[Report] "Four-Hour Round-Trip Hospital Visits Now Take Just Five Minutes by Video... It's So Much Better" [The Future of Telemedicine ①]

A Look Inside Namwon's Telemedicine Scene:
From Appointment to Prescription and Medication Pickup, All in One Stop
Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries' "Island Doctor" Project:
Providing Care to 2,000 Residents on Over 190 Islands Last Year

Editor's NoteWe are entering an era where, instead of waiting in long lines at hospital waiting rooms, patients can meet with doctors through their smartphone screens. Telemedicine, which was temporarily permitted and piloted during the COVID-19 pandemic and periods of medical policy conflict, is set to be fully implemented by the end of this year. While telemedicine offers convenience by filling medical service gaps for remote areas and vulnerable groups, there are also limitations due to the ban on medication delivery and concerns about medication misuse. Perspectives remain sharply divided among the medical community, platform companies, and patient organizations. Facing a major shift that could transform the paradigm of the healthcare industry, we examine the realities of medical sites in Korea that will be changed by telemedicine and conduct an in-depth analysis of the challenges that must be addressed to achieve true innovation.

On the 15th of last month, at Yongjeon Senior Center in Geumji-myeon, Namwon-si, Jeonbuk, Nosonam received telemedicine consultation from Dr. Lee Seunghyun, director of Lee Seunghyun Internal Medicine Clinic, with the help of a visiting nurse. Until then, Mr. No had to visit a clinic in Namwon city, which took 4 hours round trip, every two weeks to get a prescription for hypertension medication. Namwon-si.

"I used to have to muster up the courage every two weeks just to go pick up my medication at a clinic in the city. If I missed the bus, the whole day would be wasted... But now, even in the middle of winter, I can get a checkup right in front of my house and have my medication delivered to me. I can't tell you how much better that is."

On the 15th of last month at Yongjeon Senior Center in Namwon-si, Jeonbuk Province, 77-year-old Nosonam sat in front of a tablet PC with an excited expression as Dr. Lee Seunghyun, director of Lee Seunghyun Internal Medicine Clinic in Geum-dong, Namwon-si, appeared on the screen. Nosonam awkwardly waved and first presented her resident registration card. After verifying her identity, Dr. Lee asked, "Are you taking your medication regularly? How have you been feeling lately?" When Nosonam replied that she had no particular discomfort, Dr. Lee said, "You had a blood test last September, so please come to the clinic for another test soon," and prescribed two weeks' worth of medication. The following morning, a visiting nurse affiliated with Namwon-si collected the medication from a pharmacy in the city and delivered it to Nosonam.

Nosonam, who has been taking hypertension medication for five years, lives in Geumji-myeon, an area in Namwon where public transportation is not easily accessible. Taking the bus to a clinic in the city takes four hours round trip, and since there are only three buses a day, she has to walk 2.5 kilometers to the bus stop. However, after starting to use telemedicine, the number of times she needs to travel for in-person care has significantly decreased.

According to industry sources on February 3, those expected to benefit most from the implementation of telemedicine at the end of this year are chronic patients like Nosonam, who live in towns and rural areas with low accessibility to medical institutions and require regular prescriptions. Although many older adults with mobility difficulties have had to visit hospitals or clinics in person to manage their conditions and obtain prescriptions, telemedicine now allows them to consult with doctors and receive prescriptions conveniently without traveling long distances.

One of the most prominent examples among the various telemedicine pilot programs operated by government ministries and local governments is Namwon-si's "Smart Senior Center for Elderly Happiness" project. Selected for the Ministry of Science and ICT's 2023 "Smart Village Distribution and Expansion" initiative, the project underwent design in 2024 and system establishment in 2025, and began full-scale pilot operation in November last year. Recently, other local governments have been visiting Namwon-si to learn from its operational know-how and observe its effectiveness in the field. While setting up a telemedicine environment focused on medical interviews is not technically difficult, officials explain that the main barrier is that the elderly, who are the primary users, still find it challenging to use digital devices independently.

Taking into account that many seniors in Namwon-si do not use smartphones, the city installed tablet PCs in 16 key senior centers and deployed specialized personnel. A dedicated team consisting of one nurse and two nursing assistants visits these centers daily to check the seniors' health, such as blood pressure, and assist with the telemedicine process. They stay by the seniors' side during video consultations to prevent confusion and help operate the devices. After telemedicine sessions, visiting nurses also handle the collection and delivery of prescribed medications. Once the consultation is complete, the prescription is immediately sent via web fax to a city pharmacy, and the visiting nurse picks up the medication and delivers it to the patient.

Currently, a total of 23 seniors in Namwon-si are receiving telemedicine services, with 7 clinics and 22 pharmacies participating in the pilot program. A Namwon-si official stated, "We expect telemedicine to make a real difference in addressing the health and wellness management challenges of the elderly in towns and rural areas. We are working to improve the system to enable integration with hospital electronic medical records (EMR) in the future, and we continue to expand the number of participating hospitals and pharmacies."

In November last year, residents of Yokji Island in Tongyeong City, Gyeongnam Province, received non-face-to-face medical consultations through the 'Non-Face-to-Face Island Doctor' project. Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries.

Telemedicine is spreading not only to medically underserved inland areas but also to remote island villages. For residents of island regions who are engaged in their livelihoods, traveling to the mainland requires significant time and expense, often leading them to postpone treatment and miss the optimal time for care.

Since 2024, the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries has been implementing the "Non-Face-to-Face Island Doctor" project, providing remote medical consultations to fishermen living on inhabited islands without public health centers. Of the 464 inhabited islands nationwide, about 200 lack a health center. The Ministry has developed a dedicated telemedicine platform tailored to island and fishing village conditions in partnership with the telemedicine platform company "My Doctor."

When fishermen access this mobile application to book a consultation, they can receive real-time medical care, prescriptions, medication delivery, and even hospital appointments all in one place. Residents seeking care meet with doctors via large TV monitors installed in community centers, receive prescriptions, and have their medications delivered to their homes by postal courier. From the end of March to the end of December last year, a total of 1,947 people received telemedicine consultations on 191 islands nationwide over approximately 10 months.

Jung Hoejeong, director of Jung Hoejeong Surgery Clinic in Suncheon, Jeonnam Province, explained, "Since most island residents are elderly, telemedicine is extremely advantageous for managing chronic diseases such as diabetes and hypertension, as well as for prescribing treatments to relieve pain in the spine or knee joints caused by physical labor."

However, due to the nature of telemedicine, there are limitations to what can be done through remote consultations. Examinations that require physical palpation or specialized equipment, as well as specialties such as dentistry or ophthalmology, are not possible, so patients often need to be referred for in-person care. Dr. Jung added, "Recently, I diagnosed an elderly male patient living on an island with benign prostatic hyperplasia after he complained of frequent urination, urgency, and lower abdominal pain, and prescribed medication. In such cases, I repeatedly emphasize that if symptoms persist after about three weeks, the patient must visit a mainland hospital for additional tests such as blood work and ultrasound."