Korea to launch telemedicine pilot program next month

A doctor at a hospital in central Seoul talks to a Covid-19 patient on the phone in February 2022. [NEWS1]

 
Korea seeks to launch a telemedicine pilot program mainly for second-visit patients starting next month, as well as for those who cannot visit clinics due to physical illness or infectious disease, the Health Ministry said Wednesday.
 
The country’s telemedicine services have been temporarily allowed since 2020 through April this year amid the Covid-19 pandemic.
 
A total of 1,419 patients have received telemedicine services during the cited period, according to the ministry.
 
The pilot program allows second-visit patients to use telemedicine services within the same year of their first visit.
 
But those who suffer from infectious diseases or reside on remote islands, older adults who cannot visit health facilities and people with disabilities can also use the services, the ministry said.
 
Korea’s telemedicine services are designed to provide quality health care to people who live in hard-to-reach areas, such as deep-sea fishers and residents of remote islands, by connecting patients to doctors using the internet in one of the world’s most wired countries.

Yonhap