Huang Wei-Lun, Liao Shu-Lang, Huang Hsueh-Ling, Tsai Pei-Ju, Huang Hsin-Hsun, Lu Chien-Yu, Ho Wei-Sho
Medical Affairs Office, National Taiwan University Hospital, No. 7, Zhongshan S. Rd., Zhongzheng Dist, Taipei City, 100225, Taiwan.
Department of Industrial Education and Technology, National Changhua University of Education, Bao-Shan Campus, No.2, Shi-Da Rd, Changhua City, 500208, Taiwan.
Health Econ Rev. 2024 Sep 5;14(1):71. doi: 10.1186/s13561-024-00553-z.
This study comprehensively investigates the changes in healthcare utilization among chronic patients with regular outpatient visits to hospitals after the occurrence of Covid-19. The research examines whether patients altered their originally regular medical attendance frequencies due to the pandemic and explores potential negative impacts on the health conditions of those irregular attendees post-pandemic.
Data for this study were sourced from a database at a medical center in Taiwan. The subjects were chronic patients with regular hospital outpatient visits before the Covid-19 outbreak. The study tracked medical utilization patterns from 2017 to 2022 for different patient characteristics and outpatient behaviors, employing statistical methods such as Repeated Measures ANOVA and Generalized Estimating Equation to analyze changes in healthcare utilization and health status during the post-pandemic period.
The results reveal that, compared to the regular group, chronic patients with irregular outpatient visits during the post-pandemic period exhibited a decrease of 5.85 annual outpatient visits, a reduction of NT$20,290.1 in annual medical expenses, and a significantly higher abnormality rate in average biochemical test results by 0.9%.
The findings contribute to understanding the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on healthcare utilization and health conditions among outpatient chronic disease populations. In response to the new medical landscape in the post-pandemic era, proactive suggestions are made, including providing telemedicine outpatient services and referral-based medical care to meet the needs of the target population, ensuring a continuous and reassuring healthcare model for chronic patients, and mitigating the operational impacts of public health emergencies on hospitals.
本研究全面调查了新型冠状病毒肺炎疫情发生后，定期到医院门诊就诊的慢性病患者的医疗服务利用情况变化。该研究考察了患者是否因疫情改变了原本的定期就诊频率，并探讨了疫情后就诊不规律的患者健康状况可能受到的负面影响。
本研究的数据来源于台湾某医疗中心的数据库。研究对象为新型冠状病毒肺炎疫情爆发前有定期医院门诊就诊记录的慢性病患者。该研究追踪了2017年至2022年不同患者特征和门诊行为的医疗服务利用模式，采用重复测量方差分析和广义估计方程等统计方法，分析疫情后时期医疗服务利用和健康状况的变化。
结果显示，与规律就诊组相比，疫情后门诊就诊不规律的慢性病患者年门诊就诊次数减少了5.85次，年医疗费用减少了新台币20,290.1元，平均生化检测结果异常率显著高出0.9%。
这些发现有助于了解新型冠状病毒肺炎疫情对门诊慢性病患者群体医疗服务利用和健康状况的影响。针对疫情后时代的新医疗格局，提出了积极的建议，包括提供远程医疗门诊服务和转诊医疗服务，以满足目标人群的需求，确保为慢性病患者提供持续且安心的医疗模式，并减轻公共卫生突发事件对医院运营的影响。
