[Reporter's view] Focus on non-face-to-face contraceptives

Government without any response

The Ministry of Health and Welfare will hold a public hearing to prepare a reform plan for the non-face-to-face medical treatment pilot project from 2 p.m.

 

today (14th).

 

After disclosing the status of the pilot project, the plan is to hold a panel discussion to hear opinions from the medical community, pharmaceutical industry, platform app industry, and patient and consumer groups.

 

The Ministry of Health and Welfare has not officially commented on the direction of the pilot project reform.

 

Some media outlets only 'leaked' a statement that they are considering a reform plan to expand the scope of non-face-to-face first visitation.

 

For this reason, some criticize that “the Ministry of Health and Welfare is busy using the media to gauge public opinion in order to expand the implementation of the non-face-to-face medical treatment pilot project.” Some even point out that rather than starting administration based on specific policy implementation grounds, they are belatedly formulating policies that suit their tastes after being conscious of public opinion.

 

Non-face-to-face medical treatment is a policy that Minister of Health and Welfare Cho Gyu-hong and Second Vice Minister Park Min-soo have repeatedly emphasized over the years as to the need for institutionalization, but I wonder why they are so unsure about it.

 

First of all, the Ministry of Health and Welfare plans to prepare a reform plan after holding a public hearing on the non-face-to-face medical treatment pilot project, but there are already media reports that there is a strong direction to expand the permitted time zone for the non-face-to-face first treatment to nights, late at nights and public holidays, and to expand the permitted area to areas with a shortage of medical institutions.

 

The purpose is to enable residents in vulnerable areas who are not guaranteed access to medical care in the current pilot project to benefit from non-face-to-face medical treatment.

 

There is some criticism of the direction of the Ministry of Health and Welfare's reorganization that it is trying to allow unlimited non-face-to-face first visits by modifying the 'time zone' regulations, but if evidence is presented that the truly unreasonable reality of pilot projects can be improved, there is some sympathy with the direction of the Ministry of Health and Welfare's reorganization.

 

It can be expressed.

 

This means that the Ministry of Health and Welfare should specifically present cases where non-face-to-face treatment is not available due to a lack of medical institutions nearby, even though the area is not remote, such as islands or mountainous regions.

 

The Ministry of Health and Welfare has not made a single comment on how to manage the side effects that are concentrated in non-covered high-risk prescription drugs such as morning-after contraceptives, isotretinoin-based acne treatments, and finasteride-based hair loss treatments, which have been pointed out several times as representative side effects of non-face-to-face therapy.

 

The Ministry of Health and Welfare only reiterated its position that it would discuss expanding the scope of prescription-restricted drugs through a pilot project advisory group meeting but did not present any measures or blueprints on how to manage the concentration of prescriptions for high-risk medications.

 

Even after the implementation of the pilot project, non-face-to-face treatment prescription patterns or statistics are not disclosed.

 

Due to this situation, pharmacist professional organizations such as the Seoul Pharmaceutical Association and the Korean Pharmaceutical Association are individually calculating and publicizing their own statistics.

 

The justification for implementing and institutionalizing the non-face-to-face medical treatment pilot project announced by the Ministry of Health and Welfare is ‘strengthening medical access for medically vulnerable groups and residents.’ It is questionable whether the concentration of non-covered prescriptions for morning-after contraceptives, acne medicines, and hair loss medicines is in line with the Ministry of Health and Welfare's goal of strengthening the medical rights of the medically vulnerable.

 

Even in this situation, the Ministry of Health and Welfare is considering improvement measures to expand the scope of initial and repeat visits for non-face-to-face medical treatment, and it is highly likely that the Ministry of Health and Welfare will continue to mention the need to expand the scope at the public hearing to be held today.

 

The fact that the Ministry of Health and Welfare has not made any comments regarding regulatory measures for non-covered prescription drugs influenced Democratic Party lawmaker Jeon Hye-sook to come to the conclusion that she suspected 'collusion between platform operators and the government.' The National Assembly and medical groups have been calling for several years since the COVID-19 pandemic to address the side effects of unnecessary medications being excessively prescribed through non-face-to-face treatment and platforms, but the Ministry of Health and Welfare has not made any specific comments.

 

Vice Minister Park Min-soo strongly opposed Rep.

 

Jeon Hye-sook's point that the Ministry of Health and Welfare is pushing for non-face-to-face medical treatment to save the platform.

 

Rather than protesting, the first priority is to create an alternative that can solve the problem of wasting health insurance funds through excessive treatment and overprescription and increasing the risk of side effects from medicines for patients.

 

Platforms have gained too much power and have grown into 'super apps', standing over medical institutions and pharmacies to gather opinions on how to address side effects that could damage the healthcare delivery system.

 

The public hearing for the non-face-to-face medical treatment pilot project should be held in a format where the Ministry of Health and Welfare directly discloses the prescription statistics and patterns that occurred during the guidance period over the past three months, while also collecting opinions on solutions that will erode concerns about the concentration of prescriptions for high-risk non-reimbursed drugs and concerns about platform side effects.

 

It should not just be a formality and a basis-building effort to expand the scope of non-face-to-face first and return visits.

 

The slogan that face-to-face treatment is the principle and non-face-to-face treatment is an auxiliary means was put forward every time the Ministry of Health and Welfare insisted on the need to implement pilot projects and legislate.

 

The Ministry of Health and Welfare is breaking the principles of face-to-face treatment by discussing a pilot project reform plan that blindly expands the scope of first and repeat visits without any valid basis.