Objectives The aim of this study was to investigate cancer patients’ utilization of tertiary hospitals in Seoul before and after the benefit expansion policy implemented in 2013.
Methods This was a before-and-after study using claims data of the Korean National Health Insurance Service from 2011 to 2016. The unit of analysis was inpatient episodes, and inpatient episodes involving a malignant neoplasm (International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision codes: C00-C97) were included in this study. The total sample (n=5 565 076) was divided into incident cases and prevalent cases according to medical use due to cancer in prior years. The tertiary hospitals in Seoul were divided into two groups (the five largest hospitals and the other tertiary hospitals in Seoul).
Results The proportions of the incident and prevalent episodes occurring in tertiary hospitals in Seoul were 34.9% and 37.2%, respectively, of which more than 70% occurred in the five largest hospitals in Seoul. Utilization of tertiary hospitals in Seoul was higher for inpatient episodes involving cancer surgery, patients with a higher income, patients living in areas close to Seoul, and patients living in areas without a metropolitan city. The utilization of the five largest hospitals increased by 2 percentage points after the policy went into effect.
Conclusions The utilization of tertiary hospitals in Seoul was concentrated among the five largest hospitals. Future research is necessary to identify the consequences of this utilization pattern.
Summary
Korean summary
2014년부터 2016년까지 암 발생자 입원의 34.9%가 서울 소재 상급종합병원에서 이루어졌으며, 그중 73.9%가 5대 상급종합병원에서 이루어졌다. 4대 중증질환 보장성 강화 정책 후에 암환자의 서울 소재 상급종합병원 이용은 6.1%(2% 포인트) 증가하였으며, 5대 상급종합병원 이용률은 증가(정책 전: 23.6%, 정책 후: 25.8%), 그 외 서울 소재 상급종합병원 이용률은 감소하였다(정책 전: 9.3%, 정책 후: 9.1%).
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Summary
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