Reviewed by최연승대표원장
Why is it possible to get a non-face-to-face prescription for diet herbal medicine even if I live in a small or medium-sized city in a local area?
Non-face-to-face consultations for diet herbal medicine are feasible because this treatment is closer to chronic disease management, and pattern differentiation (辨證) relies heavily on inquiry (問診), which can be effectively conducted remotely. While pulse diagnosis is missed, key symptoms like appetite, digestion, and bowel habits are easily assessed through conversation and photos. This approach also improves treatment adherence by eliminating travel barriers.
I was initially skeptical about non-face-to-face herbal prescriptions, but after some experience, I realized that diet herbal medicine focuses more on chronic constitution improvement than acute illness. In Western medicine, obesity is a chronic condition (e.g., metabolic syndrome), so telemedicine is permitted for follow-ups and counseling. In Traditional Korean Medicine, prescribing diet herbs involves pattern differentiation (辨證), where we assess the patient's overall state—such as deficiency/excess (虛實) and cold/heat (寒熱)—and over 80% of that information comes from inquiry (問診). For example, spleen deficiency (脾虛) causing poor digestion and cold intolerance, or phlegm-fluid (痰飮) leading to phlegmy cough and white tongue coating, can be deduced from reported symptoms and tongue photos. Of course, we lose direct pulse diagnosis (脈診), which is a hallmark of TKM. However, for diet herbal medicine, factors like lifestyle, eating patterns, bowel movements, and sleep quality influence prescribing more than pulse findings. Thus, remote pattern differentiation can achieve a similar accuracy to in-person visits. The main advantage is that patients in smaller cities, who may lack nearby Korean medicine clinics or have busy schedules, can receive consistent follow-up, boosting adherence. The downside is missing subtle changes detectable through pulse and abdominal examination (腹診), but we compensate with thorough consultations, detailed questionnaires, and photo/video submissions. In essence, diet herbal medicine suits telemedicine because its progress is gradual and symptom-driven, making it accessible regardless of location.