8 out of 10 Doctors, Pharmacists, and Patients Say "Telemedicine Pilot Project Needs Improvement"

Survey on Doctors, Pharmacists, and Patients Conducted Jointly by Korea Startup Forum and National Assembly Unicorn Farm

Doctors, pharmacists, and patients all view the pilot project for non-face-to-face medical consultations as needing improvement, according to a survey. On the 23rd, Korea Startup Forum (Chairman Park Jae-wook, hereafter Kospo) and the National Assembly Startup Research Group ‘Unicorn Farm’ announced the results of a 'Public Perception Survey on the Non-Face-to-Face Medical Consultation Pilot Project' conducted by Korea Research.

This survey was conducted to investigate public perception and opinions on institutionalization directions regarding the non-face-to-face medical consultation pilot project, which was carried out over three months and whose guidance period ended at the end of August, and to seek improvements in the system.

The survey targeted 1,000 patients who experienced non-face-to-face consultations via apps or phone calls, as well as 100 doctors and 100 pharmacists each. It included awareness of the ‘non-face-to-face medical consultation pilot project,’ evaluation of detailed implementation criteria, and opinions on the institutionalization of non-face-to-face medical consultations.

First, 81% of doctors believed that the implementation criteria for non-face-to-face consultations should be relaxed to allow broader access, including first-time visits. The proportion of doctors opposing institutionalization as per the current pilot project was 82%, and 73% thought that the pilot project format ‘deprives patients of the opportunity to easily receive medical care and recover their health.’ Additionally, 71% of pharmacists and 49.4% of patients also responded that the criteria for patients eligible for non-face-to-face consultations need to be relaxed. Furthermore, 83% of doctors, 76% of pharmacists, and 55% of patients answered that patients should be allowed to choose hospitals regardless of previous face-to-face consultation history.

In this survey, 85% of pharmacists supported the delivery of medications. They believed that introducing medication delivery could help stabilize pharmacy operations by increasing profits (84%), effectively treat patients’ illnesses through prompt medication delivery (88%), and that there would be no difficulty in providing medication guidance via written or message communication (87%).

Meanwhile, 83% of doctors and 61% of pharmacists responded that they would stop or reduce participation in non-face-to-face consultations if the current pilot project guidelines were maintained. The main reason cited was the reduction in eligible patients and medication delivery. In conclusion, Kospo explained that opinions on the detailed implementation criteria of the non-face-to-face medical consultation pilot project showed that doctors, pharmacists, and patients all believe the target patient group should be expanded and that telephone consultations and medication delivery should be permitted.

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