Medical strikes lead to 6.5 times increase in online medical consultations in South Korea, with some calling for legislation rather than improvised measures

As medical personnel, including medical residents, continue to leave their jobs in opposition to the increase in the number of students at university medical schools, the Ministry of Health and Welfare announced at the end of February that it will end all non-face-to-face medical treatments, which had previously only been available to returning patients.
This revealed that the number of applications for non-face-to-face medical treatment in March was 155,599, a 6.5-fold increase from the 23,638 people in November 2023.
The department is responsible for treating patients with severe or emergency conditions at advanced general hospitals, patients with severe illnesses (between severe and mild) at general hospitals, and patients with mild illnesses at small local hospitals.
The medical system has been reorganized to be able to respond to each of these conditions. By conducting non-face-to-face medical examinations, the hospital says it has been able to provide some level of care for both severely and mildly ill patients.
However, there are still no advanced general hospitals or second-level general hospitals that can provide non-face-to-face medical care.
An industry insider said, "Advanced General Hospital, which has been heavily affected by medical personnel leaving work, is hesitant to introduce non-face-to-face medical care."
On the other hand, in the non-face-to-face medical care industry, legislation is more important than improvising to fill gaps in medical care with non-face-to-face treatment.
An industry source said, "It is necessary to actively exchange opinions with stakeholders, but with medical professionals away from work, there are fewer opportunities for this."