ENT and pediatric departments prescribe the most drugs

Prescribes nearly 5 drugs per prescription

Medical institutions prescribe 3.85 drugs per prescription on average, with 18.1% prescribing six or more drugs

HIRA releases results of 2024 drug reimbursement adequacy assessment

Last year, medical institutions prescribed an average of 3.85 drugs per prescription.

 

Outpatient clinics prescribed the most at 3.94, followed by hospitals at 3.88, general hospitals at 3.48, and tertiary hospitals at 3.10.

 

The percentage of medical institutions prescribing 6 or more drugs increased by 0.79% from 18.34% in the previous year to 19.13%.

 

These figures were released on the 31st by the Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service in its “2024 Drug Reimbursement Adequacy Assessment Results.”

In the case of tertiary hospitals, the standard deviation in the number of drugs per prescription between institutions ranged from 2.60 at the lowest to 3.98 at the highest, indicating no significant difference.

 

In contrast, clinics showed a range of 1.00 at the lowest to 8.89 at the highest, revealing a substantial difference.

 

By age group, the number of drugs per prescription was highest for infants at 4.65, followed by children and adolescents at 4.25, adults at 3.75, and the elderly at 3.62.

 

Among tertiary hospitals, the number of drugs prescribed for the elderly was the highest at 3.34, while general hospitals, hospitals, and clinics had higher rates for infants at 4.39, 4.90, and 4.62, respectively.

 

The most common condition for medication prescriptions was acute lower respiratory tract infection, with 5.12 drugs prescribed per prescription.

 

This was followed by acute upper respiratory tract infection at 4.77 and other upper respiratory tract disorders at 4.66.

 

The number of drug items per prescription at clinics was 3.94, an increase of 0.03 from 3.91 in the previous year.

 

By subject, the highest numbers were in otolaryngology (4.80), pediatrics (4.62), and general medicine/family medicine (3.97).

 

By region, the ratio of the number of drug items per prescription was highest in Sejong (4.14%), then Incheon (4.04%), then Jeonbuk (4.03%), and lowest in Daegu (3.82%), then Seoul and Daejeon (3.85%).

 

The prescription rate for 6 or more items was 18.143%, with tertiary general hospitals at 13.08%, general hospitals at 15.25%, hospitals at 19.02%, and clinics at 19.19%.

 

Among clinics, 18,317 institutions (54.53%) had a prescription rate of 10% or less for six or more items, which was the highest number, and the ratio decreased by 0.99% compared to the previous year.

 

Institutions with a rate of 40% or higher for prescribing six or more items accounted for 2,063 institutions (6.14%), with the highest rates observed in otolaryngology (29.22%) and pediatrics (20.76%) departments.

 

The antibiotic prescription rate for acute upper respiratory tract infections was 45.20%, with tertiary general hospitals at 7.15%, general hospitals at 34.67%, hospitals at 53.60%, and clinics at 44.87%.

 

Compared to the previous year, the rate increased the most in clinics (increased 3.97 percentage points).

 

The number of institutions with an antibiotic prescription rate for acute upper respiratory tract infections below 10% was the highest at 3,320 (22.26%), a decrease of 3.23 percentage points compared to the previous year.

 

The number of institutions with an antibiotic prescription rate for acute upper respiratory tract infections of 70% or higher was 2,338 (15.67%).

 

The antibiotic prescription rate for acute upper respiratory infections at clinics was 44.87%, with the highest rates in otolaryngology (51.76%), pediatrics (46.07%), and general medicine (42.72%).

 

By region, the rates were highest in Gwangju (50.23%), Chungnam (49.05%), and Chungbuk (47.97%), and lowest in Ulsan (42.06%), Daejeon (42.20%), and Seoul (42.50%).

 

The antibiotic prescription rate for acute lower respiratory tract infections was 61.86%, with 21.73% at advanced general hospitals, 48.84% at general hospitals, 59.55% at hospitals, and 62.29% at clinics.

 

The antibiotic usage per patient was 1,837.9 DDD for acute upper respiratory tract infections, 2,672.5 DDD for acute lower respiratory tract infections, and 2,463.0 DDD for respiratory diseases.