A Study on the Pattern of Health Care Utilization by Age and Sex in Korea

Abstract

This study was conducted to investigate the pattern and the trend of health care utilization"by age and sex in Korea. The theme was taken to understand what age and sex group consumes health care more heavily, and in what age and sex group the utilization rate of health care has increased more rapidly. Data from two nation-wide household surveys for health care utilization, and Medical Insurance Statistical Yearbooks of Korea Medical Insurance Corporation were used for the calculation of physician visit rate and admission rate. The pattern of health care utilization by age was found to be an U-shaped curve, in which the rate of utilization was high at both extremes of age and low in the age group of youth and young adulthood. It may be partly attributed to the differences in morbidity by age. Sexual difference in utilization was observed, but there were some discrepancies between the ambulatory care and the inpatient care. In the age group above 45, admission rate in male were higher than those in female. Marked increase in health care utilization rate in the elderly by year and expanding population composition of the elderly in Korea suggest that the health policies to meet the increasing health care demand of the elderly be necessary.