Telemedicine becoming a hot issue in MERS-stricken Korea
22-Jun-15, Business Korea
The spread of the Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) is arousing controversy over telemedicine in Korea. The government temporarily allowed Samsung Medical Center patients to get prescriptions by phone or fax, with the hospital shut down due to the disease.
%20Business%20Korea.jpg "Telemedicine becoming a hot issue in MERS stricken Korea (c) Business Korea")
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According to current law, medical examinations and prescriptions by phone are illegal. However, the Medical Act also stipulates that a phone-based medical checkup is temporarily allowed in the event of a critical incident related to national health.
Some organizations in the medical community are claiming that the government illegally allowed telemedicine, despite the lack of proof as to its safety and effectiveness. “The collusion-based special treatment offered to the major hospital will take the others’ patients away,” one of them said.