Q. I live in Haeundae. Can I receive a weight-loss herbal medicine prescription via telemedicine?

You can receive weight-loss herbal medicine through telemedicine even from Haeundae. However, TKM-based weight loss is not simply about suppressing appetite. We first need to identify your constitution and root cause—whether it is spleen deficiency (biheo) impairing digestion, phlegm-fluid retention (dameum) accumulating, or blood stasis (eohyeol) blocking circulation. The advantage of telemedicine is its flexibility in time and location, which greatly helps busy office workers or parents who find it burdensome to visit the clinic. It also facilitates ongoing consultation and quick adjustments to the prescription. However, pulse diagnosis (maekjin) and inspection (sijin) are limited. A TKM doctor relies on feeling the radial pulse, examining the tongue, skin color, and edema in person for an accurate diagnosis; via telemedicine, only photos or videos are available, narrowing the diagnostic scope. Especially for weight-loss patients, changes in body shape and abdominal tension are important clues that are hard to fully capture without a physical exam. Therefore, the approach depends on your situation. If you have already had an in-person consultation and then switch to telemedicine for follow-ups, it works well. But for first-time patients, I recommend visiting the clinic. I recall a case where I tried to prescribe solely via telemedicine but felt uncertain, so I asked the patient to come in. Telemedicine is convenient, but it must be used without compromising diagnostic accuracy.