ObjectiveTemporomandibular joint disorder (TMD) requires long-term management and can be a financial burden for patients. Here, we investigated the treatment received by people diagnosed with TMD and its relevant costs.DesignA descriptive, cross-sectional study.Setting and participantsWe performed secondary data analysis of health insurance claims data provided by the Health Insurance Assessment and Review (HIRA) of the Republic of Korea. We reviewed the records of 10 041 patients who were diagnosed with TMD and who utilised outpatient healthcare service at least once between January and December 2017.Primary and secondary outcome measuresData on use of medical services, hospitalisations, sociodemographic factors, treatment and medication were retrieved and analysed. Cost was defined as the cost of care incurred by a health insurance beneficiary at a care facility.ResultsWe reported the characteristics as medians, frequencies and percentages and found that most TMD patients were outpatients, women (58.9%) and in their 20s (46.4%). For visit type, 85.9% of all patients had an outpatient dental medical visit, with most visiting dental clinics and dental hospitals. Western medicine (WM; 9.8%) was prescribed more often, followed by Korean medicine (KM; 8.2%). The median expense per patient was highest among those in their 20s (58.00, 23.90, 53.40, 65.90 US$ for overall, WM, dental medicine (DM) and KM, respectively). Consultation fees accounted for the greatest percentage (42.8%) of DM and WM care expenses, while injection/non-surgical intervention fees accounted for the greatest percentage of KM care expenses. The most commonly used treatments for TMD were temporomandibular joint stimulation therapy (51.1%) and acupuncture (19.9%), considered as the most basic care for TMD. Psychosomatic agents (86.4%) were the most commonly used medications in outpatients.ConclusionsWhile people with TMD most commonly received temporomandibular stimulation therapy, the costs and duration of treatment varied significantly for these patients.

This retrospective cross-sectional study examined healthcare utilization among 213,025 patients with lateral epicondylitis over a nine-year period using the 2010–2018 Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service (HIRA) data (ICD code M771). Healthcare utilization, types of treatment, and the route of the visit were analyzed with frequency analysis for Western medicine (WM) and Korean medicine (KM). The findings revealed that the number of patients visiting WM and KM facilities for lateral epicondylitis rose every year from 2010 to 2018. Over this period, the age distribution of patients was 45–54 years (39.93%), 55–64 (23.12%), and 35–44 years (21.07%), and there were slightly more female patients (53.66%) than male patients (46.34%). The number of claims for lateral epicondylitis tended to increase with decreasing average monthly temperature; an increased proportion of middle-aged patients (45–64 years) was the most evident. The most frequently performed interventions in WM were subcutaneous or intramuscular injection (injection), deep heat therapy (physical therapy), and spinal peripheral nerve block-axillary nerve block (treatment/operation); the most frequently performed intervention in KM was acupuncture (injection). For pharmacological treatment, analgesics and anti-inflammatory medications were most frequently prescribed. The findings can be useful for health policymakers and as foundational data for clinicians and researchers.

Given the increasing prevalence of tinnitus and expenditure related to its treatment, it is important to identify the efficacy of different treatment methods used for its diagnosis and treatment. To this end, this study analyzed the trends of medical service utilization for tinnitus in adult patients from 2010 to 2018 based on a national sample of medical claims data from the Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service National Patient Samples database. A total of 94,323 patients with tinnitus were identified in Korea between 2010 and 2018. The results confirmed that the number of patients, claim numbers, and expenditures steadily increased during the nine-year period. Blood circulation agents were the most commonly used drug therapy; however, the frequency of their use gradually decreased, whereas that of tinnitus and vertigo medicines gradually increased. Total and average expenditure per patient nearly doubled in this period. The study showed that medication trends are changing from blood circulation agents to tinnitus or vertigo medicines. The findings of this study may be helpful for clinicians and researchers in the study, treatment, and management of tinnitus.

ObjectiveThis study used 2010–2018 Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service National Patient Sample data to analyse the distribution and healthcare utilisation of patients with migraine in South Korea.DesignRetrospective, observational study using serial cross-sectional data.ParticipantsPatients with primary diagnosis of G43, a Korean Standard Classification of Diseases-10 code for migraine, were included in the analysis. The exclusion criteria were missing code information; code for dental, health centre or psychiatry; institution type specified as nursing hospital, psychiatric hospital, dental hospital, midwifery centre or health centre; blank entries for total cost or days of care. 453 246 records of patients and 117 157 patients corresponding to those records were identified.Outcome measuresPrimary outcome measures were medical service utilisation status, treatment methods and drug use status associated with migraine.ResultsCases and patients of migraine increased from 48 846 and 19 468 (2010) to 52 729 and 20 802 (2018), respectively, increases of 7.95% and 6.85%, respectively, compared with 2010. Total cost of care increased from $921 857.88 (2010) to $1 711 219.60 (2018). The most common age range of patients was 45–54 years, with 2.69 times more female than male patients. In Western medicine hospitals, subcutaneous or intramuscular injection therapy was used frequently, while in Korean medicine hospitals, acupuncture therapy was used. Among Western medicine outpatients, more than 50% of the therapeutics prescribed for acute migraine were simple analgesics or non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. The number of prescriptions for the prevention of episodic migraine increased from 13 600 cases (2010) to 20 546 cases (2018), representing the steepest increase in drug utilisation.ConclusionsTreatments frequently used in Western and Korean medicine hospitals and their frequency of use and costs were identified. The findings of this study can be used as a basis for relevant health policy decisions.