Changes in the Utilization of Korean Medicine Clinical Services on Clinic Level Before and After COVID-19

Objectives: The coronavirus disease 2019(COVID-19) impacted the utilization of medical services in Republic of Korea, leading to decreased utilization due to social distancing and diverted healthcare priorities. Post-pandemic, anxiety about infection remained high, further affecting medical service utilization, however, there was no study between infection disease and the utilization of Korean Medicine clinical services. Therefore, this aimed to find the changes in the utilization of Korean Medicine clinical services on the level of clinics by reflecting the environmental factors of the COVID-19.Methods: This study examined data from 2016 to 2022, focusing on clinic-level statistics derived from census, national health insurance(NHI), and the data of medical care assistance. It described changes in the number of clinics and doctors, patient’s visits, and medical expense and compared pre- and post-COVID-19 especially.Results: In the utilization of Korean Medicine clinical services before and after COVID-19, the number of Korean Medicine clinics and doctors per 10,000 people nationwide increased, but in Gwangju, Jeonnam, and Chungnam, both decreased. The number of visits in Korean Medicine clinics for NHI and medical care assistance decreased, but that of visits in Western Medicine clinics recovered. The medical expense increased in both Western Medicine clinics and Korean Medicine clinics, and the rate of increase in Western Medicine clinics was higher than that of Korean Medicine clinics.Conclusion: These changes were the result of COVID-19 affecting medical services including Korean Medicine, and further research is needed on Korean Medicine clinical services due to external effects including infectious diseases.