In the final month of 2023, non-face-to-face treatment has returned to the center of controversy. The Ministry of Health and Welfare announced the revision of the non-contact medical treatment pilot project in early December. It has expanded the scope of telemedicine to include new patients, nighttime, and holidays, causing a strong backlash from the medical and pharmaceutical communities.

The industry is not overjoyed with the revised plan, which prohibits drug delivery. High interest rates have also led to a shortage of investment. Korea Biomedical Review spoke with Kim Sung-hyun, CEO of Blueant, which operates the non-face-to-face medical treatment platform Ollacare, to listen to the industry's voice and learn about the market outlook.

Question: Introduce Blueant Inc. to our readers.

Answer: Blueant is a digital healthcare service company founded five years ago. We operate the non-face-to-face medical treatment platform “Ollacare,” the physician community platform “Docple,” and the insurance claim pre-screening service “Rx plus Solution & Consulting” (Rx+). We started our business with the ambition to provide healthcare services that connect people to people and people to information.

Q: How did you come to run Ollacare, a non-face-to-face healthcare platform?

A: While running Docple and Rx+, I was thinking about B2C services. However, with the breakout of the Covid-19 pandemic, the government allowed non-face-to-face medical treatment for a limited time. That's why we launched Ollacare in 2021. I thought it was one of the ways to utilize technology and data to improve healthcare. It's not just a platform for non-face-to-face care. We're thinking about what services to provide in the context of digital healthcare.

Q: Are the doctor community Docple and Ollacare interconnected?

A: They are not. Blueant only acts as a service provider for Docple and does not influence or intervene in the community's operations. We have also promised those signed up for Docple that we will not use it for non-face-to-face care until it is legally allowed.

On the flip side, this could be a competitive advantage for Ollacare. If you post an inquiry about a disease on Docple, you may receive a response recommending an in-person appointment rather than a virtual one. Users can then decide if it's a push to see a doctor or genuine medical advice. Other telemedicine platforms also have doctor Q&As, which is unique to Ollacare.

One of Blueant's goals is to provide solutions to help primary care organizations with digital transformation. In the long run, we want that to be the identity of both Docple and Ollacare.

Q: Why do you think primary care organizations need digital transformation?

A: As Korea enters a hyper-aged society, the role and function of primary healthcare organizations will become more important in the healthcare system. If the role of primary healthcare organizations is limited to treatment, the demand for healthcare will skyrocket, and health insurance finances will become unaffordable. Eventually, the role of primary healthcare organizations will shift to disease prevention and management, and medical data will be needed for comprehensive decision-making.

Q: Concerns about non-face-to-face treatment remain, although Korea has put the Covid-19

pandemic behind and begun a pilot telemedicine project after allowing it limitedly. What do you think of the concern that patients will concentrate in large hospitals?

A: I expect value-based matching to occur. I participated in a meeting of the advisory group for the non-face-to-face care pilot project. At that meeting, an official from the Ministry of Health and Welfare pointed out that Korea does not have a primary care physician system. Still, some doctors have the characteristics of primary care physicians. In other words, patients don't just need medicines but need a doctor who can take care of them, and they are expected to seek them out actively.

Doctors have become less hesitant to go virtual after the limited permissions and pilots. And I think the more doctors see patients through virtual visits, the more they will ask for personal health records (PHRs). They will use the platform as a tool to manage their patients better.

Q: How do you assess the government's revision of the non-face-to-face care pilot project announced this month?

A: It's good that the government has allowed non-face-to-face medical treatment for first-time treatments. The distinction between initial visits and revisits was not right from the beginning. As the Ministry of Health and Welfare explained, patients can describe their symptoms, but it is impossible to know if they have the same disease until they see a doctor. It's also good to see that doctors can refuse non-face-to-face visits at their discretion.

On the other hand, it is very disappointing that drug delivery is not allowed, which makes it a half-baked pilot project because on weekdays, nights, and weekends, not only hospitals but also pharmacies are less accessible. If drug delivery is not allowed, the overall user experience is bound to decrease.

If healthcare organizations send prescriptions to pharmacies, as the pharmacy association claims, two problems arise. First, if the patient specifies a pharmacy and they don't have the medication, it's unlikely they'll be able to get it. Second, if the healthcare provider specifies a pharmacy and sends it to them, it could lead to diversion. The role of existing non-face-to-face medical platforms is to mediate this.

First and foremost, the pilot project is supposed to explore what kind of non-contact care our society needs, where it should be allowed, and what the problems are. However, with the addition of the drug delivery ban, we can't judge the effectiveness and safety of non-contact care.

Q: What are Blueant's big plans for the coming year besides the telemedicine business?

A: Early next year, we will launch Rx+ 2.0, which will be faster and more convenient. Additional services have been added to the previous version, which will be unveiled at the same time as the launch. In addition, we plan to unveil the medical data-related business we are preparing at KIMES next March.

We also expect to enter the customized dry food business. Recently, we decided to launch the “10 billion lactic acid bacteria project” with CJ Healthcare. When people think of customized dry food, they think of the dry food portion business. However, we believe choosing the right dry food and eating it consistently is important. We expect good results by combining CJ Wellcare's dry food products with Blueant's medication routine service. We are discussing cooperation with other dry food companies besides CJ Wellcare.

Q: In 2023, the non-face-to-face medical treatment industry experienced many ups and downs, with some companies leaving the business. How do you see the future of the industry?

A: When the announcement was made to expand the scope of the pilot project, there were many reports that the industry welcomed it. However, it is important to consider that it has been an easy market for telemedicine companies to raise capital. In a low-interest rate environment, contactless care platforms received a lot of investment.

However, all startups are facing economic difficulties, and venture capitalists are reluctant to invest in unprofitable companies. At the same time, pilot projects have been implemented, and each company has to prove how they will make money.

The industry is in the red. It would help if you had operational staff, hospital sales, and infrastructure; these are all costs. I think the market will be reorganized around companies that can prove profitability.