One Month into the Telemedicine Pilot Project... Platform Industry Begins Collecting User Feedback

Wonsanhyeop Operates 'Inconvenience Reception Center'

As the pilot project for non-face-to-face medical consultations marks one month since its introduction, the platform industry has begun collecting user feedback.

The Remote Medical Industry Council (Wonsanhyeop) under the Korea Startup Forum announced on the 30th that it will operate a "Non-Face-to-Face Medical Consultation Pilot Project Complaint Center."

Member companies affiliated with Wonsanhyeop operate complaint centers within their non-face-to-face medical consultation platforms to listen to difficulties encountered during use and opinions on system improvements. The collected user complaints and feedback will be delivered to the government and the National Assembly to be utilized in future system improvements and legislative direction establishment.

The industry has pointed out that user inconveniences have continued after the pilot project. Most patients using non-face-to-face consultations were mild cases corresponding to initial visits, but due to the pilot project focusing on follow-up visits, these patients became unable to use non-face-to-face consultations. Wonsanhyeop explained that the cancellation rate of medical consultations by healthcare providers, which was about 17% before the pilot project, surged to 40%.

In particular, the "pediatric crisis" has increased the inconvenience for parents using non-face-to-face consultations for childcare. According to Wonsanhyeop, the proportion of pediatric and adolescent consultation requests was 19.3% before the pilot project but recently dropped to 7.3%. This is analyzed to be due to the inability to prescribe medication during vulnerable times such as nighttime and holidays after the pilot project, reducing its effectiveness.

[Provided by the Remote Medical Industry Council]

Jang Ji-ho, co-chairman of Wonsanhyeop, said, "This non-face-to-face medical consultation pilot project inevitably caused great confusion because the most important user opinions were not reflected at all during the design process," adding, "The Non-Face-to-Face Medical Consultation Pilot Project Complaint Center will be an important channel where users can directly voice their opinions to establish a non-face-to-face medical consultation system that benefits all citizens."

The Non-Face-to-Face Medical Consultation Pilot Project Complaint Center can be accessed through the non-face-to-face medical consultation applications operated by participating companies. Additionally, at the request of the Ministry of Health and Welfare, information about the pilot project will also be provided.

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