The Blue House Also Nods to 'Promoting Remote Medical Care'

Kim Yeon-myeong, Senior Secretary for Social Affairs, 'Positively Under Review'

Kim Yeon-myeong, Senior Secretary for Social Affairs at the Blue House, is applauding at the 21st National Assembly Members-Elect Innovation Forum titled "Post-Corona Prospects and Tasks of the Moon Jae-in Government," held on the afternoon of the 13th at the National Assembly Members' Office Building in Yeouido, Seoul. Photo by Yonhap News.

[Asia Economy reporters Wondara and Chohyeonui] The ruling party is set to actively promote telemedicine. This comes as the advantages of telemedicine, allowed temporarily during the COVID-19 pandemic for phone consultations and prescriptions, have been recognized. The possibility of introducing telemedicine, which has been discussed for over 10 years since the Lee Myung-bak administration, has significantly increased.

Kim Yeon-myeong, Senior Secretary for Social Affairs at the Blue House, stated on the 13th at the National Assembly during a private lecture at the 'Post-COVID-19 Outlook and Moon Jae-in Government Tasks' innovation forum for the 21st National Assembly Democratic Party lawmakers-elect, "The 170,000 cases of phone consultation temporarily permitted during COVID-19 is unprecedented and is being analyzed from multiple perspectives." This is the first time a Blue House official has officially expressed intent to review telemedicine since the COVID-19 outbreak.

It was reported that Kim emphasized a positive stance on telemedicine during the lecture. One lawmaker-elect who attended the forum said, "There were concerns that introducing telemedicine would make it difficult for small hospitals, but after trying it out inevitably due to COVID-19, it was not to that extent."

This marks a clear change considering the ruling party had opposed telemedicine introduction citing reasons such as medical privatization and management difficulties for small hospitals. In a special speech on the 3rd anniversary of his inauguration on the 10th, President Moon Jae-in mentioned the 'Korean New Deal,' stating, "We will focus on fostering non-face-to-face (untact) industries such as medical care, education, and distribution." Lee Nak-yeon, Chairman of the Democratic Party's COVID-19 National Crisis Response Committee, also cited untact medical care as a key example at a forum held at the National Assembly the previous day, saying, "COVID-19 will accelerate the spread and broaden the scope of untact industries." Accordingly, the likelihood of related bills being passed in the 21st National Assembly has increased.

Under current law, telemedicine in Korea is only permitted between medical professionals. Telemedicine between medical personnel and patients, such as phone consultations, is illegal. 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, examination reports, or certifications. Previously, the government had been pushing for amendments to the Medical Service Act since 2010 to allow telemedicine between medical personnel and patients, but these efforts were repeatedly blocked due to opposition from the medical community.

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