| Budget Amount *help |
¥3,400,000 (Direct Cost: ¥3,400,000)
Fiscal Year 2005: ¥1,100,000 (Direct Cost: ¥1,100,000)
Fiscal Year 2004: ¥1,100,000 (Direct Cost: ¥1,100,000)
Fiscal Year 2003: ¥1,200,000 (Direct Cost: ¥1,200,000)
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| Research Abstract |
It is said that population aging, the extended length of hospital stay, over use of drugs and diagnostic examinations are major causes of rising health care expenditures in Japan. In Japan, however, few studies have fully examined whether or not these factors positively associated with the increase of health care expenditures. To address these issues, we conducted this research project to examine association of age with health care expenditures and to discuss difference in resource use between older patients and younger or middle-aged patients. First, using national aggregated data derived from the Survey of National Medical Care Insurance Services, we examined the association between health care expenditures and age. This macro data analysis showed that total health care expenditures increased with age up to 70-74 and then decreased with age. Next, using individual data obtained from approximately 10,000 patients who were discharged from a hospital between 1999 and 2000, we examined association of patients' age with resource use, such as total hospital charges, charges for drugs, charges for examinations, and charges for operation. This analysis showed that the median total charges and charges for examinations rose with ages up to 55 years, but were fairly stable for age 55 and older. Among patients who died in hospital, the median length of hospital stay, the median of total charges, and the median charges for drugs decreased with age. The median charges for exams among patients who died in hospital increased with ages up to 55 years, but decreased with age. Results from these analyses revealed that neither the aggregated data analysis nor the individual data analysis identified linear association between patient age and health care expenditures. In addition, we found that there were wide variations in the age-stratified distribution of health care expenditures in terms of primary diagnosis.
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