[Game Changer] Goodoc goes from diagnosis to drugs in one hour

Industry

Published: 26 Aug. 2022, 18:57 Updated: 01 May. 2023, 18:58

[Game Changer] Goodoc goes from diagnosis to drugs in one hour

Goodoc CEO Lim Jin-seock demonstrates the Goodoc app during an interview with the Korea JoongAng Daily on Aug. 24 at the company's headquarters in southern Seoul. [PARK SANG-MOON]

You can get almost everything delivered straight to your doorstep in Korea — and now that even includes prescription medicine.

Telemedicine company Goodoc matches patients with doctors in a minute, helps them get diagnosed remotely and delivers prescription medicines to their door. The entire process, starting from opening the app, could be done in less than an hour.

“People don’t really believe it when we say one minute, but actually, it’s just a few seconds,” said Goodoc CEO Lim Jin-seock. “Sometimes, the whole process takes only 30 minutes.”

The company has over 300 registered doctors who can diagnose patients remotely through smartphones. A total of 10 million people have downloaded the app so far in Korea, with 1.5 million monthly active users.

Established in 2012, Goodoc started its business as an app that offers information about hospitals across the country and allows users to easily make reservations. It expanded its business to telemedicine since the Covid-19 outbreak as the Ministry of Health and Welfare temporarily authorized telemedicine in Korea in February 2020.

Telemedicine is defined as a medical practice done without face-to-face contact, using telecommunications technology. In other words, patients don’t have to visit hospitals to get diagnosed and receive medical consulting.

The company was acquired by Kosdaq-listed Carelabs in 2013, but split off in 2020. It has received funding from Samsung Venture Investment, the Industrial Bank of Korea and KB Investment.

The Korea JoongAng Daily sat down with Lim for an interview on Aug. 24 at the company's headquarters in Gangnam District, southern Seoul, to talk about the company's journey and future goals.

Below are edited excerpts.

Q. What made you start the healthcare app business?

A. It came from my desire to solve serious information asymmetry in the healthcare sector. More personally, my mother has been suffering from arthritis for quite a while, and back then it was very tough to find a good hospital through portal sites. There were so many advertisements and it was so difficult to find reviews from people who had actually visited the hospitals.

When I first released the Goodoc app in 2012, it started as an app that allows users to search hospitals, read reviews and make reservations. We have information on all 75,000 hospitals across the country, and of them, we made partnerships with 5,000 so that users can easily make reservations through the app. Starting last year, we expanded the business to telemedicine and the delivery of medicine.

Some people may be unfamiliar with telemedicine. Can you explain how your business works?

After registering with the app, users can select the department they want to get diagnosed by and leave a note detailing their symptoms. The app then matches the patients with doctors, who immediately video call the patients. The two can talk and if necessary, the doctor will create a prescription that is sent to pharmacies right away.

Under our fast delivery system, residents of Seoul and Gyeonggi can get medicine to their doorstep in an hour. We have signed deals with delivery companies Vroong and Barogo for this service. The service was offered for free until July, and now costs 5,000 won ($3.75) per order.

For patients residing in areas where quick delivery is unavailable, we offer two options. Patients can choose a nearby pharmacy to pick up their medicine from, or receive them through a general delivery service that typically takes two to three days.

With the government temporarily authorized telemedicine, there are around 20 startups in Korea so far. What distinguishes Goodoc from the competition?

Koreans have this ppali ppali (quickly, quickly) culture, and considering that, Goodoc offers the quickest service. Goodoc is the hospital version of Uber. Just like Uber quickly matches riders with drivers, Goodoc matches patients with doctors in less than a minute and delivers the medicine within an hour.

Many people doubt us when we say one minute. But they'll know that it is not an exaggeration when they really use our app. We are confident that our service is better than any other app in the local market. We’ve been in this area for 10 years, so we obviously have wider networks than others.

Telemedicine is temporarily allowed and there has been fierce opposition from doctors and pharmacies. What do you think about this? Will the law be fully revised after the pandemic?

Among the 38 OECD countries, 35 have legalized telemedicine. It is a big trend of the times, and it is right for Korea to follow the trend.

But of course, mediation between the stakeholders is necessary. New platforms must grow together with the industry, not causing harm to any side. This is the only way we can grow further. One of the pharmacists’ main arguments is that these kinds of apps destroy their businesses as pharmacies mostly sell products to nearby residents. In this case, platforms must come up with new rules that do not have any influence on their sales and protect their rights.

What are your plans for expanding overseas?

Surprisingly, many foreigners, mostly tourists, use Goodoc. We offer a service that offers users information about hospitals that have polymerase chain reaction [PCR] tests and how much they cost. Tourists that need the negative results to fly use our app and share their experience through social media.

In terms of business expansion, our next stops will be Japan and the United States, though we are still in the process of researching the markets. The two countries have the oldest populations, as well as very weak insurance systems. I believe Goodoc could make some meaningful achievements in those countries in the healthcare sector.

The remote diagnosis business does not seem profitable. How does Goodoc make money?

We generated 12.5 billion won ($9.4 million) in revenue last year, and most of that came from our Clinic Market service. The service covers non-insurance sectors such as beauty, implants and manual therapy. We promote those clinics through the app and receive advertisement fees from them.

In the Store sector, we also sell various health-related products such as masks and health supplements.

What’s your ultimate goal for Goodoc?

I want to make Goodoc the first app that pops into people’s heads when they are sick. We all have a list of essential medicine that must be kept at home, and I want Goodoc to become the equivalent app that people always carry in their pockets.

BY SARAH CHEA [chea.sarah@joongang.co.kr]