The use of East-West Integrative Medicine in a national university hospital setting in Korea: A review of a new routine integrated hospital dataset

AimIn Korea, where both conventional Western medicine (CWM) and traditional Korean medicine (TKM) coexist, it is becoming increasingly important to understand the pattern of patients' use of East-West Integrative Medicine (EWIM). This study analyses the patterns of EWIM use and measures patients satisfaction in a national Korean university hospital setting.MethodsAfter obtaining the approval of an institutional review board, the medical records of patients attending integrated CWM and TKM hospitals between March 2010 and January 2011 were extracted and analysed using the clinical data warehouse of the hospitals' electronic medical record system. Patient satisfaction with EWIM use was assessed using a telephone survey after receiving consent from patients.ResultsThose using both medicines comprised 52.3% (1773/3393) of all TKM hospital care. Totally, 129 (35.4%) inpatients in the TKM hospital had used EWIM. Their primary reasons included radiologic or laboratory examinations (53.9%), CWM treatments (28.5%), and medical diagnosis (16.7%). In comparison, 21 (4.1%) outpatients of the TKM hospital had used EWIM, and 34 cases (1.1%) of outpatients had consulted with the CWM hospital. Their satisfaction with EWIM was generally high; however, some patients were dissatisfied with the complicated medical delivery system and the doctors' attitudes.ConclusionsThere was a high proportion of EWIM use in the TKM hospital based on the l analysis of the hospital electronic record system. The medical delivery system needs to be modified for patients who used EWIM which could improve the Korean healthcare system and improve the experience of patients as consumers of medical service.