what it is today and who planted the seeds of success?
To answer these questions, The Korea Times has interviewed 50 leading industry figures over the past year. As clinical doctors, researchers and businessmen, they have given their insights into the past, present and future of the industry from different perspectives. Last week, some of the interviewees were invited to a roundtable discussion at the Boryung Pharmaceutical office in downtown Seoul to wrap up the project. They were Korea Foundation for Human Tissue Donation Chairman Yoo Myung-chul; Yonsei University Professor Emeritus of Medicine Park Chang-il; Yonsei Cancer Center Director Noh Sung-hoon; Korea University Physiology Professor Na Heung-sik; Boryung Pharmaceutical General Manager Lee Jun-hee; and Korea Times Adviser Kim Eil-chul.
"I hope it's only the beginning," Yoo, a renowned orthopedist, said during the discussion. "Now it's all about where we go from here." Kim: Korea's healthcare industry has an image problem to outsiders. Advertisements showing "before and after" pictures of patients are everywhere; media coverage is largely about sensational issues and fragmentary achievements of doctors and businessmen; so it is little wonder why many people, especially foreigners, have developed misconceptions about it. We wanted to show a bigger and more objective picture of the industry. Only readers can tell whether we achieved the goal. But personally, it was a meaningful time to learn and to show the real values and potential of the nation's healthcare industry.
Yoo: At the beginning of the project, I was concerned about whether we can find 50 people who deserve the title as pioneers in the biomedical field. But it turned out that there are far more than 50. I was glad to see so many people with great achievements in the field. I also felt bad after I realized that I failed to acknowledge some of meaningful accomplishments outside my own area. To move forward, we all need to better communicate and collaborate. Park: The interviews were conducted at a time when Korea is standing at a crossroad. Now we have discovered 50 beads, which can turn into an invaluable jewel. I'm pondering how to string the beads for a better future of Korea's healthcare industry. Done right, I'm sure they will create an enormous synergy effect. They have experienced the dramatic improvement of the nation's medical system within a single generation, having led some of the changes. For Korea and the world, it's a rare asset to be utilized. Noh: The healthcare industry is now going through massive changes. Ideas such as personalized treatment are becoming real. Precision medicine and biomedicine are two of the nine areas the government believes will lead the nation's future economy. Over the past few decades, we (doctors) have developed expertise the government can use for its plan. There must be many roles doctors can play. Kim: This is why education for the next generation is important, and it was fortunate to meet Na, a great educator and physiologist at Korea University. Na: The nation's smartest students come to medical schools, which is great for the industry's future. However, their education systems may still be stuck in the past. To help them grow as progressive innovators, the teaching methods should be redesigned accordingly. To maximize their potential, I believe schools should give students more space to experiment, and encourage them to cooperate rather than compete. In addition, schools need to invest more resources into education for research, for which I think artificial intelligence will take more time to catch up with humans than diseases diagnosis and treatment. To be competitive in the future, all doctors should know about research in their fields. It is no longer a choice, and Korea's education system needs to embrace the reality. Lee: Over the past few years, Korea's pharmaceutical companies have been trying hard to make inroads into overseas markets. In the process, we realized that sales take more than quality drugs; it takes trust and the image of the seller's country. I think the Korean Medical Pioneers laid the groundwork to promote the nation's biomedical field, which deserves and needs more promotion to the outside world. Pharmaceutical firms will also benefit from it. Kim: New technologies, such as IBM's Watson for Oncology, are revolutionizing how patients receive medical diagnosis and treatment. How will this change affect future doctors in terms of their role? Yoo: I do not have an answer for that question. But I'm sure that new technologies will bring new challenges, and when it occurs, robots may be able to solve the issues on a superficial level, but not fundamentally without the help of humans (doctors). Also, medicine is much more than just treating patients. Medical practice, in my view, has religious and philosophical meanings. Why should we treat people who will die eventually? Robots can't answer such questions, and hopefully we can. Two weeks ago, I visited the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, where I saw the possibilities of science. What I also saw was its obvious limits. I think the same thing goes for medicine. Park: Love for people was the very foundation of Korea's medical development. If you look at the nation's modern history, the seed was planted by medical missionaries who risked their lives to come here. Korea should carry on the spirit of love. By the way, I want to mention that medicine is very difficult. It is true that technologies are developing fast, but we are still far from "the world without diseases." The Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) outbreak showed how powerless we were in fighting diseases, despite all the best technologies and resources we had. Kim: Will Korea be able to grow into a biomedical innovator? Noh: Korea's growing biomedical network and advances in research and development will create more opportunities for Korea's healthcare industry. So yes, I'm optimistic about that. Over the past few years, I have focused more on educating doctors in other Asian countries, sharing information about gastric cancer treatment via online seminars and strengthening the network among participants. Meanwhile, in collaboration with other experts, I have been conducting genome analysis of gastric cancer patients. I don't want to be too specific here, but if everything goes well, we will be able to tell if certain drugs are effective for certain patients by understanding how their genetic makeup responds to the treatment. For many reasons, global pharmaceutical firms are keeping their eye on the Korean market. Whether Korea will be successful in the biomedical field depends on how it, especially young people, responds to opportunities out there. |
lunes, 22 de agosto de 2016
Korea Times
