Government delays unveiling new telemedicine guidelines

[Photo by MK DB]

The Korean government has delayed its plan to introduce new virtual healthcare guidelines which telemedicine would have only been allowed for medical consultations starting from a second visit to a doctor, causing confusion among patients and healthcare professionals.

The Ministry of Health and Welfare announced on Wednesday that the government will introduce guidelines on the new virtual healthcare in September, after a transitional period over the next three months. The government’s initial plan was to unveil the guidelines in June, but it changed its plan and decided to maintain the status quo for now, wherein telemedicine is allowed for first-time medical consultations.

The health ministry reportedly has not reached a conclusion concerning its approach to telemedicine during the transitional period, whether to allow telemedicine for first-time doctor visits, or to apply the new guidelines in parallel with the old rules.

The guidelines announced Wednesday are considered to be too loose, raising questions about the actual implementation three months later. Some criticize the government for failing to come up with solid measures to respond to the many potential issues, including concerns over the transmission of sensitive personal medical data to private companies.

Telemedicine has been allowed on a temporary basis during Covid, but as the country moves to the final post-pandemic stage starting next month, telemedicine consultations could become illegal without any legislation or other measures. The government decided to have a transitional period against such a backdrop to prevent telemedicine from becoming technically illegal.