"Confirming the Effectiveness of Non-Face-to-Face Medical Care, Now Time to Establish Operational Standards"

Suman Kim, Team Leader of LifeSemantics DoctorCall TF
Introduction of Home Treatment Due to COVID-19
DoctorCall Users Increased by 293%

Dr. Kim Su-man, Team Leader of Doctor Call TF.

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Gwan-joo] "The effectiveness of non-face-to-face medical consultations has been confirmed during the COVID-19 situation. Now, standards for stable operation need to be established."

Since the spread of the Omicron variant, 'home treatment' has become the foundation of quarantine measures, leading to explosive growth in the domestic non-face-to-face medical consultation market. The non-face-to-face medical consultation platform 'Dr.Call,' operated by Life Semantics, is no exception. Last month, the number of Dr.Call users increased by 293% compared to January this year, before home treatment was introduced, and the number of affiliated hospitals and clinics has exceeded 200.

Dr.Call holds a pioneering position in the domestic non-face-to-face medical consultation platform market. It began in June 2020 when it received the first temporary approval for non-face-to-face medical consultation services for overseas Koreans through a regulatory sandbox. The service, initially provided for overseas Koreans, expanded its target to domestic users amid the national health crisis caused by COVID-19. Kim Soo-man, Team Leader of Life Semantics Dr.Call TF, who oversees Dr.Call's operations (pictured), said, "From the development stage, we considered enabling 'total healthcare' that goes beyond medical consultation to prevention, rehabilitation, and health management."

Team Leader Kim emphasized the efficiency of the non-face-to-face medical consultation platform. Since non-face-to-face consultations complement face-to-face consultations, they can optimize limited medical resources. To realize this, patients must be able to manage their health systematically on their own, which is the core of Dr.Call's operation. Kim explained, "Dr.Call is the only non-face-to-face medical consultation service platform certified as a medical device. It provides services linked with devices that measure body temperature, blood pressure, and blood sugar to enable more accurate consultations, and it integrates with 'My Health Record' operated by the Ministry of Health and Welfare to manage integrated health data centered on the individual."

Non-face-to-face medical consultation platform DoctorCall.

Non-face-to-face medical consultation was an unfamiliar concept just a few years ago. However, over 3 million non-face-to-face consultations have been conducted in South Korea during the two years when it was temporarily permitted due to the spread of COVID-19. More than 20 companies, including startups, have entered the non-face-to-face medical consultation market. It has truly entered an era of intense competition. Team Leader Kim stated, "While the advantages of non-face-to-face consultations were highlighted during the COVID-19 situation, the adverse effects that were claimed did not actually occur. The government is considering systematizing non-face-to-face consultations to optimize limited medical resources, and the private sector is expanding various forms of platform businesses." However, he predicted that the current non-face-to-face medical consultation market will undergo changes. Companies that understand the medical field, operate within laws and regulations with high reliability, and reflect the demands of various stakeholders in the industry in their services will inevitably reorganize the market.

He emphasized, "Non-face-to-face medical consultation is currently a sunset business that can only be conducted temporarily under specific circumstances. Since the effectiveness of non-face-to-face consultations has been confirmed due to COVID-19, standards must be established to enable stable business operations." He also expressed concerns about excessive competition within the industry. Kim said, "The essence of non-face-to-face medical consultation services lies in complementing the medical gaps of current face-to-face consultations and efficiently utilizing limited resources. Rather than being caught up in excessive competition, it is the role of service providers to focus on the essence to draw out the necessity and consensus for non-face-to-face consultations."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.