South Korea has witnessed a significant increase in medical expenses related to drug addiction. (Image courtesy of Pixabay/CCL)
SEOUL, Jun. 27 (Korea Bizwire) – In recent years, South Korea has witnessed a significant increase in medical expenses related to drug addiction, largely attributed to a growing trend of prescribing psychotropic medications for insomnia treatment and weight loss.
The Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service (HIRA) released these findings on June 26, coinciding with World Drug Day, detailing the medical treatment status for drug and medication addiction from 2019 to 2023.
During this period, the number of individuals diagnosed with “mental and behavioral disorders due to psychoactive substance use” increased by 1.4%, from 6,508 to 6,599. More strikingly, the associated medical costs surged by 17.8%, from 5.33 billion won to 6.28 billion won.
Gender-specific data reveals that while the number of male patients increased by 4.6%, their total annual medical expenses rose by 20.8%. Conversely, female patient numbers decreased by 0.8%, but their annual medical costs still saw a 15.9% increase.
Breaking down drug addiction by specific conditions, “mental and behavioral disorders due to multiple drug use and other psychoactive substances” accounted for 41.1% of claims, followed by “mental and behavioral disorders due to sedative or hypnotic use” at 29.8%.
In 2023, the age groups with the highest number of health insurance claims related to drug addiction were individuals in their 20s (22.8%), 30s (21.2%), and 40s (16.0%).
For non-narcotic medication addiction, including systemic antibiotics, patient numbers decreased by 0.7% over the same period, but medical expenses soared by 42.1%.
Male patient numbers in this category decreased by 9.2%, yet their annual medical costs increased by 37.5%. Female patient numbers and annual medical costs increased by 3.9% and 44.9% respectively.
In 2023, the most common specific conditions for medication addiction claims were “poisoning by diuretics and other and unspecified drugs, medicaments and biological substances” (41%), followed by “poisoning by antiepileptic, sedative-hypnotic and antiparkinsonism drugs” (28.6%).
Dr. Hahm Myung-il, director of HIRA’s Review and Assessment Policy Research Institute, emphasized the importance of expert consultation and prevention of misuse regarding psychotropic drugs prescribed for insomnia, weight loss, and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) treatment.
M. H. Lee (mhlee@koreabizwire.com)
