Evaluating A Multicomponent Chronic Disease Management Pilot Intervention among Korean Patients with Hypertension and Diabetes

Background: A local clinic-based chronic disease management intervention including care planning, education about disease management, monitoring, and evaluation of the achievement of objects was introduced in Korea in 2019. We evaluated the effect of the intervention on medication adherence in patients with hypertension and diabetes. Methods: In 2019, a one-year retrospective case-control group study design was performed using data from the National Health Insurance Service in Korea. Propensity score matching was used to control for selection bias. Medication adherence, calculated by medication possession rate, was the dependent variable. We conducted multivariate logistic regression analyses to examine the association between participation in the intervention and medication adherence, adjusting for covariates. A control group was set as a reference for participation in the full/partial component intervention. Results: The proportions of participants in the full component intervention in the experimental group were 43.2% and 42.6% for patients with hypertension or diabetes, respectively. Both these groups tended to be more medication adherent than their counterparts (hypertension OR: 1.23, 95% CI 1.03-1.45, diabetes OR: 1.64, 95% CI: 1.24-2.17). Conclusion: Institutionalizing a comprehensive chronic disease management program using multidisciplinary teams in the primary care context is crucial. Also, it is necessary to refine reimbursement payment systems.