Recently, the digital transformation has accelerated rapidly due to the growing interest in non-face-to-face treatment due to the Covid-19. Covid-19, which has changed all daily lives in the era of non-face-to-face, has changed even the U.S. medical industry, which was indifferent. Thus, the U.S. medical community has begun to actively accept remote patients monitoring(RPM) techniques that can treat patients at home in the treatment methods it has so far insisted on. Therefore, I agree that Korean government should adopt the telehealth system just like U.S. did.

First, until RPM is adopted, patients must wait for hours to receive treatment at the hospital. But now, the unnecessary time to receive medical treatment for 5 to 10 minutes has been drastically reduced, allowing more patients to respond quickly in real time. Unlike previous remote delivery methods, even if the patient is far away without additional visits, it has a tremendous effect on reducing expenses such as fast treatment and saving treatment time. According to the KLAS survey of 25 medical institutions, about 17% of the cost savings for medical institutions adopting remote patients monitoring service were recognized.

Second, RPM can greatly help manage diseases such as high blood pressure, diabetes, asthma, and heart disease, which always have to live with diseases outside the hospital, and prevent re-hospitalization. The method has already significantly reduced hospital re-hospitalization, and according to the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, patients were equipped with remote monitoring service equipment, reducing the risk of hospital re-hospitalization by 76 percent and maintaining patient satisfaction by more than 90 percent.

Third, RPM does not carry contagious diseases or parasites between patients and medical staff. In a survey of satisfaction with remote patients monitoring service temporarily allowed by the government due to Covid-19, 85.8 percent of medical staff said RPM was needed in emergency situations such as Covid-19. Globally, 94 percent of non-face-to-face medical service patients when the number of confirmed cases peaked after the corona outbreak suggests the need for remote patients monitoring service.

In conclusion, RPM is being reevaluated in many countries because of the advantage of being able to treat patients and doctors without face-to-face contact. In order for RPM to be allowed in Korea, it must pass a complicated process of revising the medical law, not just announcing policies, but I think adopting remote patients monitoring service is worth adopting.