Government Discusses Expanding Medication Delivery for Telemedicine Visits, Strengthening Pharmacy Inventory Information

The government will discuss expanding medication delivery for telemedicine visits to all patients.

The Ministry of Health and Welfare announced the plan on the 20th, ahead of the formalization of the telemedicine system. The government will discuss expanding medication delivery to reorganize the structure of the pharmaceutical distribution market, improve patients’ access to medical care and promote innovation in related fields, taking into account discussions including restrictions on telemedicine platform operators’ concurrent operation of wholesale businesses.

Medication delivery is currently expected to be permitted only for certain patients, including those living on islands or in remote areas, long-term care beneficiaries, people with disabilities, patients with infectious diseases and patients with rare diseases. Telemedicine will be formally institutionalized when the amendment to the Medical Service Act takes effect on Dec. 24, at the end of this year.

The government is preparing subordinate legislation that would allow medication delivery primarily through nearby community pharmacies while prohibiting pharmacies dedicated to telemedicine visits.

The government will go further by beginning discussions on expanding eligibility for medication delivery following telemedicine visits to all patients. It also plans to discuss revisions to relevant laws, including the Pharmaceutical Affairs Act and the Medical Service Act.

It will also review details including the quality control of dispensed medications, confirmation that patients have received them and medication counseling.

As part of this process, an interagency public-private consultative body will be operated with the participation of relevant ministries, including the Ministry of Health and Welfare, the Ministry of SMEs and Startups and the Office for Government Policy Coordination, as well as stakeholders including pharmacists’ organizations and telemedicine platform operators.

Through the consultative body, the government will gather stakeholder opinions sufficiently and create an environment for the stable establishment of telemedicine services and for the public to receive medications safely.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Health and Welfare and the Health Insurance Review & Assessment Service have provided telemedicine platform operators with weekly information on whether pharmacies purchased and dispensed prescription medications from telemedicine visits since May 6.

Going forward, the government plans to shorten the interval for providing the information and provide platform operators with pharmacy-specific purchase and dispensing quantities. The aim is to enable patients to quickly and easily find pharmacies that have the medications prescribed to them.