South Korean telecommunication firm KT said Wednesday it plans to launch a pilot telemedicine platform in Vietnam before the end of this year, with the aim of a soft landing within the next three years.

The service will be aimed at monitoring those who are suffering from chronic diseases such as cancer, diabetes and high blood pressure, allowing patients to check their health conditions, medications and workouts, and get access to counseling with Vietnamese medical professionals.

Vietnam‘s increased purchasing power is shooting up the demand for advanced medical service and pharmaceutical products, the company said in a statement.

KT will carry out the proof of concept of the telehealth service with Hanoi Medical University. Further conditions for the new business are being discussed with the Vietnamese government, drugmakers, dietary supplement makers and medical technology firms, KT added. Korean telemedicine company HurayPositive is also involved in the partnership.

The announcement came as KT’s home country has deemed a digital healthcare service effectively illegal amid opposition from doctors here, with emergency COVID measures being the exception since 2020. Instead, KT has turned to overseas telemedicine markets, including Vietnam and Russia.

Ko Hun-seok, a KT official in charge of digital and bio health business, told a news conference Wednesday that he saw “little regulatory barrier with regards to telemedicine platform operation, remote prescribing and door-to-door medicine delivery in Vietnam,” adding a soft landing in Vietnam may open the doors to the service expansion to the neighboring Southeast Asian countries.

In the meantime, KT and Hanoi Medical University will launch a joint research project to develop medical solutions for early detection of Alzheimer‘s disease, using KT’s artificial intelligence platform.

(consnow@heraldcorp.com)