KMA Holds First Meeting of "Task Force on Telemedicine and Electronic Prescription Response"

Seeking Response Strategies for the National Assembly and Government

The Korean Medical Association (KMA) announced on August 13 that it had held the first meeting of the "Task Force on Telemedicine and Electronic Prescription Response" on August 6.

Seoul Yongsan-gu Korea Medical Association. Photo by Hyunmin Kim

Previously, the KMA decided to operate the task force to facilitate active discussion within the medical community, as bills for the introduction of telemedicine and a public electronic prescription delivery system were recently proposed in the National Assembly. The task force members are selected based on recommendations from medical organizations such as the House of Delegates, the Council of Presidents of Metropolitan and Provincial Medical Associations, the Korean Academy of Medical Sciences, and the Korean Association of Clinic Physicians.

During this first meeting, the association reaffirmed the four key principles it had established during the 2023 telemedicine pilot project: adherence to the principle of in-person care with telemedicine as a supplementary tool; operation centered on returning patients (excluding first-time patients); a focus on clinic-level medical institutions; and prohibition of dedicated telemedicine-only medical institutions. In addition, the task force decided to discuss the medical community's position on telemedicine and to seek strategies for responding to the National Assembly and the government, based on the mandate to "improve the telemedicine system led by the KMA" adopted at the 77th Regular General Assembly of Delegates this year.

There was also a consensus that the medical community needs to actively respond to the recently proposed bill for the introduction of a public electronic prescription delivery system. The task force will continue discussions on the advantages of paper prescriptions and the issues associated with the electronic prescription delivery system.

Park Geuntae, chair of the task force, stated, "As telemedicine and the public electronic prescription system are being discussed as presidential campaign pledges and national policy tasks, it is urgent for the KMA to establish a clear position and response strategy." He added, "Going forward, the task force will closely monitor discussions by the government and the National Assembly and will devise reasonable response strategies to ensure that the views of the medical community are reflected."