ABSTRACT

Objective : To evaluate the relative benefits and costs associated with home-based occupational therapy (OT) compared to hospital-based OT in Korea.Methods : To obtain the cost data, patient and hospital surveys were performed during 2005 to 2006. In the evaluation of patient costs, both a cost-data analysis method and a willingness-to-pay (WTP) method were applied.Results : The benefit-cost ratio was 1.29 using the cost-data analysis method and 1.18 using the WTP method. The net benefit was estimated to be 20,830 to 34,530 won per case under the cost-data analysis method and 13,550 to 18,790 won per case under the WTP method. On the assumption that 20% of stroke patients in Korea were provided with home-based OT, the social net benefits were estimated to be about 940,645 thousand won per month using the cost-data analysis method and 583,864 thousand won per month using the WTP method.Conclusion : The results of this study suggest that implementing home-based OTs in Korea might be an efficient method from a social economic perspective.