While the world was going all out to contain the new coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, the Korean medical community was divided by an untimely controversy over the government’s temporary approval for telemedicine.The Ministry of Health and Welfare recently announced that it would allow physicians to give over-the-phone medical consultation and prescriptions temporarily until the COVID-19 outbre
“Artificial intelligence (AI) has been developed that outperform doctors.” Such kind of headline is commonly seen in news reports these days. If an AI system that outperforms physicians is out in the market, why don’t hospitals immediately use it inpatient care? The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved more than 30 AI-using medical devices as of 2019. In Korea, the Ministry of Food a
A few days ago, the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety held a conference under the title of “Smart Healthcare 2018.” Unlike in previous years, more than a thousand people signed up for the workshop, reflecting rising interests in the digital healthcare. This writer, along with other experts, was on the panel, discussing whether Korea’s digital healthcare industry has any hopes or what the nation sho
Whether Korea should allow telemedicine has been controversial several times in the past administrations. Again, the current government’s plan to introduce telemedicine is facing vehement opposition from physicians. It is also rare for a country to enact a law to ban telehealth. What makes this issue repeatedly controversial? I would like to share how to solve this problem and what kind of misunde
I review a lot of initial business plans for healthcare startups – probably the most in Korea. Just as in other sectors, the most destructive innovations and bold challenges come from startups in the healthcare field.I recently heard an interesting comment at a U.S. conference. A well-known venture capitalist in Silicon Valley said he was looking for “a healthcare startup in the new era,” repl