NHIS, KDCA open joint big data analysis center to boost health research

The National Health Insurance Service said Thursday that it has opened the "NHIS-KDCA Cooperative Big Data Analysis Center," a joint facility with the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency.

The center, established to boost health research using national health insurance big data and to expand support for researchers developing services in the public interest, provides a secure environment where researchers can analyze health insurance big data held by the NHIS. The eight-seat facility is located inside the KDCA's National Institute of Medical Science Knowledge Center in Cheongju, North Chungcheong Province.

The NHIS and the KDCA previously cooperated on infectious disease analysis and the use of health care big data during the COVID-19 response. Through the new analysis center, the two agencies plan to strengthen their research cooperation and support health care researchers' use of data.

The center is expected to give researchers at nearby institutions — including the National Institute of Health and the Korea Health Industry Development Institute — easier access to health insurance big data. This is expected to boost public-interest health research.

Researchers who wish to use the center can make a reservation through the National Health Insurance Big Data Platform website.

"We will continue working to swiftly build and open new analysis centers to improve researchers' access to data and to promote research and analysis based on health insurance big data," said Kang Cheong-hee, president of the National Health Insurance Service.

Meanwhile, the NHIS operated 14 big data analysis centers nationwide as of June this year. The agency plans to build four more each year through 2030 to preemptively meet growing demand for data access in the health care industry and other sectors.