TABLE 1.
General characteristics of elderly patients with outpatient prescriptions.
| Year | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | Annual Increase Rate (%) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. of patients | 5,201,276 | 5,411,592 | 5,713,734 | 5,974,108 | 6,235,700 | 6,474,327 | 6,693,802 | 7,046,476 | 7,357,078 | 7,722,213 | 5.39 | |||
| Sex | ||||||||||||||
| Male | 2,099,908 | (40.4) | 2,201,909 | 2,345,343 | 2,473,240 | 2,599,708 | 2,717,929 | 2,825,863 | 2,997,317 | 3,148,275 | 3,326,394 | (43.1) | 6.49 | |
| Female | 3,101,368 | (59.6) | 3,209,683 | 3,368,391 | 3,500,868 | 3,635,992 | 3,756,398 | 3,867,939 | 4,049,159 | 4,208,803 | 4,395,819 | (56.9) | 4.64 | |
| Age | ||||||||||||||
| 65–69 years | 1,800,317 | (34.6) | 1,789,202 | 1,799,905 | 1,882,353 | 1,972,321 | 2,079,577 | 2,132,322 | 2,239,501 | 2,306,639 | 2,440,720 | (31.6) | 3.95 | |
| 70–74 years | 1,498,662 | (28.8) | 1,570,977 | 1,707,598 | 1,735,553 | 1,734,561 | 1,722,208 | 1,715,513 | 1,727,090 | 1,814,482 | 1,904,724 | (24.7) | 3.01 | |
| 75–79 years | 1,008,529 | (19.4) | 1,090,106 | 1,160,533 | 1,232,649 | 1,306,653 | 1,344,631 | 1,413,640 | 1,537,649 | 1,573,012 | 1,578,401 | (20.4) | 6.28 | |
| 80–84 years | 553,756 | (10.6) | 593,460 | 642,702 | 685,867 | 743,492 | 811,064 | 878,909 | 937,345 | 1,003,923 | 1,072,901 | (13.9) | 10.42 | |
| ≥85 years | 340,012 | (6.5) | 367,847 | 402,996 | 437,686 | 478,673 | 516,847 | 553,418 | 604,891 | 659,022 | 725,467 | (9.4) | 12.60 | |
| Mean ± SD | 73.3 ± 6.4 | 73.5 ± 6.4 | 73.6 ± 6.5 | 73.7 ± 6.6 | 73.8 ± 6.7 | 73.9 ± 6.7 | 74.1 ± 6.8 | 74.1 ± 6.9 | 74.2 ± 7.0 | 74.2 ± 7.1 | ||||
| Disease | ||||||||||||||
| Hypertension | 2,581,068 | (49.6) | 2,698,944 | 2,871,014 | 3,020,143 | 3,127,229 | 3,251,965 | 3,377,110 | 3,520,861 | 3,690,716 | 3,880,467 | (50.3) | 5.59 | |
| Cardio-cerebrovascular diseases | 708,464 | (13.6) | 738,118 | 769,820 | 794,857 | 808,563 | 824,746 | 842,376 | 865,736 | 908,699 | 965,318 | (12.5) | 4.03 | |
| Hyperlipidemia | 861,160 | (16.6) | 1,005,204 | 1,143,690 | 1,286,479 | 1,455,729 | 1,623,152 | 1,839,357 | 2,019,675 | 2,223,874 | 2,464,689 | (31.9) | 20.69 | |
| Diabetes mellitus | 1,101,025 | (21.2) | 1,199,610 | 1,296,502 | 1,390,443 | 1,471,894 | 1,555,136 | 1,646,875 | 1,757,277 | 1,873,910 | 2,011,237 | (26.0) | 9.19 | |
| Gastric ulcer/gastroesophageal reflux disease | 900,849 | (17.3) | 921,419 | 972,808 | 955,284 | 938,610 | 926,121 | 924,474 | 919,140 | 926,743 | 901,305 | (11.7) | 0.01 | |
| Chronic renal failure | 53,226 | (1.0) | 66,545 | 81,899 | 93,443 | 101,129 | 113,049 | 129,431 | 144,899 | 165,262 | 187,896 | (2.4) | 28.11 | |
| Liver disease | 404,017 | (7.8) | 429,352 | 467,627 | 500,677 | 511,073 | 542,900 | 585,088 | 622,770 | 706,072 | 804,115 | (10.4) | 11.00 | |
| Respiratory disease | 772,877 | (14.9) | 813,996 | 924,936 | 904,180 | 939,409 | 957,361 | 944,269 | 934,592 | 1,000,483 | 978,788 | (12.7) | 2.96 | |
| Cancer | 3,387,661 | (7.5) | 366,883 | 407,504 | 446,303 | 480,045 | 515,727 | 555,593 | 599,626 | 652,336 | 705,116 | (9.1) | 9.10 | |
| Musculoskeletal disease | 2,078,698 | (40.0) | 2,194,343 | 2,329,917 | 2,442,143 | 2,550,716 | 2,652,127 | 2,771,548 | 2,904,274 | 3,054,021 | 3,251,092 | (42.1) | 6.27 | |
| Dementia | 262,711 | (5.1) | 312,570 | 370,475 | 429,201 | 482,337 | 542,291 | 622,885 | 721,893 | 833,164 | 946,865 | (12.3) | 28.94 | |
| Fracture | 361,346 | (6.9) | 362,549 | 401,783 | 447,012 | 450,389 | 471,148 | 488,964 | 528,840 | 568,701 | 600,456 | (7.8) | 7.35 | |
| Healthcare utilization | ||||||||||||||
| Healthcare spending (billion USD) | 3.2 | 3.5 | 3.8 | 4.2 | 4.6 | 4.9 | 5.4 | 6.0 | 6.9 | 7.9 | 16.33 | |||
| Prescription spending (billion USD) | 2.9 | 3.1 | 3.1 | 3.2 | 3.4 | 3.7 | 4.1 | 4.5 | 4.9 | 5.5 | 9.73 | |||
| Number of visits (day) | 28.4 | 28.9 | 31.0 | 31.0 | 30.9 | 30.3 | 30.4 | 30.0 | 30.1 | 30.3 | 0.74 | |||
| Number of medications per day, Mean ± SD (Median) | 4.7 ± 2.4 (4.2) | 4.6 ± 2.4 (4.1) | 4.7 ± 2.5 (4.1) | 4.7 ± 2.6 (4.1) | 4.7 ± 2.6 (4.2) | 4.7 ± 2.6 (4.2) | 4.8 ± 2.7 (4.2) | 4.8 ± 2.7 (4.2) | 4.9 ± 2.8 (4.3) | 4.9 ± 2.9 (4.3) | 0.47 | |||
| Spending per patient (USD) | 618.3 | 645.8 | 671.7 | 700 | 733.3 | 753.3 | 800.8 | 850 | 936.7 | 1,029.2 | 7.38 | |||
| Prescription spending per patient (USD) | 561.7 | 579.2 | 535.0 | 535.8 | 549.2 | 565.8 | 612.5 | 635 | 672.5 | 710 | 2.93 | |||
SD: standard deviation.