Nighttime, weekend, holiday telehealth services permitted for first-time patients

Telehealth services at night and on public holidays have become available for first-time patients nationwide as the government expanded the scope of such services on Friday.

The changes also allow access to telehealth services for first-time patients residing in regions categorized as "medically vulnerable areas" at any time.

Previously, first-time patients under 18 could receive only a contactless consultation at night and during public holidays and weekends, but were not able to receive prescriptions.

However, starting Friday, first-time patients in all age groups are able to receive telehealth services, including consultations and prescriptions, after 6 p.m. on weekdays, on weekends and on days designated public holidays, according to a statement from the Health Ministry on Friday.

Furthermore, until now, only first-time patients residing on islands and in mountainous or isolated areas had access to telehealth services at any time.

But beginning Friday, such services were extended to 98 cities, counties and districts designated "medically vulnerable areas," the statement said. These areas represent 39 percent of Korea's 250 cities, counties and districts.

Medically vulnerable areas are defined as populations in cities or counties where the percentage of individuals unable to reach a regional emergency medical center within 30 minutes exceeds 30 percent.

The contactless medical services, commonly referred to as telehealth services, were first introduced in South Korea in February 2020. This decision was made in response to the government elevating the classification of COVID-19 to the highest level within its four-tier system, "serious," as part of the exceptional health care challenges posed by the pandemic.

Telehealth treatment had previously been illegal in Korea. It had been permitted only in exceptional cases, such as in the event of a national infectious disease emergency like the COVID-19 pandemic.

Although the legal basis for such services disappeared following the government's downgrading of COVID-19's classification to "alert" in June, there has been significant demand to maintain access to telehealth services.

In response to such demand, the ministry has been carrying out various pilot programs with the intention of launching a nationwide program.