A medical worker talks to a coronavirus-infected patient via video link at a medical facility in Seongnam, near Seoul, January 21, 2022. (Pool Photo) (Yonhap)
SEOUL, 21 Feb. (Korea Bizwire) — After the government temporarily lifted regulations on online medical diagnosis and treatment amid the COVID-19 pandemic, competition is heating up among new players to gain the upper hand in the online medical connectivity market .
Goodoc, a medical service search/booking service in the country, saw its monthly active users (MAUs) reach 247,358 last month, up 30.2% from a year earlier, according to the tracker. IGAWorks data.
During the same period, the MAU of telemedicine services platform Dr. Now soared to 158,917, 20 times more than a year ago.
The number of such applications is increasing in recent days thanks to the increase in the number of COVID-19 patients undergoing treatment at home.
These companies see in the temporary opening of the telemedicine market, previously closed like an impregnable fortress, a golden opportunity.
Based on the expectation that it would be difficult for the government to ban remote medical diagnosis even after the pandemic is over, they are stepping up their efforts to gain a foothold in the market ahead of their competitors.
“With a well-established insurance system and a larger number of hospital beds relative to the size of the territory, South Korea is expected to provide good access to medical services. However, medical access is not simply a matter of distance,” an industry official said.
“There are many cases where accessibility to medical services is deteriorating due to physical and time constraints, including salaried workers in urban areas, parents and children who have difficulty going outside.”
JS Shin (js_shin@koreabizwire.com)
