Relationship between Local Extinction Index and Medical Service Uses of Chronic Diseases / 보건행정학회지

ABSTRACT

Background@#This study purposed to analyze the relationship between the local extinction index and medical service uses of chronic diseases. The local extinction index is an indicator of the demographic structure and population aging of the region. @*Methods@#The 2014–2018 statistics of National Health Insurance Corporation and Korean Statistical Information Service data were used for the analysis. First, descriptive statistics were used to analyze the general status of research variables. Second, a panel analysis was performed to analyze the relationship between the local extinction index and medical service uses of chronic diseases (hypertension, diabetes mellitus, periodontal disease, arthritis, mental health, epidemic disease, liver disease). Medical service uses were measured by the number of visits/inpatient days and medical charges of seven chronic diseases. @*Results@#Panel analysis results showed that higher local extinction risks (meaning lower local extinction index) had a positive relationship with the number of visits/inpatient days and medical charges of chronic diseases. But the relationships were varied when the seven chronic diseases were analyzed separately. @*Conclusion@#This study showed a significant relationship between the local demographic structure and medical service uses of chronic disease. Analyzing the local demographic structure will be an essential prerequisite step for implementing appropriate regional health care policies.