'It restored my right to a normal life': Users share stories of telemedicine's impact

"Telemedicine is a service that goes beyond convenience — it restores patients' right to a normal life," said Kim Mi-young, head of the Korea Type 1 Diabetes Patient Association.

A documentary recently released by Doctor Now, titled "Telemedicine, Connecting Everyday Life," is resonating with the general public.

The film spotlights people with limited healthcare access — including parents of severely disabled children, elderly patients in medically underserved areas, solo business owners and working mothers — and its release has amplified public calls for expanded telemedicine services.

Amid this, concerns are growing among both industry players and users as the government is reportedly considering regulations under a subordinate decree to the Medical Act that would cap telemedicine at 30 percent of all clinic-level consultations, restrict telemedicine to patients within the same regional zone, and limit remote consultations for chronic conditions such as hair loss.

Doctor Now recently partnered with the Korea Startup Forum to release the documentary featuring the stories of four telemedicine users with limited healthcare access, according to industry sources Thursday.

Seo Geon-guk, a solo business owner who suffers from gout, said the hardest part of his condition is having to leave work when pain strikes suddenly during his 11-hour solo shifts. "Being able to get a prescription right away through telemedicine when I was in pain meant I could keep my livelihood," he said.

Working mother Nam Seon-hwa said she had once gone to work while carrying a sick child in her arms. "When all you need is a refill of medication you've always taken, telemedicine is a huge help," she said.

Kim Mi-young, head of the Korea Type 1 Diabetes Patient Association, said patients face enormous sacrifices just to visit a hospital once. "Ignoring that and claiming healthcare access is adequate means you haven't looked closely at what patients' daily lives are actually like," she said.

She added that she had wished for remote medical services even a decade ago, though it seemed unimaginable at the time. "Telemedicine is a service that goes beyond convenience — it is the restoration of daily life, the recovery of patients' right to normalcy," she said.

Every telemedicine user featured in the documentary spoke about healthcare access. Experts, too, said the concept needs to be redefined — the mere presence of a medical facility nearby is not enough to call access adequate.

Im Ji-yeon, a family medicine specialist, said statistics showing South Korea's healthcare access ranks among the best in the world reflect only what happens once a patient reaches the hospital door. "In modern society, the medically marginalized are dual-income couples, working mothers and solo business owners," she said.

Concerns were also raised about a subordinate Medical Act decree the government is pushing to implement by December. Critics said the regulations are being drafted in a way that would impose blanket restrictions on telemedicine.

Industry voices are calling on the government to consider the actual circumstances and cases of real users — including children with severe disabilities, chronic patients in underserved areas, and self-employed and dual-income parents — when drafting the decree.

Jeong Jin-ung, chief executive of Doctor Now, said patients face vastly different situations and that healthcare access can be shaped by a wide range of circumstances and time constraints beyond physical distance. "The decree should be drafted in a way that allows telemedicine to be used flexibly through the professional judgment of medical professionals, and that leads to improved public welfare," he said.