Full Expansion of Telemedicine Drug Delivery... 'DoctorNow Prevention Act' Passes National Assembly

Ministry of Health and Welfare Launches Full-Scale Discussions to Expand Public Access to Medications
Pharmacist Groups and Brokerage Firms Join Efforts for Safe Drug Delivery

The government has officially begun discussions on expanding the range of recipients for prescription drug delivery obtained through telemedicine. With the rollout of this system slated for the end of this year, the initiative is aimed at improving public access to medications while also establishing measures to ensure safety throughout the delivery process.

(ChatGPT generated image)

On August 20, the Ministry of Health and Welfare announced plans to improve the structure of the pharmaceutical distribution market and enhance patient access to healthcare by expanding telemedicine drug delivery and advancing the system for providing pharmacy inventory information.

First, the government will consider extending drug delivery services, which were previously limited to certain eligible individuals, to all patients receiving telemedicine care.

When the revised Medical Service Act takes effect on December 24, telemedicine will be fully implemented, allowing drug delivery to certain groups including residents of islands and remote areas, long-term care recipients, people with disabilities, patients with infectious diseases, and those with rare diseases. Under current plans, drug delivery will be permitted primarily through local community pharmacies, while dedicated telemedicine-only pharmacies will be prohibited, as outlined in the subordinate regulations currently being prepared.

In addition, the government will begin discussions on making drug delivery available to all patients receiving telemedicine, and will review necessary amendments to related statutes such as the Pharmaceutical Affairs Act and the Medical Service Act to facilitate this change.

The government is also addressing drug safety management issues arising from the expansion of drug delivery. In order to ensure that patients who receive prescriptions via telemedicine can obtain and take their medications safely, it will review concrete management measures covering quality control of dispensed medicines, confirmation of the actual receipt by patients, and medication guidance.

To this end, the Ministry of Health and Welfare will establish an interagency public-private consultative body involving the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, the Office for Government Policy Coordination, pharmacist associations, and telemedicine intermediaries. Through this consultative body, the government aims to gather input from all stakeholders regarding telemedicine and drug delivery, create a stable environment for telemedicine services to become established, and ensure that the public can receive medications safely.

The system for providing pharmacy inventory information to telemedicine intermediary companies will also be improved. Since May 6, the Ministry of Health and Welfare and the Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service have been sharing weekly updates with telemedicine intermediaries on the purchasing and dispensing status of prescribed drugs for each pharmacy. Going forward, the reporting interval will be shortened, and additional data will be provided, including the amount of drugs purchased and dispensed by each pharmacy. This will enable patients to more quickly locate pharmacies that stock their prescribed medications.

Meanwhile, at the National Assembly’s plenary session on August 20, an amendment to the Pharmaceutical Affairs Act—commonly known as the "DoctorNow Prevention Act"—passed, placing restrictions on telemedicine platforms' entry into the pharmaceutical wholesale business. The amendment adds telemedicine intermediaries to the disqualifying reasons for licensing pharmaceutical wholesalers, and forbids transactions between wholesalers effectively controlled by telemedicine platforms and pharmacies that use those platforms.

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