Institute of Traditional Medicine, National Yang-Ming University, Taipei, Taiwan, ROC.
Integr Cancer Ther. 2011 Dec;10(4):317-27. doi: 10.1177/1534735410392576. Epub 2011 Mar 7.
Taiwan National Health Insurance (NHI) provides Western medicine and Chinese medicine (CM). This study aims to explore the trends of CM use among prostate cancer patients under NHI.
Claims of CM outpatient services from 1996 to 2008 were obtained from NHI Research Database. CM visits of prostate cancer patients were identified. Claims with diagnosis code of prostate cancer were defined as cancer-specific visits.
Among 78 323 prostate cancer patients identified during 1996-2008, there were 30 383 (38.8%) CM users and 327 063 CM outpatient visits. The prevalence of CM use in each cross-sectional year increased slightly from 24.9% to 25.6%. Most CM visits (92.7%) were non-cancer-specific. There were greater increases in the proportion of cancer-specific CM visits (from 2.3% to 10.6%) and high-utility CM users (from 3.1% to 19.7%). Most CM services were provided by private clinics (68.1% to 79.2%). The most frequently used CM therapies were Chinese herbal medicine (72.8% to 78.8%), followed by acupuncture/traumatology manipulative therapies (28.1% to 36.8%). Total CM cost increased from $122 247 to $825 454. The average cost per CM visit increased from $14.0 to $19.6. The annual cost per CM user increased from $88.0 to $134.4. Copayment accounted for 6.6% to 11.7%.
There was a trend of increased CM use among prostate cancer patients under NHI. Although prostate cancer patients used CM mostly for noncancer diseases, CM visits for prostate cancer increased remarkably. The utilization patterns of CM visits for cancer and for noncancer diseases were distinctly different.
台湾全民健康保险（NHI）提供西医和中医（CM）服务。本研究旨在探讨 NHI 背景下前列腺癌患者使用 CM 的趋势。
从 NHI 研究数据库中获取 1996 年至 2008 年的 CM 门诊服务索赔。确定前列腺癌患者的 CM 就诊次数。具有前列腺癌诊断代码的索赔被定义为癌症特异性就诊。
在 1996 年至 2008 年间确定的 78323 例前列腺癌患者中，有 30383 例（38.8%）为 CM 用户，有 327063 次 CM 门诊就诊。每年 CM 使用的流行率从 24.9%略微增加到 25.6%。大多数 CM 就诊（92.7%）是非癌症特异性的。癌症特异性 CM 就诊的比例（从 2.3%增加到 10.6%）和高利用率 CM 用户（从 3.1%增加到 19.7%）增加更大。大多数 CM 服务由私人诊所提供（68.1%至 79.2%）。最常使用的 CM 疗法是中草药（72.8%至 78.8%），其次是针灸/推拿疗法（28.1%至 36.8%）。CM 总费用从 122247 美元增加到 825454 美元。每次 CM 就诊的平均费用从 14.0 美元增加到 19.6 美元。每位 CM 用户的年费用从 88.0 美元增加到 134.4 美元。共付额占 6.6%至 11.7%。
NHI 背景下前列腺癌患者 CM 使用呈上升趋势。尽管前列腺癌患者主要使用 CM 治疗非癌症疾病，但用于治疗前列腺癌的 CM 就诊次数显著增加。癌症和非癌症疾病的 CM 就诊利用模式明显不同。
