Health ministry opens debate on wider remote-care drug delivery

The health ministry will open discussions on making drug delivery available to all remote-care patients before the service is formally institutionalized.

An amendment to the Medical Service Act taking effect Dec. 24 will allow drug delivery only to residents of islands and remote areas, long-term care beneficiaries, people with disabilities, and patients with infectious or rare diseases.

The government is drafting rules for the initial rollout that would make neighborhood pharmacies the main delivery channel for eligible patients and prohibit pharmacies dedicated exclusively to remote consultations.

The debate will cover eligibility for a wider patient population, quality management of dispensed medicines, confirmation that patients receive medicines and medication guidance. The government also plans to discuss amendments to the Pharmaceutical Affairs Act and Medical Service Act.

The government said it will consider wider drug delivery alongside restrictions on remote-care intermediaries operating wholesale businesses, with the aim of reorganizing the pharmaceutical distribution market, improving patient access to care and promoting innovation in related fields.

A cross-government public-private consultative body involving the health ministry, the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, the Office for Government Policy Coordination, pharmacist groups and remote-care intermediaries will discuss medicine-receipt methods and measures to establish the system.

Since May 6, the ministry has provided pharmacy-level information on whether medicines are purchased and dispensed. It plans to update the information more frequently and provide purchase and dispensing quantities to remote-care intermediaries.