Key points are not available for this paper at this time.
Background: The Republic of Korea has maintained a stable number of convalescent hospitals; however, the presence of Korean Medicine(KM) doctors in such establishments has increased. Despite this trend, it is hard to find the recent researches on KM within convalescent hospitals. Objective: This study aimed to investigate the current status of convalescent hospitals, particularly focused on patient characteristics and the provision of KM.Method: Data were obtained from the Health Insurance Review&Assessment Service, relying on the Korea Institute Healthcare Accreditation, spanning from January to March 2024. Analysis was conducted through the categorization of in-patients and the provision of KM, utilizing R software.Results: Among the 143 convalescent hospitals, the majority(83.9%) provided KM, with 43.4% of them located near Seoul. Convalescent hospitals offering KM were characterized by a higher number of doctors(p=0.003) and a greater total bed number(p<0.001). The hospitals with KM specializing in dementia care located near Seoul and exhibited a higher proportion of doctors, total beds(p=0.010), uninsured beds, grade of certification evaluation(Gr) and supported activities of daily living(ADL)(p<0.001, respectively). However, the hospitals with KM specializing in cancer care had higher rate of doctors(p=0.036), total beds, uninsured beds, Gr, and average daily out-of-pocket per person and lower levels of self ADL(p<0.001, respectively). In addition, the hospitals with specialists in KM belonging to dementia care only located near Seoul(p=0.042) and exhibited a higher rate of total beds(p=0.007).Conclusion: These findings indicate significant differences among convalescent hospitals based on patient characteristics and the provision of KM. Consequently, such distinctions merit consideration in future studies.
Yoon et al. (Sun,) studied this question.