Healthcare Big Data Platform for Linking National Databases in Korea: System Development and Research Applications
Kim, Y.; Lee, Y.; Jeong, J.
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Public healthcare databases in South Korea have been distributed across disparate government agencies, requiring researchers to navigate multiple, separate institutional approval processes for data linkage. To address the systemic inefficiency, the Healthcare Big Data Linkage Platform (HCDL), jointly administered by NECA and KHIS, was established to integrate 13 databases from 10 public institutions through a Trusted Third Party (TTP)-based linkage methodology and a centralized one-stop review process. Of 311 projects submitted between 2022 and 2025, 190 (61.1%) were approved with annual applications increasing 2.4-fold over the study period. The average number of databases per project exceeded three, reflecting a surging demand for integrated clinical data. Nationwide healthcare data from HIRA and NHIS were the most frequently requested databases (93.2% and 82.1% of approved projects, respectively), and co-occurrence pattern analysis further confirmed that both formed the core of the research ecosystem in combination with vital status, lifestyle, and cancer diagnosis data. By consolidating multi-institutional review and enabling equitable data access, the HCDL has emerged as a core infrastructure for data-driven and precision medicine research in South Korea.
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