[Health policy indicators of neuromusculosceletal rehabilitation in Hungary].

INTRODUCTION

With the increasing number of the incidence of neuromusculoskeletal and brain circulation disorders, there is a higher demand for neuromusculoskeletal rehabilitation care.

AIMS

The aim of our study is to analyse the performance indicators of neuromusculoskeletal rehabilitation care in Hungary financed by the statutory public health insurance system.

METHODS

Data were derived from the financial database of the National Health Insurance Fund of Hungary. We analysed the period between 2014 and 2017. We investigated the distribution of neuromusculoskeletal rehabilitation hospital beds, the patient turnover and patients' pathways. We analysed the regional inequalities in the access to (hospital beds) and utilization (number of patients) of rehabilitation care.

RESULTS

In 2017, there were 6798 publicly financed neuromusculoskeletal rehabilitation hospital beds in Hungary (6.94 beds/10 000 population). We observed the lowest number of hospital bed in Komárom-Esztergom (1.5 beds/10 000 population), Somogy (2.0) and Pest (2.7) counties. We found the highest number of hospital beds in Zala (12.6), Győr-Moson-Sopron (12.2) and Baranya (11.5) counties. The more than 2-fold difference in the utilization (Komárom-Esztergom: 52.3 patients/10 000 population; Győr-Moson-Sopron: 136 patients/10 000 population) confirms regional inequalities. Between 2014 and 2017, the annual number of patients showed an increasing tendency, while the average length of stay varied between 21.8 and 22.4 days/patient. The correlation coefficient between hospitals beds and the number of patients was very high (0.798).

CONCLUSION

We found significant regional inequalities in the access to and utilization of neuromusculoskeletal rehabilitation. Orv Hetil. 2019; 160(Suppl 1): 13-21.