Go Young-in "Antidepressant Prescriptions in Elderly Care Hospitals Surge 56.5%... Also Cases of Duplicate Medication"

Go Young-in, Member of the Democratic Party of Korea

[Asia Economy Reporter Wondara] The prescription rate of antidepressants in elderly nursing hospitals has surged by 56.5% over the past five years. It was also analyzed that the most commonly used medications are those reported to have side effects such as falls and staggering, which can be fatal to the elderly.

According to the antidepressant prescription status submitted by the Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service to Go Young-in, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, on the 12th, the number of antidepressant prescriptions for elderly inpatients in nursing hospitals increased from 112,548 cases in 2015 to 176,193 cases last year, a rise of 56.5 percentage points.

The rate of duplicate prescriptions of similar classes of antidepressants reached 10.1%, or about 1 in 10 elderly patients. It was also analyzed that trazodone-class drugs, which have side effects causing falls such as orthostatic hypotension and staggering, are mainly prescribed. In particular, the antidepressant Anafranil, classified as a first-grade prohibited drug in the U.S. that cannot be prescribed to the elderly, was prescribed 18,183 times last year based on claim counts, making it the most frequently administered. This was followed by Hwan Trazodone Hydrochloride Capsules (16,930 cases), Myung Trazodone Capsules (16,828 cases), Trittico Tablets (16,828 cases), and Lexapro Tablets (9,619 cases).

Go’s office stated, "Considering that health insurance benefits for nursing hospitals are calculated as a fixed daily rate, making it impossible to accurately track the usage details of individual drugs, it is likely that even more antidepressants are being prescribed within nursing hospitals." Due to the increase in antidepressant prescriptions in elderly nursing hospitals, the prescription costs borne by the elderly through the Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service nearly doubled from 719.29 million KRW in 2015 to 1.43575 billion KRW.

Go emphasized, "The prescription of antidepressants that can cause various side effects to the elderly is increasing in nursing hospitals," and added, "The health authorities must conduct a thorough investigation and prepare countermeasures."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.