Incentives for 8,403 Local Clinics Providing Excellent Hypertension and Diabetes Care

HIRA Publishes First Integrated Evaluation Grades for Clinic-Level Institutions

The appropriateness evaluation grades for clinics treating the representative chronic diseases hypertension and diabetes have been disclosed for the first time.

The Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service (HIRA) announced on the 27th that it has published the 2023 appropriateness evaluation results for hypertension and diabetes, based on outpatient treatment data from March 2023 to February 2024 at 24,640 clinic-level medical institutions nationwide, on the HIRA website and the 'Health-eum' application.

HIRA has been conducting appropriateness evaluations separately for hypertension and diabetes since 2010 and 2011 respectively, as the number of patients has steadily increased. However, starting in 2023, the evaluation was improved into a single integrated assessment covering hypertension, diabetes, and patients with comorbidities. All clinics subject to evaluation are now classified into grades 1 to 5 based on their scores, allowing patients to easily understand the level of hypertension and diabetes care provided by specific clinics.

The evaluation indicators for hypertension include rates of blood and electrocardiogram tests performed and blood pressure control rates, while for diabetes, they include rates of lipid and fundus examinations performed and glycated hemoglobin control rates. Common indicators also assess the proportion of patients with continuous visits and continuous prescriptions.

As a result, institutions receiving grade 1 or 2 by disease were 7,795 clinics for hypertension (32.2% of all evaluated clinics) and 6,609 clinics for diabetes (36.3%). HIRA plans to provide a total of 27 billion KRW in incentives to 8,403 clinics rated grade 1 or 2 for either hypertension or diabetes. Additionally, 1,060 clinics that selected specific result indicators will receive extra incentives. Based on institution grades reflecting patient volume by disease, a total of 7,296 clinics, or 29.6% of all clinics, were rated grade 1 or 2.

Kang Jung-gu, President of HIRA, stated, "Hypertension and diabetes are representative chronic diseases, and consistent management is important to prevent complications such as cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases." He added, "We hope that the public will actively use these evaluation results when choosing nearby clinics."

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