South Korean Entrepreneurs Tap into U.S. Telemedicine Surge

Medical market revitalized as the regulations related to the COVID-19 pandemic eased
LG Electronics To Provide a non-face-to-face Telemedicine Solution In Partnership With Amwell In The U.S

The United States is emerging as a promising market for telemedicine. As regulations related to telemedicine have been relaxed in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, increased demands are creating new business opportunities for Korean companies.

According to KOTRA, on the 12th, the proportion of telemedicine in the total health insurance claims in the United States last November was recorded at 5.1%. This is a more than 25-fold increase from the mere 0.2% beginning of 2020.

The market is thought to be invigorated due to the relaxation of regulations related to telemedicine in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. In particular, the U.S. government’s announcement of the ‘Enforcement Policy for Non-Invasive Remote Monitoring Devices’ through the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in March 2020, at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, was a decisive factor in relaxing regulations on telemedicine. According to this policy, many Americans who have directly experienced the convenience of telemedicine continue to use telemedicine services even after the COVID-19 pandemic, which is increasing demand.

It is also suggested that the U.S. government’s decision to extend most of the relaxed regulations on telemedicine implemented during the COVID-19 pandemic until the end of this year has played a part. This allows Medicare enrollees across the United States to receive telemedicine services from doctors, qualified occupational therapists, physical therapists, and speech therapists and get refunded for the costs.

The medical environment in the United States is also cited as a factor in the growth of the telemedicine market. Those factors include low medical accessibility in areas outside of urban centers, a shortage of doctors, an aging population, and a high rate of chronic disease patients. According to Merritt Hawkins, a U.S. medical consulting firm, the average waiting time for a first outpatient visit in Portland, Oregon, was found to be 45.6 days. In contrast, telemedicine services took an average of 18 minutes.

LG Electronics is cited as a Korean company that has quickly entered the U.S. telemedicine market. LG Electronics partnered with Amwell, a U.S. telemedicine software company, in March 2022 to jointly develop a non-face-to-face virtual medical solution. Since the end of 2022, it has provided a non-face-to-face telemedicine solution in North America in cooperation with Amwell.

The entry of Korean companies into the U.S. telemedicine market is expected to continue. This is because Korean companies’ IT technology is highly rated.

Jae-In Lee of KOTRA Dallas Trade Office stated, “It is expected that the entry of Korean companies into the U.S. market through IoT-based medical devices and telemedicine solutions will be promising.”