"Broad Allowance of Non-Face-to-Face Medical Care Needed... Careful Policy Design Required"

Legislative Bill for Non-Face-to-Face Medical Treatment Preparedness National Assembly Forum
Gathering Opinions from Various Sectors Including Industry

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Gwan-ju] As discussions on the legalization of non-face-to-face medical treatment are gaining momentum, opinions have emerged that broad non-face-to-face medical treatment should be allowed to promote public health and ensure effectiveness, and that meticulous policy design is necessary to enable safe medical care.

On the 10th, a presentation was given at the "Discussion Forum for the Preparation of Domestic Non-Face-to-Face Medical Legislation" held in a small conference room at the National Assembly Members' Office Building.
[Photo by Remote Medical Industry Council]

At the "Discussion Forum for the Preparation of Domestic Non-Face-to-Face Medical Treatment Legislation," co-hosted on the 10th by Park Soo-young and Baek Jong-heon, members of the People Power Party, and the Remote Medical Industry Council (Wonsanhyeop) under the Korea Startup Forum, presentations and discussions were held on this topic.

Non-face-to-face medical treatment has been temporarily permitted since February 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic and has resulted in approximately 35 million consultations to date. With the government announcing plans to institutionalize non-face-to-face medical treatment in June this year, related discussions are becoming more active. This forum was organized with the purpose of preparing legislation on non-face-to-face medical treatment by gathering opinions from industry, medical professionals, consumers, and the government.

Baek Nam-jong, Director of Bundang Seoul National University Hospital, who presented at the forum, said, "Institutionalizing non-face-to-face medical treatment is the first step toward future medicine characterized by prevention, prediction, customization, and participation," adding, "A highly effective system should be established that allows non-face-to-face treatment from the initial consultation and expands the scope of participants, considering patient convenience and future medical perspectives."

Jang Ji-ho, co-chairman of Wonsanhyeop and director of Dr. Now, stated, "Specific policy design by the government is necessary to create a safe non-face-to-face medical environment," and suggested, "Non-face-to-face treatment should be centered on primary care reflecting the demand of mild patients, and government-level qualification management of intermediary platforms should be implemented." He added, "A systematized non-face-to-face medical treatment institutionalization is needed where the medical community leads, the government manages, and the industry supports so that all citizens can benefit from non-face-to-face medical care."

The industry agreed that non-face-to-face medical treatment platforms can create a safe and systematic non-face-to-face medical system and enhance medical accessibility. Son Woong-rae, co-CEO of Meraki Place, said, "Platforms are essential for establishing safe non-face-to-face medical treatment and will serve as a bridgehead for the industrialization of digital healthcare," while Lee Ho-ik, co-CEO of Soldoc, predicted, "Consideration of medical accessibility due to situational isolation rather than physical isolation is necessary, and non-face-to-face medical treatment will contribute to improving citizens' medical accessibility."

There was also an assessment that the development of digital healthcare is shifting the healthcare service delivery system to be consumer-centered. Kim Dae-jung, a research fellow at the Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs, said, "Non-face-to-face medical treatment, mainly for initial consultations, can satisfy patients' desire not to have their privacy invaded and serve as a means to improve medical accessibility." Additionally, Kwak Eun-kyung, Secretary General of Consumer Watch, emphasized the need to reflect consumer opinions in the legislative process, stating, "The opinions of medical consumers, the public, are not being reflected in the legalization process of non-face-to-face medical treatment," and "Medical consumers should be able to choose the medical services with the highest utility value."

Finally, Jang Tae-young, Director of Health and Medical Policy at the Ministry of Health and Welfare, said, "The government is currently comprehensively reviewing opinions from all sectors regarding non-face-to-face medical treatment," and added, "From the grand principle of promoting public health, we are seeking institutionalization in a direction that non-face-to-face medical treatment resolves medical blind spots, enhances citizens' medical accessibility, and enables continuous disease management."

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