Medical Resource Utilization by Taiwanese Psychiatric Inpatients under the National Health Insurance System.

DISCUSSION AND LIMITATIONS: A longer LOS in Taiwan might reflect more free access to hospitals and further extensive utilization of medical facilities under the National Health Insurance system. It was noted that age, sex, disease characteristics, and insurance policies were associated with a high medical utilization. However, the lack of a copayment may partially explain the long LOS in our study. Other causes, such as inadequate supplies of resources for psychiatric services, may also deserve closer study. A failure to adjust for potentially confounding factors might limit interpretation of the observed relationship between such potential factors and medical resource utilization. These findings support the future planning of specific care policies in mental health services in Taiwan. IMPLICATIONS FOR HEALTH POLICIES: While an exemption in copayment aims to remove financial barriers for indigent people, it contributed to the extended LOS. To make psychiatric care more efficient, facilities in the community must be strengthened, patients must be directed to appropriate care to avoid emergency check-ins, and the reimbursement policy must be geared to facilitate the efficient delivery of care. IMPLICATIONS FOR FURTHER RESEARCH: Our study calls for further research on the role of resource allocation, incentives for efficient delivery of care, and the frequency of hospitalization, in particular, on the long LOS of psychiatric patients in Taiwan. PMID: 2799...
Source: Journal of Mental Health Policy and Economics - Category: Psychiatry Tags: J Ment Health Policy Econ Source Type: research