1. Health care burden and medical resource utilisation of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis in Korea
- Author
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SS Kwon, Jun-Pyo Myong, Y. H. Kim, Koo Jw, HK Yoon, and SW Kim
- Subjects
Male ,Pulmonary and Respiratory Medicine ,medicine.medical_specialty ,Resource (biology) ,Databases, Factual ,MEDLINE ,Disease ,law.invention ,03 medical and health sciences ,Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis ,0302 clinical medicine ,Cost of Illness ,law ,Republic of Korea ,Epidemiology ,Health care ,medicine ,Health insurance ,Humans ,Intensive care medicine ,Aged ,Aged, 80 and over ,business.industry ,030503 health policy & services ,Health Care Costs ,Length of Stay ,Middle Aged ,medicine.disease ,Intensive care unit ,Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis ,Hospitalization ,Infectious Diseases ,030220 oncology & carcinogenesis ,Female ,Seasons ,0305 other medical science ,business - Abstract
Setting Despite the clinical importance of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), its epidemiology has been rarely reported. The economic burden from IPF is therefore difficult to predict. Objective To analyse the health care burden and current situation with respect to medical resource utilisation in patients with IPF in Korea. Methods We analysed nationwide data collected between 2009 and 2013 from the Korean Health Insurance Review and Assessment (HIRA) database. Patients with IPF were defined by the K-J84.18 code of the Korean Classification of Disease, 6th revision. Results The total direct health care costs increased from US$19 805 167 in 2009 to US$31 410 083 in 2013; the principal factor responsible for the highest proportion of costs was hospitalisation. The proportion of the total IPF patient population who were hospitalised at least once a year was 27.2%, and the average length of hospital stay was 12.7 days. From post-hoc analysis, hospital admission, emergency room visit and intensive care unit admission rates showed significant seasonal variations; the admission rates were highest in the spring and lowest in autumn. Conclusions Health care costs of IPF are increasing annually, with hospital admissions representing the major financial burden.
- Published
- 2017
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