Will 'Non-face-to-face Medical Treatment' Become a National Assembly Audit Issue?...Pharmaceutical Association Launches Counterattack

"Platform Company Guideline Violations"
Pharmaceutical Association Requests Administrative Sanctions and Legal Action
Also Demands Temporary Suspension of Non-Face-to-Face Medical Services
Dr. Now CEO Selected as Witness for National Assembly Audit

Non-face-to-face medical consultation platform. [Photo by Dr. Now]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Gwan-ju] As government-level guidelines for non-face-to-face medical platforms have been established, the legislative controversy, which had entered a lull, is resurfacing. The Korea Pharmaceutical Association, which has opposed the introduction of non-face-to-face medical care, has initiated legal actions against platform companies, and it is anticipated that non-face-to-face medical care will become a major issue at the upcoming National Assembly Health and Welfare Committee audit.

According to the Pharmaceutical Association and related industries on the 4th, the Pharmaceutical Association recently requested administrative sanctions and filed complaints against two non-face-to-face medical platform companies at the Gangnam-gu Public Health Center in Seoul. The Association stated that through its own monitoring, it confirmed that these companies violated the Pharmaceutical Affairs Act and the "Non-face-to-face Medical Mediation Platform Guidelines." Specifically, the Association claims that these companies engaged in ▲advertising prescription drug product names ▲advertising the sale of pharmaceuticals outside pharmacies ▲restricting pharmacy selection rights ▲not providing pharmacy information ▲illegal use of pharmacy names ▲patient inducement activities.

The Pharmaceutical Association also demanded the immediate termination of the "Temporary Non-face-to-face Medical Care Permission Notice," which currently enables non-face-to-face medical care. In a statement, the Association said, "While preparing for the endemic both domestically and internationally, the policy that goes against the trend is precisely the Temporary Non-face-to-face Medical Care Permission Notice," and strongly urged, "We request that the quarantine authorities promptly adjust the infectious disease crisis alert level to the caution level and immediately abolish the nominal Temporary Non-face-to-face Medical Care Permission Notice."

Non-face-to-face medical care, temporarily permitted since February 2020, has been conducted over 30 million times to date, aiding in overcoming the COVID-19 pandemic. Accordingly, active discussions on formal legislation are underway. The Ministry of Health and Welfare is known to be continuously exploring measures for institutionalizing and stable operation of non-face-to-face medical care through the Health and Medical Development Council, composed of related organizations.

In line with this, the platform industry has continued its own compliance efforts since the Ministry of Health and Welfare officially announced the guidelines in August. The Telemedicine Industry Council immediately stopped waiving delivery fees for pharmaceuticals among its member companies and sent cooperation letters requesting guideline compliance to non-member companies as well. The Council stated, "To institutionalize non-face-to-face medical care based on social consensus, we will comply with health authorities' guidelines, build consensus for stable institutionalization, maintain order in the health care market, and establish cooperative relationships with the medical community."

However, tensions are rising again as the Pharmaceutical Association takes a strong stance over advertising issues related to non-face-to-face medical platforms. It is also expected to be a major issue at the upcoming National Assembly Health and Welfare Committee audit. The Committee has selected Jang Ji-ho, CEO of Dr. Now and co-chairman of the Telemedicine Industry Council, as a key witness. Questions regarding the controversial platform medical advertisements are expected to arise.

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