Provincial Patients Spend 4.6 Trillion Won Annually in Seoul... 80% Say "National University Hospitals Need Support"

The annual cost incurred by patients living in provincial areas who use tertiary hospitals in Seoul exceeds 4.6 trillion won.

Yonhap News

On June 15, the Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs released a report titled "Costs Due to the Outflow of Regional Patients and Public Perception of Regional National University Hospitals," which included these findings.

The cost of regional patients traveling to Seoul, based solely on transportation and accommodation expenses, amounted to 412.1 billion won, and when reflecting the difference in medical expenses, it reached 1.7537 trillion won. When the opportunity costs associated with the patient and their family's economic activities were added to the difference in medical expenses, the net cost of patient outflow amounted to 4.627 trillion won.

Residents in provincial areas expressed a willingness to use local medical institutions for mild or emergency illnesses despite the healthcare gap, but preferred large hospitals in the Seoul metropolitan area for severe diseases.

Meanwhile, the institute conducted a perception survey through Korea Research, targeting 1,050 men and women aged 19 to 69 living outside the Seoul metropolitan area. Among them, 81.2% responded that "the healthcare gap between the Seoul metropolitan area and regional areas is serious." When asked about the capability and expertise of regional medical institutions, 46.8% answered "average," while 38.1% responded in a way that indicated they considered the situation "serious." Only 15.2% said it was "good."

Nevertheless, among local residents, a high proportion indicated they would use local clinics or hospitals for mild illnesses and regional national university hospitals in emergency situations.

However, for severe or unspecified diseases, preference for tertiary hospitals in the Seoul metropolitan area was high. For severe diseases, 36.5% said they would first seek care at a tertiary hospital in the Seoul metropolitan area, followed by 22.0% who chose regional national university hospitals. For unspecified diseases, 36.6% selected tertiary hospitals in the Seoul metropolitan area, while 24.2% chose regional national university hospitals.

Among regional residents, 80.3% said "improvement in the capabilities of national university hospitals is necessary," and 80.9% said "the government should actively support this." The areas most cited as needing improvement were "securing specialized medical personnel" (81.0%), "enhancing emergency care capabilities" (80.5%), and "enhancing capabilities for treating severe diseases" (80.1%).