Abstract
Older adults who receive long-term care (LTC) services are expected to differ from older adults who do not receive such services. These differences are expected in healthcare utilization and drug prescription, as older adults in LTC services, have more difficulty in daily life. This study aimed to compare the differences in healthcare utilization and drug prescription between LTC beneficiaries and those who do not receive LTC services. Using the senior cohort from the National Health Insurance Service, LTC beneficiaries and non-beneficiaries were defined, and their patterns of healthcare utilization and drug prescription were analyzed for the year 2015. The total number of participants in the study was 239,873, and the number of LTC beneficiaries was 20,619 (8.6%). For LTC beneficiaries, the average number of hospitalizations per year was two, total hospitalization days 70, and the number of outpatient visits per year 28.8, and for non-beneficiaries, these were 1.7, 49, and 34.9, respectively. LTC beneficiaries had more frequent hospitalizations, longer hospital stays, and fewer outpatient visits. In terms of drug prescription for LTC beneficiaries, the average number of prescription days was 280, the number of the daily pills was 4.7, and total prescription days per year per prescription were 22.9, and for nonbeneficiaries, these were 277, 3.8, and 18.1, respectively. LTC beneficiaries took more daily pills and had longer prescriptions than non-beneficiaries. LTC beneficiaries showed differences in healthcare utilization and drug prescription patterns in comparison to non-beneficiaries. Further research based on the characteristics of LTC beneficiaries is needed.
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