J Korean Med Assoc.  2016 Nov;59(11):828-831. 10.5124/jkma.2016.59.11.828.

A debate about telemedicine in South Korea

• Lee YM

• KMID: 2358428
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.5124/jkma.2016.59.11.828

Abstract

In 2002 the introduction of a telemedicine clause into the Medical Law allowed telemedicine consults between physicians and health care providers. The Korean government decided to launch a pilot program to provide online health services for people who resided in rural or remote areas such as island dwellers, prisoners, soldiers, and the crew of a pelagic trawler in 2014. However, since the accessibility to medical facilities has been well-established in South Korea, it was hard to determine whether the pilot programs, in terms of safety, were successful or not. The majority of people argue that telemedicine should be performed by medical professionals only for achieving accessibility. Nonetheless, if telemedicine were proven to be useful with respect to safety and validity, then broadening the application of telemedicine between physicians and patients may need reconsideration.

Keyword

Telemedicine; Telemonitoring; Teleconsulting; Remote medical treatment; Korea

MeSH Terms

Health Personnel
Health Services
Humans
Jurisprudence
Korea*
Military Personnel
Prisoners
Prisons
Telemedicine*

Figure

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  Figure 1 The number of physician around the world (per unit area). The land area includes arable land but excludes area under inland water bodies (i.e., major rivers and lakes). The number of Korean practising physician per 1,000 population is 2.2 but, the number of Korean practising per the nation's total land area is 10.9. Modified from Seo KH. Comparative analysis for governance and projection models of the physician demand and supply among five countries [dissertation]. Seoul: Ewha Womans University; 2016 [4].

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  Figure 2 The concept of telemedicine.

Reference

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