It is noteworthy whether the legislation to allow telemedicine between doctors and patients, which has been tied for 10 years at the National Assembly, could cross the threshold of the National Assembly following the Corona 19 incident.

Telemedicine, which the government has regarded as a representative area of ​​'Korean New Deal' and non-face-to-face industry regulation breakthrough, has gained strong momentum through the Corona 19 situation, and the government plans to accelerate the passage of the revision of the medical law at the 21st National Assembly.

Today (3rd), according to the government and the National Assembly, amendments to the medical law required for the implementation of 'remote medicine' that combines information and communication technology (ICT) and medical technology have not been processed by the National Assembly for the past 10 years since 2010.

The government submitted an amendment to the medical law for the introduction of telemedicine to the 18th National Assembly in 2010, but it was abolished at the end of the session of the National Assembly without even being put on top of the standing committee. The procedure for disposal was followed.

The government submitted a revised bill to the medical law as soon as the 20th National Assembly opened in June 2016, but it is expected to be automatically scrapped at the end of the session later this month.
Contrary to the medical profession, the amendment to the medical law, which was once abolished by the National Assembly, is aimed at resolving regulations related to telemedicine.

In accordance with the current medical law, telemedicine counseling and prescribing is not permitted in Korea, in principle, without patients and doctors meeting directly.

However, as the bill did not reach the threshold of the National Assembly, telemedicine in Korea has been in progress as a 'demonstration project' for 20 years since 2000, and even the number of times has often collapsed against the medical community.

Although it possesses excellent technology during this period, there have been many Korean companies that have advanced overseas because the domestic telemedicine market is blocked by regulations.

However, there are many views that telemedicine has created a momentum of reversal in the wake of this Corona 19 incident.

This is because, as a result of the corona 19, temporary medical care was allowed temporarily, which resulted in positive outcomes and favorable public opinion.

In the midst of this, the government is planning to re-implement the amendment to the medical law at the 21st National Assembly, and expectations are being raised as to whether the bill can reach the threshold of the National Assembly in 10 years.

This time, as Corona 19 spread around the Daegu and Gyeongbuk regions, it was the first time in Korea to launch a controversial telemedicine service, which had been controversial over domestic adoption. During this process, telemedicine prevented medical staff infection and diagnosed the spread of large-scale infectious diseases early. It has been evaluated that it has proved to be an effective means to respond.

In addition, there have been many backlash from the medical community concerned about the abolition of hospitals and clinics in the area where the revision of the medical law has not been handled. It has been raised, but it has been evaluated that some of these concerns have been dispelled.

According to the government, as a result of temporarily allowing phone consultations and prescriptions from February 24th to 19th of the past with Corona 19, more than 130,000 remote medical treatments have been conducted, and there have been no cases of misdiagnosis.

As a result of this, the situation in the wake of the Corona 19 situation has raised the public opinion that the regulation of telemedicine between doctors and patients should be drastically improved to respond to the emergence of new epidemics and the growth of the telemedicine market.

Through this, opinions are urging that excellent Korean medical technology and smart medical devices should be prepared to enter the global market.

In overseas cases, China and Japan have been allowing telemedicine between doctors and patients in 2014 and 2015, respectively, and in this Corona 19 response, telemedicine has been actively utilized.

Hong Nam-ki, Deputy Prime Minister and Ministry of Strategy and Finance, recently referred to telemedicine as a typical example, saying, “In the face-to-face industry, we will speed up further regulatory reform in terms of using the crisis as an opportunity.”

In addition, Kim Yong-beom, the deputy secretary of the Ministry of Strategy and Finance, said, “We expect a speedy discussion in the 21st National Assembly because many people have reduced the need and the level of discussion has changed.”