Q. I'm curious why remote diet herbal medicine prescriptions are possible even if I live in a new town in southern Gyeonggi Province.

Yes, remote diet herbal medicine prescriptions are possible even if you live in a new town in southern Gyeonggi Province, mainly for two reasons. First, legal and institutional changes: after the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, telemedicine was temporarily permitted and has now become well-established for follow-up visits of existing patients. According to the Ministry of Health and Welfare guidelines, a Korean medicine doctor must first see a new patient in person, but subsequent progress checks can be done via video or phone. Second, the nature of Korean medicine diagnosis allows for remote 'syndrome differentiation' (辨證). When prescribing diet herbal medicine, factors such as digestion, bowel movements, appetite, sleep, tongue color and coating, facial complexion, and edema are evaluated. Patients can describe or show these via camera, so once the basic constitution and pathology are established during the initial visit, follow-up adjustments are sufficiently accurate remotely. Of course, pulse diagnosis (脈診) requires an in-person visit, so the first consultation must be in the clinic. Initially, I doubted whether adjusting herbal medicine remotely would work, but after a few years of trial and error, I found that patients actually share their results more conveniently. Now, not only patients in Seoul and Gyeonggi but also those living in other regions regularly receive remote management. However, since herbal medicine is personalized, it is safest to have a thorough in-person diagnosis first, then continue with remote care.