Lee Hyo-jin covers the Bank of Korea, the banking industry and broader financial news. Her previous beats include foreign affairs, North Korea and general reporting on Korean society.
Telemedicine industry concerned over 'return to normalcy'
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By Lee Hyo-jin
By Lee Hyo-jin
The COVID-19 pandemic has greatly influenced the medical industry, boosting its digital transformation and introducing new healthcare models for contactless services.
Telemedicine, which enables doctors to treat patients remotely via telecommunications technologies, was technically illegal here in the pre-COVID-19 era under the Medical Services Act.
But through a revision to the Infectious Disease Control and Prevention Act, since February 2020, the provision of virtual healthcare services has been allowed in a limited manner when the country's infectious disease crisis level is “serious,” or at the highest level of alarm.
The revision has led to the emergence of multiple businesses providing telemedicine services. Through a mobile app, patients can now receive counseling from licensed doctors, along with a diagnosis and prescription, without having to visit a clinic.
According to data from the Ministry of Health and Welfare, from February 2020 to September of this year, there have been over 2.7 million telemedicine visits, and about 1.3 million patients have received remote healthcare services.
The reported benefits of the virtual services include expanded access to medical services while reducing disease exposure for both patients and medical staff, and a more efficient use of healthcare staff capacity amid the pandemic.
However, the future of telemedicine businesses remains uncertain, as the country prepares to return to normalcy from November under the government's “Living with COVID-19” strategy.
The telemedicine companies, worried that they might lose the legal grounds for their businesses to operate once the pandemic has been eradicated, have been demanding the government to revise the relevant laws to establish a sustainable business environment.
Health Minister Kwon Deok-cheol positively assessed the effects of digital healthcare on public health, but he avoided giving direct responses as to whether the government would support the growth of the industry after the pandemic.
“Contactless medical care has greatly contributed to the enhancement of public health amid the pandemic,” he said during a National Assembly audit session, Oct. 6. “But when the country returns to normalcy and the infectious crisis level goes down from the current level, medical services will also have to return to their traditional form.”
Health Minister Kwon Deok-cheol speaks during a National Assembly audit session, Oct. 6. Korea Times photo by Oh Dae-geun
When asked whether medical services will return to traditional face-to-face contact with the beginning of the “Living with COVID-19” strategy, Kwon said, “We will have to discuss this with the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency.”
The government's hesitant attitude is making telemedicine companies more nervous.
“We will have to stop our businesses if the level of infectious disease crisis goes down, unless the government comes up with measures to settle the legal grounds for our business,” Lim Kyung-ho, chief operating officer of Doctor Now, a local telemedicine service provider, told The Korea Times.
Lim believes that virtual healthcare services will gain continuous popularity even after the pandemic, now that more and more people have discovered the convenience of receiving treatment without having to visit a doctor.
“The government should discuss the future of medical services with a two-track approach. They should be accessible both physically and virtually,” Lim said, demanding that the government come up with specific guidelines.
The National Assembly, for its part, is moving to establish legal boundaries for telemedicine services.
In September, Rep. Kang Byung-gook of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea proposed a revision to the Medical Service Act that aims permanently to allow remote medical services to patients who suffer from chronic illnesses such as high blood pressure, diabetes and arrhythmia.
More recently, Rep. Choi Hye-young of the same party proposed a revision bill to allow the provision of telemedicine service to residents in remote regions, soldiers in military bases, and inmates at correctional facilities.
Lim of Doctor Now welcomed such discussions at the Assembly, but said that he believes excessive regulations from the start will only lower the accessibility of the service.
“An important aspect of telemedicine services is that they serve the common good. They should be easily accessible to everyone regardless of their location and time ― for instance, when a person gets suddenly ill on a Sunday when all of the hospitals in the neighborhood are closed.
“We hope that the health authorities and lawmakers continue to discuss revisions to the relevant laws based on this understanding.”