Currently Provided Database Management System of Traditional Korean Medical Knowledge

Objectives: The objective of this study is to investigate and valuate currently provided database management systems (DBMS) of traditional Korean medical knowledge. Methods: We searched DBMS on the web and smart device application markets (Apple App Store and Google Play Store). Key words for searching were 'traditional medicine', 'acupuncture', 'moxibustion', 'herbal medicine', and '한의학'. We looked into each DBMS to find out its scopes and limits, and each was valuated according to its functionality, accessibility, and utility. Results: 186 DBMS of traditional Korean medical knowledge were investigated and 91% of them were applications for smart devices. Almost all DBMS provided acupuncture and herb information, and a small amount of DMBS provided prescription and research paper information. Functionality, accessibility, and utility valuation were performed by using scoring system from 0 to 2. Mean values of functionality, accessibility, and utility were 0.86, 1.29, and 1.09. Conclusions: On the whole, high accessibility and low functionality were found, and various data-calculating functions were not implemented. Further researches and developments about traditional Korean medical knowledge DBMS are necessary to provide correct traditional Korean medical information and to support the studies about Korean medicine.

한의학 전통 지식 데이터베이스 관리 시스템 현황