S. Korea’s Telemedicine Pilot Program Kicks Off for Disabled Patients

South Korea's pilot program for connecting doctors with disabled patients with the use of information and telecommunication technology kicked off according to the health ministry.

The program will involve the patients including two hospitals and those who are in welfare and other facilities. The pilot program is pushed by the Health and Welfare Ministry.

According to the officials, the doctors will meet a total of 150 patients to give treatment and fill out the prescriptions through Internet.

The nurses will visit the houses of disable patients with severe conditions and the nurses will report periodically to the doctors about their condition.

"Disabled people are the ones who need telemedicine the most as they have difficulty in receiving medical treatment," said a ministry official.

The Health ministry launched a similar pilot program last year to reach people in rural areas like correctional facilities, islands, sailors of deep-sea fishing vessels, and soldiers near the border of North Korea to test the feasibility of the program.

The program is part of the Seoul government's plan to prepare a package that supports the local hospitals with the telemedicine services to overseas markets. However, the program faces strong opposition in the South Korea's medical industry.

Many doctors believe that the new system could make it easier for the patients to reach large hospitals and it might affect small hospitals and clinics in a neighborhood and it will further reduce their income.

For the last decade, a revision relevant to the law has been pending in the National Assembly.

Furthermore, doctors are only allowed to provide medical services and technologies to other health professional through the use of telecommunications technology under the current Medicine Law in South Korea.