1321MO - Relevance index by cancer type: Trends and regional variation analysis, 2016-2020, Republic of Korea

Background

In order to prepare a comprehensive healthcare system for cancer patients in the region, it is necessary to first prepare data on how cancer patients in the region use medical institutions. The data on cancer patients’ use of regional medical institutions will be useful in establishing plans to strengthen facilities and manpower for cancer patient care at medical institutions in the region. In this study, relevance index, which is a type of analysis indicator for medical service area, was analyzed for cancer diseases.

Methods

Claim data from the Korean National Health Insurance Service were used for the analysis. Specifically, from 2016 to 2020, the inpatient and outpatient medical service use data of clinics, medical institutions, and public health institutions for medical or dental field were analyzed. The relevance index, which is the value obtained by dividing the amount of services used by medical institutions located in a specific area by the total medical services used by people living in a specific area, was measured by medical service type (outpatient and inpatient) and indicator type (number of patients and co-payments).

Results

Korea’s relevance index for cancer in inpatient treatment has hardly improved. In particular, the relevance index for cancer was highly variable by region. Seoul had the highest relevance index for cancer (5-year average 89.98%), while Gyeongsangbuk-do (5-year average 30.76%) had the lowest relevance index for cancer. “Bone and connective tissue cancer” (5-year average of 40.2%) had the lowest relevance index, while “Other neoplasms and unspecified cancers” (5-year average of 70.3%) had the highest relevance index. The relevance index for cancer in outpatient treatment tended to be higher than that in inpatient treatment. Furthermore, the relevance index for cancer based on co-payment tended to be lower than that based on the number of patients.

Conclusions

In order to provide timely, effective, and patient-centered cancer treatment, it is necessary to have a comprehensive cancer treatment system in the region. The relevance index for each cancer type and year in Korea calculated in this study will be an important indicator to monitor in order to establish a comprehensive cancer treatment system in the region.

Clinical trial identification

Editorial acknowledgement

Legal entity responsible for the study

The authors.

Funding

This research was supported by a grant of the Korea Health Technology R&D Project through the Korea Health Industry Development Institute (KHIDI), funded by the Ministry of Health & Welfare, Republic of Korea (grant number: HA21C0107).

Disclosure

All authors have declared no conflicts of interest.