South Korean smart healthcare industry is falling behind

 11-Jan-17, Business Korea

It has been found that the South Korean smart healthcare industry is mired in excessive regulations. In 2016, no more than three mobile healthcare apps obtained the local medical device authorization, and one out of the three was the National Health Insurance Service’s. In contrast, the USFDA allowed the sale of 36 digital healthcare devices in 2016.

Image: Business Korea

Such a stark contrast has to do with strict regulations on telemedicine in South Korea. South Korea has yet to deal with this type of regulations, with smaller hospitals and clinics and civic organizations opposed to telemedicine.

Another roadblock is the Korean government’s time-consuming approval of innovative devices. For example, smartphone apps for blood sugar management and heart rate sensing hit the market much later than in many other countries, after being classified as personal healthcare products.

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