Q. Can I get a prescription for weight loss herbal medicine non-face-to-face? I'm curious about how it works without visiting in person.

Many people ask about non-face-to-face consultations these days. At first, I also wondered, 'How can I prescribe without seeing the patient in person?' In Korean medicine, pulse diagnosis (脈診) and abdominal diagnosis (腹診) are major pillars of diagnosis. By feeling the pulse, we can assess the flow of qi and blood (氣血), as well as the presence of phlegm-fluid (痰飮) or blood stasis (瘀血); by palpating the abdomen, constitutional tendencies such as spleen deficiency (脾虛) or damp-heat (濕熱) can be revealed. Missing these aspects increases the risk that the herbal medicine may not be accurately matched. However, this does not mean non-face-to-face care is entirely impossible. For follow-up patients who have already visited for a diagnosis or need simple symptom management, adjusting the prescription remotely can be quite effective. The advantages are clear: it is a great convenience for those who have difficulty finding time due to work or who live outside Daejeon, and it saves round-trip time and transportation costs. The disadvantages include lower diagnostic accuracy for first-time patients, the burden on the patient to clearly convey symptoms, and difficulty in immediately checking for adverse reactions during herbal medicine intake. Therefore, our principle is to require an in-person visit for the first consultation, but allow non-face-to-face adjustments thereafter. Ultimately, the patient's residence, health status, and the attending physician's judgment are most important. If visiting in person is truly difficult, it is best to seek alternatives through consultation.