[2022 National Audit] Telemedicine "Violation of Pharmacist Act" vs "Improvement of Medical Accessibility"

Welfare Committee Audit, Dr. Jang Ji-ho CEO of Doctor Now Selected as Witness
Assemblywoman Kang Sun-woo Points Out Doctor Now's Prescription Drug Advertising
CEO Jang Ji-ho "Will Correct Minority Cases"

Cho Kyu-hong, the newly appointed Minister of Health and Welfare, is attending the National Assembly's audit of the Ministry of Health and Welfare held on the 5th, responding to questions from lawmakers. Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Young-won] During the National Assembly Health and Welfare Committee’s audit, allegations of 'violations of the Pharmaceutical Affairs Act' related to telemedicine were raised. Jang Ji-ho, CEO of Dr. Now, who was summoned as a witness, stated that they would correct cases that might violate the law but emphasized that telemedicine contributes to resolving medical blind spots. The Ministry of Health and Welfare expressed its position to take action on legal violations while promoting the institutionalization of telemedicine.

At the Health and Welfare Committee audit held on the 6th, Kang Sun-woo, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, pointed out to CEO Jang that Dr. Now has been cleverly continuing advertisements for prescription drugs, violating the Pharmaceutical Affairs Act. According to the data presented by Kang, Dr. Now posted advertisements on social networking services (SNS) by slightly altering the names of prescription drugs such as hair loss medication and scalp inflammation medicine, thereby violating the Pharmaceutical Affairs Act. For example, the hair loss drug 'Propecia' was changed to 'Pdopecia,' and the seborrheic scalp inflammation drug 'Craven' was changed to 'Cravern.' Kang criticized, "Despite the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety sending an official letter last July prohibiting advertisements for prescription drugs, Dr. Now continues to advertise them."

Furthermore, Kang pointed out that Dr. Now does not comply with telemedicine guidelines, such as not providing pharmacy information to patients. Kang criticized, "According to data submitted by the Remote Medical Industry Council to the Ministry of Health and Welfare, Dr. Now is the only telemedicine provider that does not provide pharmacy information and does not guarantee the right to choose a pharmacy." According to the telemedicine platform guidelines established in July, platform providers must provide pharmacy information to patients so that they can choose a pharmacy themselves. In Dr. Now’s case, when receiving delivery, the medicine is delivered from a pharmacy close to the patient, and when visiting to pick up medicine, the patient can choose the pharmacy directly.

Suspicions of guideline violations by telemedicine platforms were also raised during the morning session of the audit. According to Shin Hyun-young, a Democratic Party member, a lawmaker from Jeonbuk, referred to as A lawmaker, promoted on SNS that they prescribed the acne treatment prescription drug 'Isotretinoin' cheaply through Dr. Now over the past year, and prescribed about 12,400 cases covered by insurance from January to April this year alone. During this period, 97% of telemedicine insurance prescriptions for Isotretinoin were prescribed by lawmaker A. Shin explained that Isotretinoin’s insurance coverage applies only to severe nodular and conglobate acne and pointed out, "It is presumed that prescriptions that should have been non-insurance were prescribed as insurance-covered. This is a clear act of patient inducement and promotion of drug misuse."

Regarding advertisements for prescription drugs, CEO Jang responded, "It is regrettable that a few cases have emerged, and we will correct and improve this," while elaborating on the reason for changing the method of providing pharmacy information. He explained, "At the initial development stage, we showed all affiliated pharmacies, but those opposing telemedicine visited affiliated pharmacies directly or pressured them by phone, so affiliated pharmacies requested confidentiality. Therefore, we restructured the system to allow patients to know the pharmacy only after the consultation ended." He added, "We will strive to comply with the realities on the ground and the guidelines."

CEO Jang also emphasized the advantages of telemedicine services. He said, "Dr. Now has the highest number of users between 11 p.m. and 1 a.m., so we are committed to improving medical accessibility," and added, "I believe we have received a lot of positive responses from the public in this regard."

Regarding illegal acts related to telemedicine platforms, Minister of Health and Welfare Cho Kyu-hong stated, "I believe that the platform’s illicit practices undermine public trust in telemedicine," and added, "If the Ministry of Health and Welfare determines that there is a violation of the Pharmaceutical Affairs Act, we will consult with the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety and impose sanctions according to the law." On guideline violations, he said, "While prioritizing institutionalization, we will devise methods to detect violations and improve sanctions for platforms that violate guidelines."

Meanwhile, concerns were raised on-site that excessive regulations could hinder startups. Kang Hoon-sik, a Democratic Party member, mentioned the 'Tada Ban Law' and said, "Startups break the existing mold, so there may be illegal elements. While violations of the Pharmaceutical Affairs Act should be punished, startups should not be destroyed in the process." When Kang asked Minister Cho what efforts the Ministry of Health and Welfare is making to support startups, Cho replied, "It is true that laws and systems are slower than the rapid changes in the economy and conditions. We have proposed legislation to create regulatory exemptions within the Ministry of Health and Welfare, and we hope the National Assembly will actively review it."