Operation of Advisory Group for Telemedicine Pilot Project... Platform Industry Hopes for Effective Functioning

Regarding the pilot project for non-face-to-face medical consultations, the "Non-Face-to-Face Medical Consultation Pilot Project Advisory Group," which includes the government, medical community, consumer groups, and industry, will officially begin operations on the 16th. In response, the non-face-to-face medical consultation platform industry stated, "We hope that the issues revealed after the implementation of the pilot project will be examined from various angles, and above all, that solutions can be derived by considering the demands of the public."

The Remote Medical Industry Council (Wonsanhyeop) issued a statement on the same day, saying, "The formation of a discussion table involving various stakeholders is something Wonsanhyeop has long demanded," and added, "Although somewhat late, we welcome that a forum for discussion led by the government has finally been established."

The Ministry of Health and Welfare will hold a kickoff meeting for the Non-Face-to-Face Medical Consultation Pilot Project Advisory Group in the afternoon. Participants will include the Ministry of Health and Welfare, medical organizations, platform industry representatives, civic groups, and experts. Since this is the first meeting, it is expected that the advisory group’s composition and operational plans will be discussed.

Wonsanhyeop expressed, "It is regrettable that the group was named an 'advisory group' rather than a consultative body, and that the nature of the meetings was limited to 'advice,' thereby reducing roles and authority," but also stated, "as an industry organization that has the largest number of non-face-to-face medical consultation intermediary platforms as members in Korea, we will actively participate in the advisory group to represent the non-face-to-face medical field based on the expertise accumulated over the past three years, including experience, data, and cases from the field."

Wonsanhyeop identified the top priority for the advisory group as devising measures to resolve confusion in the non-face-to-face medical field and public inconvenience caused by the pilot project. Wonsanhyeop argued, "It is time to examine whether the excessively closed patient target group is instead acting as an obstacle to the establishment of the system before it is too late."

In particular, Wonsanhyeop emphasized the need for solutions to the recent crisis in pediatric and adolescent medical care. According to Wonsanhyeop, "Data from member company Dr. Now shows that the proportion of pediatric and adolescent medical consultation requests, which was 19.3%, plummeted to 7.3% after the pilot project was implemented," adding, "The number of doctors participating in pediatric and adolescent non-face-to-face consultations, which had been steadily increasing, has also begun to decline. Rebuilding the infrastructure once collapsed will incur numerous social costs." Wonsanhyeop further added, "We hope that the long-awaited forum for discussion among stakeholders will function as an effective consultative body rather than a one-time show event."

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