HIRA says antibiotic prescription in flu down by 0.12%

HIRA publishes Drug Reimbursement Evaluation Report 2019

Injection prescription rate 15.13%, pharmaceutical expense per administration day KRW 1,825

[A look into Drug Reimbursement Evaluation Report 2019] Last year’s antibiotic prescription rate on acute upper respiratory tract infection fell by 0.21 percent from the previous year and was recorded at 38.30 percent.

 

The number of drug item per prescription also climbed down by 0.05 item from 3.72 items in 2018 to 3.67 items in 2019.

 

Korea’s Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service (HIRA) has recently published a statistic report on drug reimbursement evaluation in 2019 addressing some key trends found.

 

The reimbursement evaluation was based on 12-month outpatient prescription records from January to December 2019 billed by tertiary hospital, general hospital, hospital, nursing institute, clinic, dental hospital and clinic, public health center, public health center regional offices and healthcare centers.

 

The total 813,680,000 bills with total pharmaceutical expense of 14.97 trillion won were evaluated.

 

◆Prescription rate in antibiotics and injection: Compared to the previous year at 38.42 percent, last year’s antibiotics prescription rate in acute upper respiratory tract infection was at 38.30 percent with a 0.12-percent-point dip.

 

The rates of 48.36 percent, 37.69 percent, 32.05 percent and 10.58 percent were recorded from hospital, clinic, general hospital and tertiary hospital.

 

The prescription rate in third-generation cephalosporins or later antibiotics for acute upper respiratory tract infection was at 8.80 percent last year, with an increase of 1.14 percent point from the year before.

 

But the prescription rate in quinolone antibiotics was same was the previous year.

 

Meanwhile, macrolide antibiotics prescription rate was 15.03 percent in last year with 0.65 percent point increase from the year before.

 

The antibiotics prescription rate in respiratory system disease (J00-J47) reached 48.76 percent last year and was increased by 0.35 percent point from the year before.

 

The rates were recorded at 49.94 percent, 49.49 percent, 35.20 percent and 18.12 percent in hospital, clinic, general hospital and tertiary hospital, respectively.

 

Last year’s antibiotics prescription rate in acute lower respiratory tract infections at 59.05 percent grew by 0.47 percent point from the year before.

 

The rate was increased from all healthcare institutes and the biggest growth from 46.66 percent to 47.21 percent was in tertiary general hospitals.

 

The antibiotics prescription rate in other respiratory system disease last year was average 47.25 percent based on 49.27 percent, 47.13 percent, 31.47 percent and 18.12 percent in clinic, hospital, general hospital and tertiary hospital, respectively.

 

The respective antibiotic prescription rates in acute otitis media and unspecified otitis media in pediatric patients were at 81.52 percent and 83.98 percent last year.

 

Within tertiary hospitals, the prescription rates in respiratory system disease was highest in acute lower respiratory tract infection (J20-J22) at 37.31 percent, followed by acute upper respiratory tract infection (J00-J06) at 32.49 percent, other upper respiratory tract diseases (J30-J39) at 19.32 percent, chronic lower respiratory tract infection (J40-J47) at 6.98 percent and influenza and pneumonia (J09-J18) at 3.91 percent.

 

Acute lower respiratory tract infection was billed the most from hospitals and clinic, acute upper respiratory tract infection and chronic lower respiratory tract infection were billed the most in general hospital and tertiary hospital, respectively.

 

In order of acute otitis media (52.24 percent), unspecified otitis media (43.41 percent) and chronic otitis media (4.35 percent) were prevalent in otitis media in pediatric patients.

 

Hospitals and clinics billed the most for the disease, and tertiary hospital and general hospital billed the most on unspecified otitis media.

 

Injection prescription rate in last year was marked at 15.13 percent, dropping by 1.22 percent point from the year before.

 

The prescription rate was also recorded at 17.06 percent, 14.77 percent, 7.38 percent, and 1.81 percent in clinic, hospital, general hospital and tertiary hospitas, respectively.

 

◆Number of drug item per prescription: The number of drug item per prescription was tallied at 3.76 items, 3.72 items, 3.42 items, and 2.99 items in clinic, hospital, general hospital and tertiary hospital, respectively, with an average of 3.67 items.

 

The average was reduced by 0.05 items from 3.72 items in the previous year.

 

As for respiratory disease, the number of drug items was at 4.62 items, same as the previous year.

 

By each healthcare institute, the number was tallied at 4.69 items, 4.63 items, 4.32 items, and 3.01 items in hospital, clinic, general hospital and tertiary hospital, respectively.

 

The average number of drug items per prescription in musculoskeletal disease treatment was marked at 3.42 items and 0.09 item lower than the previous year average of 3.51 items.

 

The number in clinics, hospitals, general hospitals and tertiary hospitals were at 3.44 items, 3.37 items, 3.35 items and 3.13 items, respectively.

 

The ratio of six-or-more-item prescriptions reached 14.09 percent last year, lowered by 0.17 percent point from 14.26 percent in the previous year.

 

The ratio was 15.30 percent, 14.66 percent, 13.77 percent, and 11.42 percent in hospital, clinic, general hospital and tertiary hospital, respectively.

 

Most of the ratios in each healthcare institute were less than the year before.

 

The pharmaceutical expense per each day of administration was 1,825 won, climbing up 23 won from the year before at 1,802 won.

 

The pharmaceutical expense in tertiary hospital, general hospital, hospital and clinic reached 2,986 won, 2,169 won, 1,782 won and 1,435 won, respectively.