Objectives : This study aimed to investigate the present status of physical therapies provided in the Korean medicine clinics, and to find out the priorities among and the estimated fees of physical therapies for the National Health Insurance plan. Methods : We administered nationwide survey to Korean medicine doctors using the on-line survey system. 16 physical therapies were listed in the Web-based questionnaires, and responders were asked to mark the therapies they used for their patients, and, for each therapy they marked, to fill in the form including the frequencies of service, service fees, target diseases, and priorities for health insurance coverage, etc. Results : Of 488 respondents, 93.7% provide more than one physical therapy for their patients, and each responder uses 5.9 physical therapies on average. 60-90% of physical therapies are being given to patients for free because they are not covered by the National Health Insurance. There is little evidence that the specialties of Korean medicine doctors are related with the use of physical therapies, but, in some therapies, the doctors with longer career years use the physical therapy more frequently. Most physical therapies are applied to the patients with musculoskeletal diseases, cardiovascular diseases, and nervous diseases, etc. Conclusions : Physical therapies are widely used among Korean medicine doctors without proper compensation. This could be the one of the main factors distorting the profit structure of Korean medicine clinics, and it encourages the National Health Insurance to cover physical therapies provided in the Korean medicine clinics.
Supported by : 국민건강보험공단