The non-face-to-face medical brokerage platform "My Own Doctor" has stepped up with the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries to manage the health of islanders living in vulnerable areas of medical care.
According to the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries on the 18th, My Own Doctor was selected as the organizer of the "Fishing Village Welfare Bus Project," which began on the 8th in Gonggijeomdo, Sinan-gun, Jeollanam-do. The fishing village welfare bus project is a policy to improve the quality of life of fishermen, and officials in the "medical, living, and administrative" fields visit islands and fishing villages to provide the services. Apart from the existing non-face-to-face medical services, My Own Doctor has newly launched a platform called "Non-face-to-face Island Doctor," which is configured according to the conditions of islands and fishing villages. Fishermen can use real-time medical treatment as well as prescription, delivery, and hospital reservations at once if they access the non-face-to-face island doctor, a dedicated app. In addition, occupational diseases that frequently appear in fishermen, such as musculoskeletal diseases, can also be managed through the app.
Sun Jae-won, co-CEO of Meraki Place, which runs My Own Doctor, said, "It is also characterized by a new application of the user's convenience design in consideration of the aging degree of fishermen in the island area and the utilization of smartphones," adding, "We will continue to work to improve the accessibility of fishermen."
The non-face-to-face island doctor, a kind of pilot project, will target about 400 fishermen on about 20 islands this year. The industry expects that it will be promoted in earnest in various parts of the country starting next year.
Although non-face-to-face treatment has been allowed recently, the use of island residents is low due to the lack of related information, co-CEO Sun said. "As they are those who desperately need non-face-to-face treatment more than anyone else, we hope that related services will be widely known and Korea's medical blind spots will be resolved through this non-face-to-face island doctor with the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries."
[Reporter Shim Heejin]