[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Gwan-joo] Remote medical platform Doctor Now announced on the 6th that the revenue of affiliated medical institutions in the first quarter of this year increased by 1995% compared to the same period last year.
According to Doctor Now, an analysis of the company's non-face-to-face medical consultation and prescription drug delivery usage data from January to March this year showed that the usage by affiliated medical institutions increased about 20 times compared to the previous year. This is a record approaching an average of 600 cases per affiliated medical institution per month.
Among them, hospitals performed an average of about 700 non-face-to-face consultations per month, and pharmacies received an average of 440 prescriptions per month and dispensed medications. In particular, in March, the number of consultations per affiliated hospital reached about 950 cases, and the number of prescription drug dispensations per affiliated pharmacy reached about 530 cases, setting a new maximum usage record.
Most of Doctor Now's affiliated medical institutions are primary medical institutions such as clinics and small neighborhood pharmacies. Along with the revenue-generating effect, positive perceptions of non-face-to-face consultations and prescription drug delivery have spread, increasing the number of affiliated medical institutions from about 360 at the beginning of the year to about 900 as of the end of March.
Kim Tae-hwan, Sales Director of Doctor Now, said, “There are cases where pharmacies, which saw a sharp decline in visitors due to the spread of COVID-19, overcame management difficulties after affiliation as the number of prescription dispensations increased more than 100 times, and neighborhood hospitals performed more than 500 non-face-to-face consultations per day at the time of the Omicron virus spread,” adding, “We hope that through non-face-to-face consultations and prescription drug delivery services, an environment will be created where medical benefits can be provided anywhere customers are.”
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
