The government is pushing to improve the system so that all patients who receive telemedicine consultations can receive medication delivery.

On the 20th, the Ministry of Health and Welfare, the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, and the Office for Government Policy Coordination announced that, ahead of the institutionalization of telemedicine scheduled for the end of this year, they would discuss expanding medication delivery. Currently, medication delivery is prohibited. However, from 24 December this year, when the amended Medical Service Act comes into effect and telemedicine is institutionalized, medication delivery will be permitted only for residents of remote rural and island areas, persons with disabilities, and patients with rare or infectious diseases.

However, some have raised concerns about inconvenience, such as patients having to travel long distances to pharmacies to receive prescribed drugs even after a telemedicine consultation. In response, the government plans to push for another amendment to the Medical Service Act to allow all patients who receive telemedicine consultations to choose medication delivery. At the same time, it plans to permit delivery centered on nearby neighborhood pharmacies while prohibiting pharmacies dedicated exclusively to telemedicine prescriptions.

On the same day at the National Assembly, a revision to the Pharmaceutical Affairs Act that restricts telemedicine platforms from concurrently engaging in pharmaceutical wholesale business passed the plenary session. This bill is called the “Doctor Now Prevention Act” after the name of a company among telemedicine platforms that also operates a pharmaceutical wholesale business. Doctor Now has faced allegations that, by operating a pharmaceutical wholesaler, it induced patients to purchase drugs at pharmacies that bought medicines sold by its own wholesale business. With the passage of the amendment, this type of business practice is expected to be eradicated.

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