Abstract

Objectives: Comparison of the status of herbal medicine management carried out by traditional Korean medicine hospitals and clinics, and changes in the prices of the herbal medicines offered by them. Methods: A questionnaire survey was conducted for 126 traditional Korean medicine hospitals and 4,200 traditional Korean medicine clinics. Questionnaire sheets were dispatched to them by mail in 2008. Rate of response: 57hospitals (45.2%) and 465 clinics (11.0%)Results:1. Concerning the herbal medicines kept by them, the hospitals and the clinics kept 295 and 147 kinds of medicine,respectively, on average. As for their monthly expenditure on the purchase of herbal medicines, the hospitals spent an average of KRW 28.38 million while the clinics spent an average of KRW 1.64 million. 2. The average monthly expenditure of the clinics on the purchase of herbal medicines decreased by 32% from 2006,which can be interpreted as a reduction of their business. 3. The prices of herbal medicines for disease treatment ranged from KRW 140,000∼190,000 per jae(dosage form)in the hospitals compared to KRW 140,000∼168,000 in the clinics. 4. Compared to 1994, the prices of herbal medicines used for disease treatment have risen, whereas the prices of herbal medicines used as tonics have decreased. Conclusions: There are no conspicuous differences between the hospitals and the clinics in terms of the prices charged for herbal medicines, regardless of whether they are used to treat diseases or prescribed as tonics.