700 Section - Healthcare Utilization Among Aging Polio Survivors in Korea: A Nationwide Claims-Based Analysis

Although poliomyelitis has been eradicated in most countries, polio survivors experience late effect of polio (LEoP) with aging. This study examined nationwide trends in healthcare use among Korean polio survivors.

Design:

This study utilized publicly available national health insurance claims data from the Health Insurance Review & Assessment Service (HIRA) Open Data Portal (opendata.hira.or.kr). The dataset provides anonymized, aggregated statistics derived from primary diagnostic codes, including annual numbers of patients, medical expenditures, facility type utilization, age distribution, and regional information. Cases with B91 (sequelae of poliomyelitis) or G14 (post-polio syndrome) as the primary diagnosis to identify polio survivors were analyzed.

Results:

A distinct demographic transition was observed, with polio survivors who were largely in their 40s and 50s in the early 2010s gradually shifting into the 60-70 years age ranged by the 2020s. Total medical expenditure showed a trend proportional to these demographics, peaking around 2015 and rising again after 2019. Given the increasing proportion of older survivors, healthcare expenditures are expected to continue rising. Although most cases used primary and tertiary hospitals, the largest share of total medical expenditure was concentrated in secondary hospitals. Most polio survivors resided in the Seoul and Gyeonggi metropolitan area; however, healthcare utilization showed a strong inflow toward Seoul, with notable outflow from Gyeonggi and Incheon. Outside the capital region, inflow toward metropolitan cities was observed, whereas surrounding non-metropolitan provinces showed net outflow.

Conclusion:

Nationwide HIRA data reveal that polio survivors in Korea represent an increasing healthcare cost and a growing reliance on secondary hospital-based care as they age. Furthermore, regional discrepancies between patient residence and healthcare service provider locations reveal significant gaps in access to specialized rehabilitation and post-polio care. These findings highlight the urgent need for balanced regional rehabilitation infrastructure and targeted health policies to support the aging polio survivors.