Utilization Patterns of Korean Medicine: An Analysis of the National Health Insurance Cohort Database from 2002 to 2013.
OBJECTIVE
Although Korean Medicine (KM) is an important part of the Korean healthcare system and plays a significant role in chronic and incurable diseases, there is insufficient information about KM utilization. The aim of the study was to identify KM utilization patterns using a national representative sample data.


METHODS
KM users aged 0-80 years and older from the nationally representative sample in the National Health Insurance Service-National Sample Cohort of 778,506 KM users between 2002 and 2013 (were analyzed. Annual changes in utilization patterns were analyzed by sex, nine age groups, five income levels, and numbers of visits and hospitalizations. Utilization patterns by the type of healthcare institution and the top 10 major diseases were studied.


RESULTS
Frequencies of KM use differed according to analyses of patients and claims. Women used KM 1.5 times more than did men. Patients in their 40s and 50s made up one third of KM users. In contrast to other studies, high-income groups used KM more than did low-income groups. More than 96% of ambulatory patients used mostly KM clinics, and more than 76% of inpatients used KM hospitals. Musculoskeletal disorders were the main disease treated, which conformed to the results of previous studies.


CONCLUSIONS
The results suggest that women, people in their 40s and 50s, and people with a relatively high income use KM more often than other patients. Further comparison studies of both Western medicine in Korea and other countries should be conducted.
1 Department of Preventive Medicine, College of Korean Medicine, Daejeon University , Daejeon, Republic of Korea.
Sunju
S
Park
2 Department of Preventive Medicine, College of Medicine, Kyung Hee University , Seoul, Republic of Korea.
In-Hwan
IH
Oh
3 Department of Preventive Medicine, College of Korean Medicine, Kyung Hee University , Seoul, Republic of Korea.
Bo-Hyoung
BH
Jang
4 Graduate School of Public Health, Seoul National University , Seoul, Korea.
Minjung
M
Park
3 Department of Preventive Medicine, College of Korean Medicine, Kyung Hee University , Seoul, Republic of Korea.
YongCheol
Y
Shin
5 Department of Medicine, Graduate School, Kyung Hee University , Seoul, Republic of Korea.
Kanghee
K
Moon
3 Department of Preventive Medicine, College of Korean Medicine, Kyung Hee University , Seoul, Republic of Korea.
Seong-Gyu
SG
Ko
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D016208:Databases, Factual; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008297:Male; D008518:Medicine, East Asian Traditional / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D055670:Medicine, Korean Traditional; D008875:Middle Aged; D009313:National Health Programs; D056910:Republic of Korea; D055815:Young Adult
Korean Classification of Diseases; Korean Medicine; National Health Insurance Service