Health ministry urges doctors to draft guidelines for telemedicine

As the pilot project for telemedicine has been ongoing for six years, the government has proposed that the medical community cooperate to create a new turning point and help stabilize the system.

“The discussion should move beyond the controversy of allowing first and second visits,” said Sung Chang-hyun, Director of the Medical Policy Division at the Ministry of Health and Welfare, during a forum on Monday hosted by the Medical Policy Research Institute of the Korean Medical Association, titled “Problems in Institutionalizing Telemedicine.”

Director Sung then called on the medical community to take the lead in developing clinical guidelines for telemedicine.

“Legislation doesn't always come out perfect,” he said. “It's important to keep discussing improvements. The government also recognizes that face-to-face care is fundamental and that we must go beyond convenience to ensure safety and efficacy.”

Sung emphasized that the distinction between first and second visits should be seen not as a clinical concept, but as an administrative classification for health insurance reimbursement.

“The medical community's concerns about allowing first-time visits via telemedicine can be addressed by legislation that enables physicians to reject unreasonable requests for remote consultations,” he added.

“The government plans to assess the pilot project’s achievements and challenges using the data,” Sung said. “We will distinguish between areas that need legislation, those that can be addressed through administrative guidelines, and those that require medical guidance. Let’s find solutions together -- through collaboration between experts and the government.”

The medical community also stressed the importance of establishing a “standard clinical practice guideline” for telemedicine.

“Current telemedicine guidelines are largely administrative. There are no clinical standards,” said Professor Kim Hun-sung of the Department of Endocrinology and Metabolism at the Catholic University of Korea College of Medicine, citing evaluations of the pilot project.

“We need clinical guidelines by specialty, such as for diabetes and hypertension, with clear protocols for patient management that can be shared across institutions.”

Kim also noted that the scope and target population for initial consultations must be clearly defined.

“In the U.S., initial telemedicine consultations are limited in principle and prioritized for patients who have already had face-to-face visits,” he said. “If we institutionalize this without clear standards and legislate too hastily, it could undermine the clinical evidence the medical community has built.”

Some critics argued that a full review of the pilot program must precede any steps toward institutionalization.

“I’m not against telemedicine -- it has its advantages,” said Cho Seung-cheol, former secretary of the Telemedicine Task Force at the Korean Physicians Association. “But it should begin with a thorough verification and reflection on the pilot project. We also need transparency on issues like the rationale for telemedicine adoption and any related medical accidents.”

“It should be clearly defined as a supplement to in-person care, not a replacement, and should not be allowed as the initial point of consultation,” Cho added. “The government must evaluate the pilot project results in the context of its goals for appropriate care and quality control—and confirm whether it truly provides quality care to the public.”