[Anchor]
Starting at the end of this year, residents of islands or remote areas, as well as people with disabilities, will be able to have their medications delivered straight to their homes. When the government further signaled its intent to expand the scope of medicine delivery, the pharmacists' community immediately pushed back.
Here is a report by Han Sung-hee.
[Reporter]
Non-face-to-face treatment allows patients to consult with doctors using smartphones without having to visit a hospital.
Following six years of pilot programs since the COVID-19 pandemic, it is slated for full implementation this December.
Along with the implementation of non-face-to-face treatment, exceptions will also be made to the Pharmaceutical Affairs Act regulation stating that prescription drugs must be sold exclusively inside pharmacies.
Residents of islands and remote areas, long-term care beneficiaries, and people with disabilities will be able to receive their prescribed medications via delivery after non-face-to-face consultations without having to visit a pharmacy.
However, the Ministry of Health and Welfare announced that it will begin discussions on amending the law to allow such medicine delivery for all non-face-to-face treatment patients.
This means patients may not need to visit either hospitals or pharmacies, and citizens generally appear to welcome the move.
[Kim Joo-young / Seongdong-gu, Seoul: In my household, it's often difficult for my grandmother and father to go all the way to the pharmacy to get their prescriptions filled and picked up....]
[Jang Dong-woo / Seongdong-gu, Seoul: Since messages and notifications regarding medication guidance will keep coming in-between, I think medicine delivery is a good system.]
The pharmacists' community immediately protested.
They argue that there is a possibility of dispensed medicines deteriorating during the delivery process and significant concerns over the misuse and abuse of drugs.
[Jang Bo-hyun / Pharmacist: Even when we explain things directly while looking at patients face-to-face at the pharmacy, there are many cases where problems arise due to improper ingestion or use. There are completely no safety devices or measures for that....]
The Korean Pharmaceutical Association issued a statement declaring that it will not participate in consultative body discussions premised on expanding medicine delivery and will desperately block efforts to broaden delivery.
This stance is interpreted as reflecting concerns that if medicine delivery is expanded, the scope could eventually widen to include drugs previously purchased directly at pharmacies without a prescription, ultimately impacting pharmacy sales.
On the other hand, delivery companies and online ordering platform companies are showing signs of delight.
Major countries such as the United States and Japan already permit the delivery of prescription drugs, and pharmacists sometimes provide medication guidance over the telephone or via video.
The Ministry of Health and Welfare plans to broadly discuss concerns regarding quality control of manufactured medicines and medication guidance, but with fierce backlash from the pharmacists' community, the legal revision is expected to face rough sailing.
(Camera Reporter: Joo Yong-jin | Video Editor: Lee Hong-myung)
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