Effect of motivated physicians and elderly patients with hypertension or type 2 diabetes mellitus in prepared communities on health behaviours and outcomes: A population-based PS matched retrospective cohort study during five-year follow-up period

Effective chronic disease management requires the active participation of patients, communities, and physicians. The objective of this study was to estimate the effectiveness of the Community-based Registration and Management for elderly patients with Hypertension or Type 2 Diabetes mellitus Project (CRMHDP) by using motivated primary care physicians and patients supported by prepared communities, to utilise healthcare and health outcomes in four cities in South Korea. We conducted a propensity score-matched retrospective cohort study using 2010–2011 as the baseline years, alongside a follow-up period until 2015/2016, based on the Korean National Health Insurance database. Both a CRMHDP group (n = 46,865) and a control group (n = 93,730) were applied against healthcare utilisation and difference-in-differences estimations were performed. For the health outcome analysis, the intervention group (n = 27,242) and control group (n = 54,484) were analysed using the Kaplan–Meier method and Cox proportional hazard regression. Results: The difference-in-differences estimation of the average annual clinic visits per person and the average annual days covered were 1.26 (95% confidence interval, 1.13–1.39) and 22.97 (95% CI, 20.91–25.03), respectively, between the intervention and control groups. The adjusted hazard ratio for death in the intervention group, compared to the control group, was 0.90 (95% CI, 0.86–0.93). For stroke and chronic renal failure, the adjusted hazard ratios for the intervention group compared to the control group were 0.94 (95% CI, 0.88–0.99) and 0.80 (95% CI 0.73–0.89), respectively. Our study suggests that for effective chronic disease management both elderly patients and physicians need to be motivated by community support.