Purpose: This study was conducted to explore the directions for the use of telemedicine by analyzing domestic media reports on telemedicine using keyword network analysis. Methods: Data for media reports on telemedicine was collected using the Big Kinds website, targeting articles reported by five major broadcasting companies from January 1, 1991, to October 20, 2024. The retrieved articles were saved in an MS Office Excel file and analyzed using the NetMiner 4.4 program. Results: Totally, 867 news articles were retrieved, with 179 articles finally selected for analysis. Since reporting in May 2000 on the development of an internet-based remote system enabling health management for chronic diseases, the number of reports increased with 19 articles in 2013, 36 in 2014, 21 in 2015, and 15 in 2016. In 2020, 27 articles were published owing to the impact of COVID-19. The telemedicine-related news articles generated a word network comprising 720 nodes and 4,283 links, with a network density of 0.02. The average degree of connectivity was 11.89, and the average path length was found to be 1.91. Centrality analysis revealed that keywords such as "Service," "Healthcare," "Medical Personnel," "Profit," "Welfare," "Visiophone," "Chronic," and "Prescription" had high centrality in terms of degree, closeness, and betweenness centrality. Conclusion: The study confirmed the development of telemedicine and changes in social interest, revealing that it is a complex field and involves technological progress, social demands, legal discussions, and ethical responsibilities. Telemedicine also holds potential to address regional and societal issues.
