While telemedicine is technically illegal in South Korea and has only been allowed under emergency COVID measures since 2020, the increase in its users and support from President-elect Yoon Suk Yeol who sees it as an “inevitable reality” suggests it may It remains part of the healthcare system, Reuters reported.
“It was really convenient to get treatment over a phone call and get medicines in one operation,” Kim said. “I hope this expands even after COVID is over.” “Taking a trip to the hospital can be stressful when you’re sick.”
The nearest hospital for COVID home care patients that Kim can go to is an hour’s walk away, but it only offers such treatment on Mondays and Tuesdays and is currently fully booked for the whole week.
There are a total of 2 million people under home care for COVID in the country. While there are two doctors per 1,000 people on average in South Korea, only six of the 17 cities and provinces meet the average, illustrating just how poor healthcare is in many parts.
This gap in traditional in-person services has led to an increase in businesses for local telemedicine players, such as Doctor Now, Ollacare, Soldoc and Dr.Call, which help connect hospitals with patients located tens and hundreds of kilometers away.
Doctor Now, a startup backed by SoftBank Ventures, said it has seen an increase in users, mostly in their 20s and 30s, with COVID advisors now making up more than half of all cases.
Of the 2.3 million cumulative users since December 2020, nearly 1 million patients signed up for treatment in February of this year, a 40-fold increase from the previous year.
Other players have also seen an increase in the number of users.
But telemedicine providers are few in South Korea, which leads to virtual long queues. Kim, for example, had to wait three hours to receive a phone call from a doctor.
“Although I had to wait for hours in the virtual waiting list, this is better than not being able to receive any treatment… and I have a lot of work to do, which means I still couldn’t get to the hospital,” Kim told Reuters.
President-elect Yoon, who took office in May, pledged to “ensure that all Korean citizens can enjoy telemedicine,” fueling hopes that the practice will become a permanent part of South Korea’s $203 billion health industry.
Ministry of Health data shows that telemedicine is currently in its infancy, providing treatments worth 58 billion won ($48 million) only over the past two years.
In North America, the global leader in the field, the telemedicine market reached $57.26 billion in 2020 alone, according to data from Fortune Business Insights.
It expects the global telemedicine market to reach about $264 billion by 2028, from about $127 billion in 2020.
For decades, the Korean Medical Association has opposed telemedicine due to concerns about misdiagnosis and misuse of medications.
But the medical community is gradually adopting this trend given the evidence that telemedicine can help reduce medical service gaps between urban and rural areas.
“At first, I thought it would be a bit awkward and difficult…but it turned out to be more satisfying for both the doctor and the patient,” said Han Jae Hyuk, a pediatrician at Baron Yeonsei Clinic in Seoul.
“Telemedicine is essential in many ways, especially for those who are not in a position to visit hospitals or need to refill a prescription for chronic illnesses.”
MI