74.5% of Herbal Medicine Treatments Are for Musculoskeletal Disorders... Half Prescribed 'Ojeoksan'

Ministry of Health and Welfare Announces '2021 Survey on Korean Herbal Medicine Prescriptions'

Photo by Asia Economy DB

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Young-won] It has been found that musculoskeletal disorders are the diseases with the highest prescription rate in Korean medicine hospitals.

On the 30th, the Ministry of Health and Welfare announced the "2021 Survey on the Actual Conditions of Herbal Medicine Prescriptions," which includes this information. This survey was conducted from October last year to February this year, targeting about 3,000 institutions involved in the preparation and sale of herbal medicine, such as Korean medical institutions, pharmacies, and herbal medicine shops.

Herbal medicine prescriptions varied depending on the type of institution and insurance coverage, but musculoskeletal disorder prescriptions were generally the most common. In particular, musculoskeletal disorder prescriptions accounted for 74.5% of decoction prescriptions in Korean medicine hospitals. Among the types of decoctions, Ojeoksan (49.5%) was prescribed the most, followed by Danggwisusan (28.0%).

Non-insurance herbal medicine prescriptions for musculoskeletal system disorders were also the most common in Korean medicine hospitals and nursing/general hospitals, at 44.9% and 53.5%, respectively. Danggwisusan (43.4%) was mainly prescribed in Korean medicine hospitals, while Ojeoksan (52.0%) was mainly prescribed in nursing/general hospitals.

In Korean medicine hospitals, insured herbal medicine prescriptions were most frequently for respiratory system disorders (45.4%), with Sochengryongtang (41.0%) being primarily used. Non-insurance herbal medicine prescriptions at pharmacies and herbal medicine shops were mainly for respiratory system disorders at 67.3%, with Galkuntang (39.3%) being the most common preparation.

The most common departments in Korean medicine hospitals were Korean internal medicine at 95.9%, followed by Korean rehabilitation medicine (89.6%), Korean gynecology (89.1%), and acupuncture (88.9%). Among representatives of Korean medical clinics, the highest proportion of specialists was also in Korean internal medicine (77.1%).

Korean medical institutions showed a preference for decoctions among herbal medicine formulations, citing the faster efficacy of decoctions as the reason. Korean medical clinics responded that they use decoctions 99.2% of the time, and Korean medicine hospitals 93.4%.

The herbal medicines most consumed by these institutions were Danggui, licorice, and cooked Rehmannia root. Korean medicine hospitals, clinics, and pharmacies/herbal medicine shops used Danggui and licorice in that order.

The measure with the highest response rate for expanding the use of herbal medicine was "expansion of insurance coverage." Next was "providing accurate information or promotion of Korean medicine to the public."

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