It Was So Convenient... Is Telemedicine Illegal Starting Next Month? Inevitable Conflicts Among Groups

Non-face-to-face medical consultation scene Photo by Yonhap News

Starting next month, non-face-to-face medical consultations via applications (apps) and phone calls are expected to be available only for follow-up patients. This is because the government decided on June 1 to lower the COVID-19 crisis alert level from ‘Severe’ to ‘Caution.’ Non-face-to-face consultations have originally been illegal in Korea, but under the Infectious Disease Control and Prevention Act, they were temporarily allowed when the crisis level was severe. Since non-face-to-face consultations had many advantages during the COVID-19 period, the National Assembly pushed for legislation to institutionalize them, but discussions were postponed due to differences in stance regarding whether it should apply to initial or follow-up visits.

The government, having promised to institutionalize non-face-to-face consultations, plans to proceed with a pilot project to fill the legislative gap even if the crisis alert level is lowered. Lim In-taek, Director of Health and Medical Policy at the Ministry of Health and Welfare, stated, “Non-face-to-face consultations will become illegal once the severe alert level is lifted, so we plan to conduct a pilot project starting June 1.” He added, “We will finalize the pilot project so that the public can continue to use non-face-to-face consultations as they have during the three years of COVID-19.”

However, non-face-to-face consultations are likely to be operated mainly for follow-up patients. This is because in February, the government reached an agreement in a medical issue consultative body involving the Korean Medical Association and others that “non-face-to-face consultations will be used as a supplementary measure centered on follow-up patients and clinic-level medical institutions under the principle of face-to-face consultations.” For this reason, about 30 platforms such as Dr. Now and Goodoc, which entered the non-face-to-face medical market during the COVID-19 pandemic, are protesting. Since 99% of non-face-to-face platform users are initial patients, the industry is effectively facing collapse.

The government is also considering allowing initial consultations in limited cases for specific targets, diseases, and medically underserved areas, but it seems difficult to overturn the overarching principle of follow-up visits. When asked whether initial consultations would be included in this pilot project, Lim In-taek avoided a direct answer, saying, “We will decide after gathering international trends and expert opinions. Once the final plan is made, we will promptly disclose it publicly.” According to the Korean Medical Association’s Medical Policy Research Institute, the G7 countries mainly allowed non-face-to-face consultations for follow-up patients before COVID-19. The United States, which temporarily allowed initial consultations for low-income groups, will permit only follow-up visits starting in 2025. Japan and France require a referral letter for initial consultations, and Germany and Italy allowed only follow-up visits even during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Conflicts among stakeholders with intertwined interests seem inevitable until non-face-to-face consultations are firmly established. Following the government’s official announcement of the pilot project, the Telemedicine Industry Council (Wonsanhyeop) plans to hold an emergency press conference on the 12th. In a press conference last March, Wonsanhyeop stated, “If non-face-to-face consultations are allowed only for follow-up visits, 80% of platform companies will go bankrupt.” Korea Startup Forum (Kospo), a higher-level organization of Wonsanhyeop, collected 100,000 signatures last month in a campaign to protect non-face-to-face consultations and delivered them to the Presidential Office. The Korean Pharmaceutical Association held a rally opposing the non-face-to-face consultation pilot project on the 6th and will hold a resolution meeting with heads of branches and chapters nationwide on the 14th to block the pilot project.