Q. I live in Dongtan. Can I get a diet herbal prescription through telemedicine?

Whether telemedicine is possible depends more on the patient's condition than their location. For diet-related herbal prescriptions, most cases can be handled non-face-to-face. However, since pulse diagnosis (脈診) is omitted, the process must compensate through detailed history taking, tongue diagnosis (舌診), and video calls. Here is a step-by-step explanation: 1. **Online Reservation and Guidance**: Select 'non-face-to-face initial consultation' on the hospital website or app. After booking, you will receive an SMS with a link to the medical questionnaire and photo-taking instructions. 2. **Questionnaire and Photo Submission**: Provide detailed information about your dietary habits, digestion, bowel movements, sleep, fatigue, and past diet attempts. In particular, photos of your tongue (for tongue diagnosis) and abdomen are requested. These are crucial clues for assessing conditions like spleen deficiency (脾虛, biheo) or phlegm-fluid retention (痰飮, dameum). Many patients feel shy about sending tongue photos at first, but it becomes familiar with practice. 3. **Video Consultation (15–20 minutes)**: The Korean medicine doctor reviews your questionnaire and photos in advance, then conducts a video call to ask additional questions and verify your condition. For example, they might ask, 'Do you often feel bloated?' or 'Do you experience alternating constipation and diarrhea?' to identify weak spleen function. Although they cannot palpate the abdomen or assess skin elasticity directly, they can observe abdominal breathing and skin color via video. 4. **Prescription and Herbal Decoction Delivery**: Based on the consultation, a personalized prescription is formulated. For spleen deficiency, formulas like Bojungikgi-tang (補中益氣湯) are used; for phlegm-fluid retention, modified Ijin-tang (二陳湯) is common. The herbs are prepared and shipped via courier, with dosage instructions and precautions enclosed. 5. **Monitoring During Treatment**: Progress is checked via text or phone every two weeks to a month. The focus is not just on weight change but on improvements in digestion and energy levels. The prescription is adjusted as needed. The goal is to strengthen the body’s resilience, not simply to lose weight rapidly. Non-face-to-face treatment is available from the initial consultation, but if you have serious underlying conditions or acute symptoms, an in-person visit is recommended. Since diet herbal medicine aims to strengthen the spleen-stomach (脾胃) function and restore metabolic balance rather than directly inducing weight loss, consistency is key. As you are in Dongtan, delivery typically arrives within a day, so feel free to consult without hesitation.