AI-Based Cognitive Healthcare Solutions in Global Markets and Localization Challenges: A Case Study of IBM Health in China

As AI-based cognitive healthcare solutions have begun to be widely used across borders, this study raised the question of whether this solution will diffuse without obstacles in global markets where different cultures, physical traits of local patients, and market conditions, and legal regulations obviously exist. This study analyzed the case of IBM Health in China to find out fundamental localization issues in the healthcare sector in foreign markets and how general AI capabilities can be localized to meet local differences. This study specifically focused on IBM’s Watson for Oncology, which is a cognitive AI platform providing clinical decision support for physicians with evidence-based treatment solutions for cancer patients. The case of the MDT platform in China indicated Watson’s flexibility as IBM China to accumulate highly localized data reflecting the physical traits of the local population and a substantial increase in prediction rate. This study contributes by shedding light on the possibilities of paradigm change in multiple industries across the world, as multinationals with AI capabilities can easily achieve both efficiency by global applications and flexibility by effective localization.