국가유공자의 의료이용 추이 연구

Abstract

In order to provide medical support suitable for the medical needs of men of national merit, it is necessary to analyze and understand the characteristics of the existing healthcare use of men of national merit. In this study, therefore, I compared the trends in healthcare use behaviors of men of national merit from 2016 to 2019 with those of VHS Medical Center users, medical beneficiaries, and those covered by health insurance, and analyzed them in a time series by year. The result of the study showed that the annual decline of men of national merit among the population covered by medical benefits by year for the last 4 years from 2016 to 2019 was faster than that of all medical beneficiaries. Despite the declining trend in the population covered by medical benefits, the healthcare use is increasing year by year and the proportion of people of national merit who used the VHS Medical Center among all kinds of healthcare use showed an overall increase, indicating that men of national merit's preference for the VHS Medical Center is higher than that for other medical institutions. Since the men of national merit admitted to the VHS Medical Center was hospitalized for an average(2016-2019) of 4.7 days longer per person than all men of national merit, it is necessary to manage the number of hospital stays in consideration of the needs of new national merit patients, disease severity, and inpatient bed occupancy rate. Among those of national merit who used VHS Medical Center as outpatients, the proportion of new patients in 2019 fell compared to 2016, so efforts to increase the rate of new patients are needed to induce new patients of national merit. The medical expenses per outpatient case of men of national merit were 2,000 won less per treatment compared to all medical beneficiaries, whereas the medical expenses per hospitalization case of men of national merit were increased every year, from as little as 156,000 won to as much as 172,000 won for 4 years from 2016 to 2019 compared to all medical beneficiaries. The study is of significance in terms of showing that the VHS Medical Center meets the main purpose of providing treatment to veterans.