[COVID-19 Transformation] Was Remote Medical Care Illegal? Legal Revision Should Have Been Made

To prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19), telephone consultations have been temporarily allowed since February 24. Source=Seoul National University Hospital

[Asia Economy Reporter Cho Hyun-ui] The government’s temporarily permitted telephone consultations by medical staff to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19) have surpassed 100,000 cases. From February 24 to the 12th of this month, the total number of consultations and prescriptions reached 103,998. The consultation fees amounted to 1,288,127,000 KRW. Along with telephone consultations, video consultations have also been allowed for mild patients. Medical staff call patients admitted to residential treatment centers twice a day via video calls to conduct medical interviews and prescribe treatments.

In South Korea, remote medical care is currently only allowed between medical professionals under existing laws. Remote medical care between medical personnel and patients, such as telephone consultations, is illegal during normal times. According to Article 17, Paragraph 1 of the Medical Service Act, only doctors who have conducted face-to-face examinations or inspections can issue medical certificates, inspection reports, or other certifications. Article 33 of the Medical Service Act prohibits medical treatment outside medical institutions except in unavoidable situations such as emergency patient care.

However, as telephone consultations have been recognized as an effective quarantine measure during the COVID-19 response, attention is turning to the possibility of introducing remote medical care. Kim Kang-rip, the first chief coordinator of the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasure Headquarters, stated, "It has the expected effect of protecting not only patients with chronic diseases but also medical staff and medical institutions from infection," and evaluated it as "a very effective and important measure for quarantine." Calls for significantly easing related regulations are also growing. On the 22nd, the Federation of Korean Industries emphasized, "Taking the COVID-19 crisis as an opportunity, we must boldly improve regulations restricting remote medical care between doctors and patients to prepare for future outbreaks of new infectious diseases and create conditions for securing related markets."

The government has been pushing for amendments to the Medical Service Act for 10 years since 2010, aiming to allow remote medical care between medical personnel and patients. The related amendment bills were first proposed in the 18th National Assembly and submitted again in the 19th National Assembly but were all discarded due to opposition from the medical community. The bill was reintroduced in the 20th National Assembly, but if it is not passed before the end of the term next month, it will be automatically discarded due to expiration of the term.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.