04-10-2019
South Korea:Insurers bear most of treatment costs for smartphone-related illnesses
Insurance Alertss|
04-10-2019
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South Korea:Insurers bear most of treatment costs for smartphone-related illnesses
Medical expenses to treat smartphone-related diseases such as dry eye syndrome and carpal tunnel syndrome exceeded KRW400bn ($333.6m) in 2018, with 70% of these costs covered by insurance.
According to a report released by the National Health Insurance Service (NHIS), smartphone-related disease expense increased by 46.8% from KRW295.3bn in 2014 to KRW433.4bn – KRW305.5bn in insurance benefits and KRW127.8bn in patients' payments -- in 2018.
The NHIS noted that the number of smartphone-related patients also increased to about 5.4m, a 14.8 percent increase compared to 2014, reported Korea Bizwire.
In detail, dry eye syndrome affected consumers most with about 2.5m patients, followed by turtle neck syndrome with 2.1m, insomnia with 600,000, and carpal tunnel syndrome with 180,000.
“While the distribution rate of smartphones in Korea is 94%, the excessive use of smartphones has led to an increase in the number of patients who visit medical institutions due to smartphone-related diseases such as turtle neck syndrome, dry eye syndrome, insomnia, and carpal tunnel syndrome,” said lawmaker Kim Kwang-soo.
“As nine out of 10 people use smartphones, it is necessary to prevent and manage diseases caused by the use of smartphones at a governmental level.”
Source: Asia Insurance Review