🚨 Telemedicine

Today Korean Social News for Beginners | 2025.10.25

0️⃣ Pilot Project Transition and First-Visit Debate

📌 Telemedicine Returns to Pilot Project…Medical Groups and Platforms Clash Over First Visits

💬 Telemedicine was temporarily allowed for about 5 years and 8 months during the COVID-19 pandemic. Starting on the 27th, it will change to a pilot project focused on clinics. This follows the end of the health crisis alert. The government wants to make telemedicine official law during the regular National Assembly session. Currently, 7 medical law amendments are proposed in the National Assembly. The key point is to limit telemedicine to 30% of all medical visits and focus on clinics. The biggest issue is whether to allow first-time patients to use telemedicine. Medical groups say in-person visits should be the rule and only return patients should use telemedicine. Platform companies disagree and say people should have the right to choose telemedicine for first visits too.

💡 Summary

• Telemedicine is healthcare service through video calls, phone, or apps without meeting in person.
• Starting on the 27th, it becomes a clinic-focused pilot project limited to 30% of total visits.
• The main debate is whether to allow first-time patients, with medical groups and platform companies taking opposite sides.

1️⃣ Definition

Telemedicine means a healthcare service where patients and doctors do not meet face-to-face but use video calls, phone, or mobile apps for medical consultations. It is also called remote medical care, telehealth, or online consultation.

Patients can see a doctor without visiting the hospital and can even get prescriptions delivered to their home. This is very useful for people who have difficulty moving or live in areas far from hospitals. However, there are ongoing debates about accuracy of diagnosis and medical safety.

💡 Why is this important?

• People can get medical care anytime, anywhere, which is very convenient.
• It improves healthcare access for people in remote areas or those who cannot move easily.
• During infectious disease outbreaks, it reduces face-to-face contact and allows safe treatment.
• Finding the right balance between medical safety and accessibility is an important policy challenge.

2️⃣ Current Status and Issues

📕 Temporary Permission During COVID-19 and Transition

• Telemedicine was urgently introduced because of COVID-19. Key developments include:

  • In February 2020, phone consultations and prescriptions were temporarily allowed to prevent COVID-19 spread.
  • First-time patients and hospitals were exceptionally included to reduce infection risk.
  • It ran for about 5 years and 8 months and greatly changed how people use healthcare.
  • It was especially popular with patients in their 20s-40s with mild conditions, and was also used for chronic disease management.

• It transitions to a pilot project after crisis alert ends. Main points include:

  • Starting October 27, 2025, it becomes a pilot project focused on clinics.
  • Telemedicine will be limited to 30% of a medical facility's total visits.
  • Hospitals are excluded in principle, only clinics can participate.
  • The Ministry of Health and Welfare is forming an advisory group to find stable operation plans.

📕 Conflict Among Stakeholders

• Medical groups insist on in-person visits as the principle. Their main positions are:

  • The Korean Medical Association argues for four principles: in-person priority, return visits only, clinic-focused, no telemedicine-only facilities.
  • They stress that listening to the chest and physical examinations are essential for accurate diagnosis.
  • They worry that telemedicine for first-time patients has high risk of misdiagnosis and threatens medical safety.
  • They say limiting to return patients prevents drug abuse and prescription shopping.

• Platform companies demand protection of people's right to choose. Their main arguments are:

  • Remote healthcare industry groups say there is real demand from patients in their 20s-40s with mild conditions.
  • They point out that banning first visits excessively limits people's access to healthcare and freedom to choose.
  • They present examples from major foreign countries that safely allow first visits.
  • They argue for reasonable regulations and safety measures, but avoiding excessive restrictions.

📕 Medical Law Amendment Proposals in National Assembly

• Various amendment proposals are pending in the National Assembly. Main contents include:

  • Currently 7 medical law amendments are proposed, with discussions ongoing about the direction.
  • Some proposals set telemedicine zones and prohibit treatment outside those regions.
  • There are return-visit-focused proposals that only allow patients with in-person visit history.
  • Plans to differentiate telemedicine ratios and scope by type of medical facility are also being reviewed.

• The government is pushing for legislation in the regular session. Main plans include:

  • Making telemedicine official law is included in the current government's national agenda.
  • The Ministry will prepare improvement plans based on pilot project results.
  • They are seeking reasonable system design through coordination of stakeholder opinions.
  • The goal is to minimize public inconvenience while ensuring medical safety.

💡 Key Issues in Making Telemedicine Official

1. Whether to allow first visits: Finding balance between medical safety and accessibility
2. Telemedicine ratio limits: Debate about appropriateness of 30% cap
3. Scope of medical facilities: Clinic-focused vs including hospitals
4. Medicine delivery issues: Role of pharmacies and safe medicine delivery system
5. Fee system: Appropriate fees for telemedicine and insurance coverage scope

3️⃣ Expected Benefits and Future Challenges

✅ Improved Healthcare Access

• Time and space limitations decrease. Main benefits include:

  • Working people or parents can get treatment without visiting hospitals.
  • Healthcare access greatly improves for elderly people or people with disabilities who have difficulty moving.
  • Residents of remote island or mountain areas can also receive specialist care.
  • It can be efficiently used for chronic disease management or mild condition treatment.

• Infectious disease response capability strengthens. Main benefits include:

  • During infectious disease outbreaks like COVID-19, face-to-face contact can be minimized.
  • It reduces cross-infection risk in medical facilities, protecting patients and medical staff.
  • Isolated patients can continue to receive appropriate healthcare services.
  • A flexible response system is established for future new infectious diseases.

✅ Challenges for System Establishment

• Medical safety measures are needed. Main challenges include:

  • Clear telemedicine guidelines must be set to minimize misdiagnosis risk.
  • Safety standards must be strengthened when issuing prescriptions to prevent drug abuse.
  • A system must be prepared to immediately switch to in-person visits in emergencies.
  • Telemedicine quality must be improved through education and training of medical staff.

• Agreement among stakeholders must be found. Main challenges include:

  • Dialogue and consultation are needed to narrow differences between medical groups and platform companies.
  • A balance point must be found that satisfies both public convenience and medical safety.
  • First-visit scope, telemedicine ratio, and differentiation by facility type must be reasonably set.
  • Policies based on evidence data must be established through careful analysis of pilot project results.

• A sustainable fee system must be created. Main challenges include:

  • Appropriate fees for telemedicine must be calculated to encourage medical facility participation.
  • Health insurance coverage scope and patient copayments must be reasonably set.
  • A monitoring system must be built to prevent excessive treatment or fraudulent billing.
  • Long-term solutions must be found to maintain fiscal soundness while reducing public burden.

4️⃣ Related Terms

🔎 Remote Healthcare

• Remote healthcare means all medical services using information technology.
  • Remote healthcare means medical services that use information technology to exchange medical information remotely between medical staff and patients, or between medical staff, providing consultation and treatment. It is a broader concept than telemedicine and includes remote consultation between doctors (doctor-to-doctor remote healthcare).
  • Types of remote healthcare include: First, doctor-to-patient remote consultation where patients receive treatment directly. Second, doctor-to-doctor remote consultation where local doctors seek advice from specialists at higher-level hospitals. Third, remote monitoring through wearable devices to continuously observe patient conditions. Fourth, remote surgery guidance where specialists guide surgery remotely.
  • In Korea, currently only doctor-to-doctor remote healthcare is allowed with limitations, and doctor-to-patient remote consultation was temporarily allowed after COVID-19 but has transitioned to a pilot project. Globally, many countries including the US, UK, and Japan have made remote healthcare official and operate it.

🔎 Telemedicine-Only Facilities

• Telemedicine-only facilities mean medical facilities that provide only telemedicine without in-person visits.
  • Telemedicine-only facilities mean medical facilities that provide only telemedicine without in-person visits. Platform-based online hospitals or telemedicine-specialized clinics fall into this category. Medical groups oppose establishment of such telemedicine-only facilities.
  • Medical groups' concerns about telemedicine-only facilities include: First, they lack in-person treatment infrastructure making emergency response difficult. Second, they may operate for profit, increasing excessive treatment or unnecessary prescriptions. Third, long-term relationship building with patients is difficult, making continuous health management hard. Fourth, they can distort the medical ecosystem by taking patients from existing neighborhood clinics.
  • The Korean Medical Association specifies "no telemedicine-only facilities" as one of their four principles. Their position is that existing medical facilities should only operate by combining in-person and telemedicine. However, some argue that telemedicine-only facilities should also be allowed under appropriate regulation to broaden choice.

🔎 Prescription Shopping

• Prescription shopping is the act of visiting multiple medical facilities to get duplicate prescriptions.
  • Prescription shopping (or Doctor Shopping) means patients visiting multiple medical facilities to repeatedly get prescriptions for the same type of medicine. It is especially problematic with narcotics or psychotropic drugs that can be abused.
  • Problems with prescription shopping include: First, there is risk of health deterioration and addiction from drug overdose. Second, it causes medical cost waste and health insurance financial deterioration. Third, it can be abused for illegal distribution or sales purposes. Fourth, medical staff find it hard to understand patients' complete medication information, making appropriate treatment difficult.
  • In telemedicine environments, movement between medical facilities becomes easier, potentially increasing prescription shopping risk. To prevent this: First, the Drug Utilization Review (DUR) system must be strengthened to monitor duplicate prescriptions in real time. Second, prescription history must be managed in an integrated way through electronic prescription systems. Third, for high-risk drugs, telemedicine prescriptions must be restricted or additional safety measures prepared.

5️⃣ Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Q: How do I get medicine after telemedicine?

A: You can get a prescription and pick up medicine at a pharmacy, or have it delivered.

• There are two ways to get medicine after telemedicine. First, when the doctor issues an electronic prescription, it can be sent to the pharmacy you want. You visit the pharmacy to pick up medicine and receive medication guidance from the pharmacist. Second, some pharmacies provide delivery service. When patients request it, the pharmacist provides medication guidance by phone and then sends medicine by delivery. Patients usually pay delivery fees, and same-day or next-day delivery is possible depending on the region.
• However, some drugs like narcotics or psychotropic medicines cannot be prescribed through telemedicine or delivery may be restricted. Also, during medicine delivery, storage temperature or damage problems can occur, so pharmacy associations recommend in-person pickup. In the future, during the process of making it official law, clear discussion is needed about safety standards and responsibility for medicine delivery.

Q: How much does telemedicine cost?

A: Medical fees are similar to in-person visits, but additional costs may occur.

• Telemedicine fees basically follow the same health insurance fee system as in-person visits. For general clinic visits, first visits cost 15,000-20,000 won, return visits 8,000-12,000 won, with patient copayment usually 30%. Telemedicine itself is not more expensive. However, first, platform usage fees may be additionally charged. Some telemedicine platforms charge separate mediation fees or app usage fees. Second, if you choose medicine delivery, delivery fees are added. Usually about 2,500-5,000 won.
• Whether health insurance applies depends on the treatment content. For covered items, health insurance applies and you only pay copayment, but for non-covered items you pay the full amount. In the future, during the process of making it official, appropriate fees for telemedicine and health insurance coverage scope will be more clearly organized. From the patient's perspective, it is good to check costs before treatment and understand additional costs like platform fees or delivery fees in advance.

Q: Is telemedicine safe? Is there no risk of misdiagnosis?

A: It is safe for mild conditions, but has limitations when physical examination is needed.

• The safety of telemedicine depends on the type of illness and patient condition. First, it is relatively safe for mild conditions or chronic disease management. Simple symptoms like colds, indigestion, skin conditions, or continuous management of chronic diseases like high blood pressure and diabetes are sufficiently possible through telemedicine. Second, for return patients, it is relatively safe because previous medical records exist. Doctors already understand the patient's medical history and condition, enabling appropriate judgment. Third, in-person visits are absolutely necessary for emergency situations or serious illnesses. When listening to the chest, physical examination, blood tests, or imaging tests are needed, accurate diagnosis is difficult with only telemedicine.
• To reduce misdiagnosis risk, effort is needed from both patients and doctors. Patients must explain symptoms accurately and in detail, and doctors must carefully interview and recommend in-person visits when necessary. Also, institutionally, telemedicine guidelines must be clear, and safety measures must be prepared for high-risk illnesses or emergencies. From the patient's perspective, if symptoms are unclear or seem serious, it is safer to visit the hospital directly from the beginning.

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