Telemedicine must balance convenience and safety

Starting Dec. 24, Korea will formally introduce telemedicine, allowing patients to obtain prescriptions without visiting medical facilities and receive medications through delivery services. The Ministry of Health and Welfare has proposed revisions to the Enforcement Decree of the Medical Service Act detailing the new system.

Under the proposal, first-time remote consultations will generally be allowed only when patients and medical institutions are in the same province or metropolitan area. Exceptions will cover patients with rare diseases or Type 1 diabetes and residents of islands and remote areas.

Initial prescriptions will generally be limited to seven days. Patients previously treated and prescribed medication for the same condition may receive up to 30 days' supply on one occasion. Remote prescriptions for psychotropic drugs and obesity treatments will be prohibited.

Expanding telemedicine is necessary to improve access to health care, particularly in underserved communities and during holidays or nighttime illnesses. Some 29 percent of Korea's local administrative districts have neither pharmacies nor convenience stores selling basic emergency medicines.

Patients also complain that they must visit pharmacies even after consulting doctors remotely. Such inconvenience strengthens the case for expanding medication delivery.

Nevertheless, concerns about drug misuse and patient safety deserve serious attention. Some patients select their preferred drugs and dosages before seeing doctors, effectively prescribing medications for themselves. Others may obtain repeated prescriptions from multiple medical institutions. Both practices risk encouraging abuse of prescription drugs.

Critics also fear that excessive remote consultations and hospital shopping could increase unnecessary spending and weaken national health insurance finances.

Medication delivery creates additional challenges. Without adequate guidance from pharmacists, patients may misunderstand dosage instructions or overlook potential side effects. Drugs could deteriorate during transportation, while delivery mistakes could result in patients receiving incorrect medications or none at all.

The government must address these concerns and establish safeguards that protect patients without unnecessarily restricting access. Medical professionals, meanwhile, should recognize the purpose of telemedicine rather than allowing professional self-interest to obstruct its introduction.

Platform operators must also avoid placing commercial interests ahead of patient welfare. Convenience alone cannot determine how medical services are provided, especially when prescription medicines and vulnerable patients are involved.

Effective oversight, reliable delivery procedures and clear responsibilities for doctors, pharmacists and platform providers will be essential. Authorities should also monitor whether expanded access actually benefits underserved patients or merely encourages additional consultations.

Telemedicine offers meaningful opportunities to improve access to care. But its success depends on cooperation among government, medical professionals and businesses to protect public health and ensure that medications reach patients safely.