3 out of 5 General Hospitals Nationwide Lack 'Stroke Intensive Care Units'

HIRA Publishes 9th Evaluation Results on Acute Stroke
Proportion of Institutions Operating Intensive Care Units Increased by 12.3%p but Still Insufficient

[Asia Economy Reporter Jo In-kyung] It has been revealed that only 2 out of 5 general hospitals have intensive care units equipped to determine the survival and recovery of stroke patients.

According to the results of the "9th Acute Stroke Appropriateness Evaluation" announced by the Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service on the 28th, among 233 nationwide medical institutions at the general hospital level or higher that treated acute stroke patients from October 2020 to March 2021 (44 tertiary hospitals and 189 general hospitals), 99 hospitals, or 42.5%, were found to have stroke intensive care units.

Compared to the 8th evaluation in 2020, where only 75 out of 248 surveyed medical institutions (30.2%) operated intensive care units, the number of medical institutions increased by 24, and the proportion rose by 12.3 percentage points.

Cerebrovascular disease, the fourth leading cause of death in Korea, has a high risk of mortality and disability occurrence, and the number of patients and medical expenses are increasing every year, making continuous quality management of medical services necessary.

The Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service has been conducting evaluations every two years since 2006 to encourage the provision of prompt and high-quality medical services to acute stroke patients admitted through emergency rooms, and publishes the results on its website and the "Health Information" application.

Regarding stroke intensive care units, research reports have shown that they can improve patient survival and recovery, so monitoring has been ongoing, and this survey introduced it as an evaluation indicator for the first time.

The average comprehensive score of hospitals evaluated this year was 91.32 points, a decrease of 1.13 points compared to the 8th evaluation. According to the comprehensive score, 56.7% were rated Grade 1, distributed across all regions nationwide. Institutions where specialists in neurology, neurosurgery, and rehabilitation medicine?all responsible for stroke treatment?are all full-time accounted for 72.5%, an increase of 1.1 percentage points from the 8th evaluation.

The rate of administering thrombolytic drugs that dissolve blood clots blocking cerebral vessels within 60 minutes from hospital arrival was above 95%, showing a high level. However, it was pointed out that administration needs to be even faster to significantly reduce stroke complications and permanent disabilities. Additionally, the pneumonia incidence rate, a complication that can occur due to aspiration in hemorrhagic stroke patients, was 2.4%, an improvement of 0.1 percentage points from the previous evaluation.

When symptoms suggestive of stroke appear, it is most important to arrive at a nearby hospital within the golden time of 3 hours from symptom onset to receive appropriate treatment. However, currently, the median time from symptom onset to emergency room arrival for stroke patients is 3 hours and 51 minutes, exceeding the golden time. Furthermore, 55.1% of stroke patients who used ambulances arrived within 3 hours, whereas only 24.0% of those who did not use ambulances arrived within that time.

Jung Young-ae, head of the evaluation office at the Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service, said, "It is necessary to reduce the time spent hesitating at home when stroke symptoms occur and to check in advance the nearest hospital to your residence so that you can arrive at the hospital as quickly as possible by using an ambulance and receive treatment." She added, "We will actively support ensuring that the public can receive high-quality medical services within their regions through the acute stroke appropriateness evaluation."

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