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Frequent Users of Hospital Emergency Departments in Korea Characterized by Claims Data from the National Health Insurance: A Cross Sectional Study

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  • Jung Hoon Woo
  • Zachary Grinspan
  • Jason Shapiro
  • Sang Youl Rhee

Abstract

The Korean National Health Insurance, which provides universal coverage for the entire Korean population, is now facing financial instability. Frequent emergency department (ED) users may represent a medically vulnerable population who could benefit from interventions that both improve care and lower costs. To understand the nature of frequent ED users in Korea, we analyzed claims data from a population-based national representative sample. We performed both bivariate and multivariable analyses to investigate the association between patient characteristics and frequent ED use (4+ ED visits in a year) using claims data of a 1% random sample of the Korean population, collected in 2009. Among 156,246 total ED users, 4,835 (3.1%) were frequent ED users. These patients accounted for 14% of 209,326 total ED visits and 17.2% of $76,253,784 total medical expenses generated from all ED visits in the 1% data sample. Frequent ED users tended to be older, male, and of lower socio-economic status compared with occasional ED users (p

Suggested Citation

  • Jung Hoon Woo & Zachary Grinspan & Jason Shapiro & Sang Youl Rhee, 2016. "Frequent Users of Hospital Emergency Departments in Korea Characterized by Claims Data from the National Health Insurance: A Cross Sectional Study," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 11(1), pages 1-10, January.
  • Handle: RePEc:plo:pone00:0147450
    DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0147450
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Jae-Hyun Kim & Kwang-Soo Lee & Ki-Bong Yoo & Eun-Cheol Park, 2015. "The Differences in Health Care Utilization between Medical Aid and Health Insurance: A Longitudinal Study Using Propensity Score Matching," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 10(3), pages 1-13, March.
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