Discussion re-emerges on telemedicine amid virus spread

Doctors from Seoul National University Hospital monitor patients infected with the new coronavirus via 'telemedicine' at a community healthcare center in Mungyeong, North Gyeonsang Province, March 12. Yonhap

By Lee Kyung-min

A decades-long controversy over telemedicine is re-emerging after a top policymaker floated the idea as a viable, feasible alternative to in-person treatment amid the fast-spreading new coronavirus.

Telemedicine, or health care services using information and telecommunication technologies, enables patients to receive potential diagnoses and prescriptions without visiting clinics and hospitals in person.

Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki said digital device-mediated treatment and prescription would prevent further spread and infection, not only helping patients but medical professionals and other patients in hospitals.

“Is telemedicine not a viable alternative to support in-person consultations with its recent implementation in Daegu and North Gyeonsang Province? Digital healthcare encompassing collection, analysis and use of personal data will be a feasible method to maintain health. Shortcomings and unforeseen negative impacts can be managed by looking at cases in the U.S. and Japan. I hope the government and medical circle will begin a discussion soon,” he said on facebook around 10 p.m. Thursday.

The late-night post came after Seoul National University Hospital set up a community healthcare center in Mungyeong, North Gyeonsang Province, March 5, enabling doctors from Seoul to treat patients in the area hut hardest by the virus.

Out of 50 people staying at the center to care for over 100 patients, there are only 20 doctors.

The successful and efficient treatment and management of patients prompted the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) to make a suggestion to the government Thursday saying the temporarily allowed system should be expanded to include the public at large.

The service targeting the virus-hit region followed a broader permit by the Ministry of Health and Welfare which allowed medical consultations and prescription by phone nationwide regardless of location and illness Feb. 24.

This was a major step further from 2018 when the government allowed a limited level of telemedicine for residents in remote areas including soldiers, inmates in correctional facilities and deep-sea fishing vessel crewmen who lack access to medical help due to their locations. At the time, only consultations were possible.

Yet the Korean Medical Association (KMA), a group representing 130,000 doctors nationwide, said a single mistake related to telemedicine would create irrevocable damage. The KMA has long been against telemedicine, claiming its use would be a slippery slope towards the commercialization of medical services.

“Under the status quo, telemedicine cannot even be called a medical service given it hardly does anything other than monitoring a patient,” a KMA official said.

Korea first ran a pilot program in 2000 to offer telemedicine in state-run community healthcare centers in remote cities and counties in Gangwon Province. The program was expanded in the early 2010s but only patients suffering from high blood pressure, diabetes and other chronic illnesses could use the service.

Supporters of telemedicine say it improves patient convenience as it saves them time and money, but those against it say it will drive up medical costs.

Doctors' groups say the technology-based treatment can lead to a spike in the number of misdiagnoses and the potential for medical malpractice suits.