Abstract

The Korean government launched the medicaid program for the poor people as a wing of the social development and welfare programs beginning in 1977 when the fourth 5-year national economic development program started. The charts of the medicaid recipients who visited Jonglo-Gu Health Center for the period from 1981 to 1983 were reviewed and analysed. Major findings from the analysis are as follows. 1. The medical recipients occupied 5.19% in 1981, 2.90% in 1982 and 2.00% among the total residents of Jonglo district in 1983, respectively. 2. The mean number of physician visits per person year of medicaid recipients who visited the Jonglo-Gu Health Center was 4.73 in 1981, 4.90 in 1982 and 4.41 in 1983, respectively. 3. The consultation/referral rate at the Jonglo-Gu Health Center was 2.65% in 1981, 1.77% in 1982 and 2.18% in 1983 while the rate at the department of family practice, Seoul National University Hospital was 3.18% in 1983. 4. Classifying into 17 major categories, the pattern of diseases of the poor outpatients who visited the Hallym College Medical Center both in 1981 and 1982 showed a statistically similar pattern of the 5,169 medicaid patients who visited the Jonglo-Gu Health Center in 1981 and 401 patients in 1983. 5. Classifying into 17 major categories, the disease of outpatient visits at the department of family practice, Seoul National University Hospital from 1st May, 1983 to 31st Oct., 1983 revealed statistically significant similarity with both the 5,169 medicaid patients in 1981 and the 401 patients sampled in 1983. 6. Classifying into 17 major categories, the disease of community diagnosis at the Ihwa Dong, Jonglo-Gu also showed a statistically significant similarity with the 5,169 medicaid patients who visited the Jonglo-Gu Health Center in 1981. 7. Classifying into 17 major categories, the disease of 5,169 medicaid patients at Jonglo-Gu Health Center in 1981 showed a statistically significant similar distribution with that of the 401 sampled medicaid patients at this center in 1983. 8. Among the medicaid patents who utilized the Jonglo-Gu Health Center in 1983, 401 sampled patients who are practicable routine urinalysis composed of 131 indigent group and 270 low income group. The sample composed of 127 males and 274 females. There were more old patients than the young ones among the 401 sampled patients. 9. Age-adjusted prevalence rate of the hypertension computed by the direct method using estimated of midyear population of 1980 year as the standard is the highest in the Yonsei area and the lowest in the Shindongmyun. Furthermore age-adjusted prevalence rate was higher for males than that of females. 10. The group of hypertension patients using routine urinalysis profile composed of pyuria, hematuria, proteinuria and glycosuria is the most statistical significant, the pyuria alone is very significant, hematuria is significant and proteinuria is also significant.