Setback dealt to telemedicine

By Park Yoon-bae

Health and Welfare Minister Park Neung-hoo said last month that his ministry will expand telemedicine service for the disabled and those who have mobility difficulties.

But he had to retract his remarks just five days later in the face of a strong backlash from doctors, civic activists and progressive politicians who are against the introduction of telemedicine, which dealt a setback to the program.

Telemedicine refers to the provision of health care services by utilizing information and telecommunication (IT) technology without a face-to-face consultation. Patients can get services such as diagnoses and prescriptions without visiting clinics and hospitals if the innovative service is put in place.

Telemedicine is convenient. It can revolutionize the way we get medical services, helping patients save time and money. Korea, one of the world's most wired countries, has already made a significant technological breakthrough in telemedicine.

The country's efforts to develop telemedicine technology date back to 2000 when the government started a pilot program to make telemedicine available in public health centers in 16 cities and counties in mountainous Gangwon Province.

In 2005, prisons and correctional facilities began to allow inmates to enjoy the unconventional healthcare service ― though in a limited way. In 2007, soldiers were allowed to access remote medical services.

From 2010 to 2013, the authorities started a pilot smart healthcare program targeting patients suffering from hypertension, diabetes and other chronic illnesses. In 2016, another pilot program was launched to help poor patients living on remote islands and out-of-the-way areas.

Korea is now exporting its telemedicine knowhow to Russia. Regrettably, however, the country cannot tap telemedicine to the fullest domestically despite the time and effort put in to develop the related hardware and software.

The reason is because the country lacks a legal foundation for telemedicine. The Medical Services Act only allows telemedicine between medical professionals. This means doctors, in principle, cannot provide telemedicine services to patients directly. They are only allowed to do in exceptional cases such as for patients on islands or remote areas.

So it is necessary to revise the act to enable doctors to provide remote medical services for patients directly. But it is difficult to change the law because most doctors, progressive unionists and civic activists, and left-leaning politicians are firmly against telemedicine. They have accused the health authorities of trying to introduce telemedicine for the purpose of "privatization" or "commercialization" of health care services.

They fear telemedicine may undermine the public nature of medical services. Doctors, particularly clinic operators, stubbornly insist on the traditional way of examining patients face-to-face, while warning against possible misdiagnoses and medical malpractice telemedicine may cause.

However, their objections appear to have more to do with their concerns about a decline in their income or a loss of their jobs if the new type of medical service becomes dominant.

Over the past 18 years, the government has failed to persuade doctors and other interest groups to accept a push for telemedicine. President Moon Jae-in even promised not to allow telemedicine during his campaign last year.

Moon may renege on his promise just because he wants to reinvigorate the sluggish economy by promoting innovation. Telemedicine has the potential to boost Moon's innovation-led growth, one of the two pillars of his economic policy together with income-led growth. He needs to find new growth engines as his inclusive growth policy has so far produced little progress.

According to the Hyundai Research Institute, telemedicine can create a new healthcare market of 2 trillion won ($1.78 billion) if 20 percent of Koreans use the new service. It can also help create more jobs and reduce medical spending.
The country can no longer delay the adoption of telemedicine as it faces a rapidly aging population which will lead to a surge in healthcare bills.

Telemedicine is increasingly becoming a global trend. Japan has been taking the lead through the full-blown implementation of telemedicine since 2015. Its aim is to curtail soaring healthcare spending amid the rapid graying of the population.

In China, more than 100 million people are using telemedicine after it allowed hospitals to offer remote medical services to patients in March 2016. In the United States, telemedicine is more widely used; this new method deals with one out of every six treatment cases.

According to statistics portal Statista, the global telemedicine market will grow to $26.5 billion this year from $20.2 billion in 2016 and $23 billion in 2017. It is forecast to expand further to $30.5 billion in 2019, $35.5 billion in 2020 and $41.2 billion in 2021.

But for Korea, the expanding market is only a pie in the sky. It is time to act now to make telemedicine an integral part of daily life before it is too late. Otherwise, the country will inevitably be left far behind not only in telemedicine but also deregulation and innovation.

Park Yoon-bae (byb@koreatimes.co.kr) is the chief editorial writer of The Korea Times.