National Health Insurance Service Reports Findings in Medical Research (Medical Utilization and Costs in Preterm Infants in the First 6 Years of Life After Discharge From Neonatal Intensive Care Unit: A Nationwide Population-Based Study in Korea): Health and Medicine – Medical Research

2022 APR 07 (NewsRx) -- By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at Pediatrics Daily News -- New research on Health and Medicine - Medical Research is the subject of a report. According to news reporting out of Wonju, South Korea, by NewsRx editors, research stated, “The improvement in the survival rate of preterm infants has paradoxically raised the risk of morbidities in childhood. Our objectives were to assess the medical utilization and costs in preterm infants following discharge from the neonatal intensive care unit in the first 6 years of life.”

Financial support for this research came from National Health Insurance Ilsan Hospital.

Our news journalists obtained a quote from the research from National Health Insurance Service, “We conducted a population-based study using the National Health Information Database (2011-2017) provided by the Korean National Health Insurance Service (NHIS). A total of 361,190 children born in Korea between January 1 and December 31, 2011 were divided into four groups according to the gestational age at birth: extremely preterm (less than 28 weeks), very preterm (28-31 weeks), moderate to late preterm (32-36 weeks), and full term (37-41 weeks). The cumulative number of outpatient visits, cumulative length of hospital stay, rate of hospital and intensive care unit admissions, and cumulative medical costs for inpatients and outpatients were compared for each gestational age group. Earlier gestational age was significantly associated with an increased risk of the cumulative number of outpatient visits, cumulative length of hospital stay, and rate of hospital and intensive care unit admissions for the first 6 years of life. The mean cumulative inpatient and outpatient costs per child significantly decreased with increasing gestational age. When assessed based on population size, the total cumulative medical costs were highest for moderate to late preterm children. Earlier gestational age was strongly associated with increased healthcare resource utilization and medical costs.”

According to the news editors, the research concluded: “Our findings on the potential long-term socioeconomic impact on public health are expected to aid the development of future health care policies for preterm children.”

For more information on this research see: Medical Utilization and Costs in Preterm Infants in the First 6 Years of Life After Discharge From Neonatal Intensive Care Unit: A Nationwide Population-Based Study in Korea. Journal of Korean Medical Science, 2022;37(12). Journal of Korean Medical Science can be contacted at: Korean Acad Medical Sciences, 302 75 Dong Du Ichon, Dong Yongsan Ku, Seoul 140 031, South Korea.

Our news journalists report that additional information may be obtained by contacting Sang Ah Lee, Big DATA Strategy Department, National Health Insurance Service, Wonju, South Korea. Additional authors for this research include Ju Hyun Jin and Shin Won Yoon.

The direct object identifier (DOI) for that additional information is: https://doi.org/10.3346/jkms.2022.37.e93. This DOI is a link to an online electronic document that is either free or for purchase, and can be your direct source for a journal article and its citation.

Publisher contact information for the Journal of Korean Medical Science is: Korean Acad Medical Sciences, 302 75 Dong Du Ichon, Dong Yongsan Ku, Seoul 140 031, South Korea.

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