“Hey Alexa, I want to talk with a doctor. Please connect me to him.” As soon as you are finished, Alexa creates a video call between you and a licensed doctor in a few minutes.

Alexa is an Artificial Intelligence speaker developed by Amazon that supports non-face-to-face (NF2F) medical services for mild illnesses or for diseases that need continuous care. Just like Amazon, many big tech companies such as Google and Microsoft and startups are focusing on developing NF2F medical services. The market began to expand after the Covid-19 pandemic: in 2020, the market size for NF2F healthcare was $35 billion and it is expected to reach $225 billion in 2030. During the pandemic, patients could not go out to get medical services in person, which resulted in the exponential growth of virtual medical services and platforms. This phenomenon is especially evident in Korea. NF2F medical service was illegal before the government legalized it during Covid-19, and it has been under trial since June 2023.

“Doctor Now” is the top NF2F medical care mobile app in Korea, having been downloaded over 4.3 million times. Its service started in November 2020 during the Covid-19 pandemic. “Doctor Now” provides non-face-to-face medical care at any time of the day. It is affiliated with over 3000 medical institutions in Korea and offers over 20 departments of medical treatment. In fact, patients can get medical treatment for not only the coronavirus but also for acne, diet, and hair loss. Its services include delivering prescribed medicine to patients’ houses in less than 30 minutes. Medication is dispensed and delivered from the nearest pharmacy based on a GPS tracker. “Doctor Now” differentiates itself by offering real-time interactive consultations for free. If users leave messages on an interactive consultation board, doctors or nurses will answer usually in 5 minutes. The application was selected for the innovation award in the area of digital healthcare at CES 2023 for its contribution to increasing access to healthcare systems.


There are over 30 non-face-to-face medical service mobile apps in Korea, which means competition between apps is becoming more intense. Therefore, apps specialized for specific diseases are starting to gain popularity. For example, “Sir’s” and “Hold” specialize in the treatment of men’s hair loss, and “FADOC” specializes in oriental clinic services and herbal medicine prescriptions. According to a survey conducted by the Ministry of Health and Welfare, over 60% of users who have experienced non-face-to-face medical services were satisfied with their experiences, and over 80% of users answered that they would use the services again. The biggest reason for their satisfaction was convenience, as users could save time used for visiting hospitals or clinics.

Although the majority of users were satisfied with NF2F medical services, some concerns still exist. Since patients can get prescriptions easily through mobile apps, doctors and pharmacists are concerned about drug abuse. Doctors also worry that patients’ symptoms will exacerbate especially when treatment in person is necessary for serious illnesses. From the patient’s point of view, trust in the doctor can be a problem, as a patient receives treatment without physically checking with the doctor. In sum, non-face-to-face medical service is a double-edged sword. Therefore, it is crucial that patients use the applications wisely and go to a hospital to get treatment in person if they have serious illnesses.