Q. I'm curious about what is needed to receive a non-face-to-face diet herbal prescription in Gwangju.

For a non-face-to-face herbal prescription, you first need to fill out a detailed medical questionnaire before the consultation. This should include your usual eating habits, bowel movements, sleep patterns, previous dieting history, and any medications you are taking. If you have experienced rebound weight gain after Western diet drugs, be sure to mention it. Next, take clear photos of your tongue and face and send them in. The tongue directly reflects spleen deficiency (biheo) or phlegm-fluid (dameum), making it one of the most important clues for a Korean medicine doctor. When I first started telemedicine, I wondered how I could diagnose from just photos, but in many cases, natural photos taken at the patient's convenience turn out more useful. For body type information, we don't just look at weight; we also check waist circumference and abdominal condition. For example, whether the belly fat is hard or soft helps distinguish between possibilities like blood stasis (eohyeol) or qi stagnation (giche). Finally, the video consultation lasts about 10–15 minutes, during which I ask follow-up questions based on the questionnaire and photos. At this stage, we discuss the Korean medicine explanation for why you gain weight and adjust the prescription accordingly. One point to note: non-face-to-face treatment may be limited depending on your condition. If it is your first visit or if you have acute symptoms, I may recommend an in-person consultation first. I try to adhere to that principle.