U-health and regulatory implications in Korea

Ubiquitous healthcare, in short u-health, aims to provide overall healthcare anywhere, anytime based on ubiquitous technology. In Korea, with its wide wireless broadband coverage, various types of ubiquitous healthcare projects are being undertaken. First of all, this research analyzes the distinctive characteristics and general processes of u-health, and the detailed roles and ranges of the stakeholders are illustrated. Based on this analysis, three different types of service models are classified according to the stakeholder interactions: services between health experts, services between health experts and service consumers, and services between service consumers. We introduce the current commercial and experimental services and focus on understanding the corresponding regulatory issues that should be considered. Among the various regulatory issues, we selected privacy protection, medical treatment cost, and division between healthcare and wellness as the most significant problems. Then we consider the regulatory implications for each issue, and propose potential ways to continue under the domestic conditions in Korea.