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The Impacts of the Hierarchical Medical System on National Health Insurance on the Resident’s Health Seeking Behavior in Taiwan: A Case Study on the Policy to Reduce Hospital Visits

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Submitted:

12 July 2019

Posted:

15 July 2019

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Abstract
Objective: This study investigated the effect of the hierarchical medical system under the national health insurance program on resident’s healthcare-seeking behavior in Taiwan. Background: Healthcare authorities in Taiwan initiated the allowance reduction of outpatient visits at regional hospitals and higher hierarchical hospitals from 2018. The ultimate goal is to implement a hierarchical medical system and provide the residents accessible as well as consistent medical services. Methods: This research was conducted through the questionnaire survey method and data were collected between August and December 2018 from the records of subjects who had recently sought medical attention. A total of 1,340 valid questionnaires were returned. Results: Regarding the effect on healthcare-seeking behavior, the following factors were significant: being aged between 40 to 49 (p<.1), subjects with an educational background of junior high school (p<.05), those who were not aware of the policy (p<.001), and an awareness about both the hierarchical medical system and the policy to reduce outpatient visits to large hospitals (p<.001). Conclusion: The public should be made aware about the hierarchical medical system to improve healthcare.
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Subject: Social Sciences  -   Behavior Sciences
Copyright: This open access article is published under a Creative Commons CC BY 4.0 license, which permit the free download, distribution, and reuse, provided that the author and preprint are cited in any reuse.
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