Collapsed Non-Face-to-Face Medical Services... Most Businesses Close After Grace Period Ends

Dr. Now to Continue Telemedicine in a Reduced Scale

On the 1st, when the pilot project for non-face-to-face medical consultations was officially launched, it was found that most of the platform companies, which once numbered around 30, had ceased their operations. Unlike during the COVID-19 pandemic, drug delivery is not permitted, and non-face-to-face consultations are limited mainly to follow-up patients, leading to the conclusion that it is impossible to sustain a business catering to just 1% of patients. According to the platform industry, 99% of non-face-to-face consultation patients during the COVID-19 pandemic were first-time patients. Excessive regulations and opposition from the medical community have been pointed out as causes for the collapse of the non-face-to-face medical consultation industry.

According to the Telemedicine Industry Council, DoctorNow, the industry leader, is virtually the only company continuing non-face-to-face medical consultation services after the pilot project's grace period ended on this day. Services have been drastically reduced to follow-up patients only, with drug delivery banned, in accordance with government policy. Since the government has established sanctions such as reductions in insurance claim amounts and administrative penalties for guideline violations after the pilot project's grace period, both platforms and medical staff are feeling pressured.

At 9 a.m. that day, only 20 medical professionals capable of treating colds were found on DoctorNow. At the same time the previous day, there were about 40. This means about half of the medical staff left as the non-face-to-face consultation pilot project became fully operational. For patients to receive non-face-to-face consultations, they must apply within one year for chronic diseases or within 30 days for other illnesses like colds after an in-person consultation at the same hospital. Because it is difficult to distinguish between first-time and follow-up patients, even medical professionals are reluctant to provide non-face-to-face consultations. DoctorNow stated, “Since the platform does not have access to electronic medical records (EMR) or other data that can distinguish between first-time and follow-up patients, we have first established a service that allows patients to register themselves as follow-up patients.”

Within two months of the grace period, seven platform companies including Seolz, Padak, and Chekit have exited the non-face-to-face consultation business, and even the second-largest company in the industry (Namanui Doctor) announced the suspension of its business a few days before the grace period ended. An industry insider explained, “Maintaining an application costs tens of millions of won, and with the obvious sharp decline in users, there is no reason to continue the business.” According to the Telemedicine Industry Council, the number of non-face-to-face consultation requests dropped significantly from 5,000 in May to 3,500 last month, and the cancellation rate of consultations rose to as high as 60%.

Due to regulations causing a sharp decline in non-face-to-face consultation platforms and doctors, the follow-up patients originally targeted by the government are inevitably suffering as well.

The Ministry of Health and Welfare announced at the 5th advisory meeting on the non-face-to-face consultation pilot project held on the 29th of last month that “the criteria for follow-up patients will be relaxed.” However, the industry views that “unless first-time patients are included, it will be difficult to revive non-face-to-face consultations.”

Although the government and the National Assembly are pushing for the legalization of non-face-to-face consultations, it is highly likely that a ‘half-measure’ bill will pass through the National Assembly. Members of the National Assembly’s Health and Welfare Committee have expressed in the bill review subcommittee that “it is excessive to allow non-face-to-face consultations for all follow-up patients without disease restrictions,” indicating that stronger regulations than the government’s pilot project plan should be applied.

An industry official said, “Most companies have already exited the non-face-to-face consultation business due to the government’s pilot project alone,” adding, “There will be no companies willing to continue non-face-to-face consultation platforms in the future.”

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