Japan Accelerates Remote Medical Care... Launches Mobile Consultation Service 'LINE Doctor' in November

[Asia Economy Reporter Joselgina] Naver subsidiary LINE will launch the mobile medical service 'LINE Doctor' in Japan this November, marking its full-scale entry into the telemedicine business.

According to Japan's AMP and CNET Japan on the 11th, LINE Healthcare, a joint venture between LINE and Japan's medical platform M3, announced this plan at the online conference 'LINE Day 2020' held the previous day.

The LINE Doctor service, starting this November, is an online medical service that enables everything from hospital search and reservation to consultation and payment via mobile. Users can access the related services within the LINE app without needing to download a new application, and only the consultation fee is required. The doctor's consultation is conducted through LINE video calls.

LINE Healthcare plans to expand services in the future to include online medication guidance by pharmacists. In this case, a telemedicine system will be established where patients receive medical consultations from doctors via video calls at home, go through prescription and medication guidance from pharmacists, and receive medications via delivery services.

Services for registered medical institutions will also be added later. LINE Healthcare began accepting medical institution registrations from this day. Various pricing plans will be applied to medical institutions depending on their functions. For the Basic Plan, initial costs and monthly fees are free except for payment processing fees.

LINE Healthcare, launched last year, decided to intensify its telemedicine business as the demand increased, with health consultations surpassing 300,000 cases as of August amid the spread of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19). Earlier, Japan's Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare promoted regulatory exceptions allowing telemedicine via telecommunications from the initial consultation temporarily after the COVID-19 outbreak.

AMP stated, "It is expected to alleviate the burden of hospital visits for the elderly and provide equal medical services to residents without nearby hospitals," but also noted, "However, the introduction costs for medical institutions remain a challenge."

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