After the government fully permitted telemedicine services to fill the medical vacuum amid a protracted collective action by doctors’ groups, the number of patients using the services rose by more than six times, especially among patients with mild symptoms.
 
Last February, the government announced it had fully allowed the use of telemedicine services in the event of collective action by junior doctors, allowing even first-time patients who are not residents of medically underserviced areas to use the service even on weekdays.
 
According to the Korean Telemedicine Industry Council(KTIC) on Wednesday, the total number of medical requests for telemedicine services last month from four platforms, including Good Doc, My Doctor, Doctor Now, and Soldoc stood at 155 thousand-599, with a daily average of five thousand-20.
 
In November 2023, before the government expanded the use of telemedicine services, the number of medical requests stood at 23 thousand-623 with a daily average of 787, with the figure rising six-point-five folds a month after the government's announcement.
 
By symptoms, colds, and body aches were the most common, accounting for about 20 percent, while pediatric and adolescents accounted for the largest proportion of patient usage.