* Telemedicine temporarily allowed in S.Korea since late-Feb 2020
* Some 2 mln people under home care as COVID cases hit record
* President-elect Yoon says telemedicine 'inevitable reality'
* Global telemedicine market to more than double to $264 bln by 2028 vs 2020- research
By Joori Roh
SEOUL, March 22 (Reuters) - Kim Jin-woo, a 27-year old resident of Seoul battling COVID-19 and recovering at home under a new government policy, needed to see a doctor when his symptoms did not improve, but the nearest designated hospital was fully booked. So he picked up his phone.
Like Kim, many have turned to telemedicine in South Korea in recent weeks as access to in-person options have been hit after authorities said they would only provide care to COVID patients aged 60 and above amid record high Omicron cases and prescribed home care for those with mild symptoms.
While telemedicine is technically illegal in South Korea and has only been allowed under emergency COVID measures since 2020, the increase in its users and support from President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol who sees it as an "inevitable reality" suggest it may remain part of the healthcare system.
"It was really convenient to get treatment via a phone call and have drugs delivered through a single process. I wish this can be expanded even after COVID ends," Kim said. "Making a trip to the hospital can be burdensome when you're ill."
The closest hospital designated for COVID home care patients that Kim can go to is an hour away by foot, but it only provides such treatment on Monday and Tuesday and is currently fully booked for the week.
A total 2 million people are under home care for COVID in the country. While there are two doctors per 1,000 people on average in South Korea, only six of 17 cities and provinces meet the average, showing how health care is thinner in many parts.
This gap in traditional in-person services has driven up business for local telemedicine players, like Doctor Now, Ollacare, Soldoc and Dr.Call, that help connect hospitals to patients located tens and hundreds of kilometres away.
Doctor Now, a SoftBank Ventures-backed startup, said it has seen a surge in users, mostly in their 20s and 30s, with COVID consultations now making up above half of total cases.
Of its cumulative 2.3 million users since December 2020, nearly a million patients have signed up for treatment in February this year, a 40-fold jump from a year earlier.
Other players have also seen a pick up in users.
But telemedicine providers are few in South Korea, leading to long virtual queues. Kim, for example, had to wait three hours to get a phone call from a doctor.