Inequality in outpatient resource utilization among older adults during the 2007-2008 financial crisis: findings from Taiwan.

BACKGROUND: Equity in medical resource utilization is a crucial concern in countries with national health insurance systems. From the perspective of an active aging framework, public health insurance is one of the pillars of economic security, as suggested by the World Bank, to achieve the goal of social security for older adults. This study thus sought to quantify income-related inequality in national health insurance systems, especially during the global economic crisis of 2007-2008. METHODS: By employing the Taiwan National Health Interview Surveys (2005 and 2009) datasets, we analyzed the socioeconomic inequality of outpatient service utilization for older Taiwanese adults during the financial crisis of 2007-2008. We used corrected concentration indices (CCIs) to examine inequalities over time. Furthermore, we decomposed socioeconomic inequalities to reveal the contributions of determinant factors. The dependent variables related to whether participants had used outpatient services in the previous month, and the independent factors included individual's needs, enabling, predisposing, and environmental factors proposed by Andersen model. RESULTS: The sample consisted of 2415 observations in 2005 and 2554 observations in 2009. The income-related health care inequality was minor from pro-rich to pro-poor across the study duration, although the difference was insignificant (women: from a concentration index [CI] of 0.0256 in 2005 to a CI of - 0.0098 in 2009; men: from a CI of 0.0379 in 2005 to a CI of 0.0310 in 2009). We used a probit model to analyze the effect of explanatory factors on outpatient resource utilization by men and women. After other factors were controlled for, we found that that the income variable had a positive and significant effect on outpatient service utilization in 2009 and the absolute contribution of income to inequality notably increased from 0.0480 in 2005 to 0.3247 in 2009 for older women. CONCLUSIONS: In conclusion, Taiwan's National Health Insurance system guarantees the accessibility of health care services to older adults, but slight income-related inequality was maintained in the outpatient resource utilization of women during the 2007-2008 financial crisis. Close attention should be paid to the vulnerability of women during times of economic insecurity.

Tragic result of traditional Chinese medicine manipulation: an unusual case report of bilateral anterior shoulder dislocations.

BACKGROUND: In Taiwan, there is a good universal healthcare system to the patients; however, the majority of Taiwanese seek the complementary and alternative medicine when they are injured or ill. The traditional Chinese medicine, which is a branch of complementary alternative medicine, is prevalent in Taiwan. Without proper sequence of maneuvers, either traditional Chinese medicine or conventional medicine might cause unexpected complications. We report a case of 76-year-old woman who was manipulated by a bonesetter, leading to bilateral anterior shoulder dislocations. To the authors' best knowledge, this injury mechanism of bilateral shoulder dislocations has not been reported in the literature. Since the traditional Chinese medicine is popular in Taiwan, proper training with better skills for the practitioners should be emphasized. We highlight the integration and collaboration of traditional Chinese medicine with western medicine to achieve a better health care for the patients. CASE PRESENTATION: A 76-year-old Taiwanese woman has been suffering from soreness and stiffness of bilateral shoulders for 6 months. She went to a bonesetter for mobilization for her shoulders. After manipulations for bilateral shoulders, the woman experienced locked both shoulders with sharp pain. She came to our institute, where the radiographs confirmed bilateral anterior shoulder dislocations. Closed reduction for the dislocations was done by the physician. The patient returned to good range of motion of bilateral shoulders after subsequent rehabilitation without any neurologic deficits. CONCLUSIONS: To the authors' best knowledge, this unusual injury of bilateral anterior shoulder dislocations had not been reported. The possible mechanism of this injury and the health belief of traditional Chinese medicine in Taiwan are discussed. Improper shoulder manipulations would lead to unexpected complication in any medical practices. We suggest that both traditional Chinese medicine and conventional medicine should follow specific sequences of manipulations; Collaboration and integration with each other could achieve a better healthcare for the patients.

Hospital competition and inpatient services efficiency in Taiwan: a longitudinal study.

There is no consistent evidence of the relationship between market competition and hospital efficiency. Some studies indicated that more competition led to a faster patient turnover rate, higher hospital costs, and lower hospital efficiency. Since the 1980s some studies found market competition could increase the efficiency of inpatient services. However, there were few studies testing the market competition during a hospital's earlier stages on its efficiency during later stages, or the dynamic of efficiency. In this study, we examined the effect of early-stage market competition on later-stage hospital efficiency in Taiwan, and we determine the efficiency change using longitudinal study design. The data for the analysis came from the annual national hospital survey of 1996 and 2001 provided by the Department of Health. There were 102 teaching hospital be analysed. The results show that no evidence supports the proposition that higher market competition would improve the efficiency of hospitals in delivering inpatient services in Taiwan. Importantly, neither was the inefficiency score nor the Malmquist productivity index of inpatient services associated with the level of hospital market competition, regardless of the adjustment for hospital characteristics. However, the results may be related with the hospital increasing beds investment behavior.