About 70% Feel Burdened by In-Person Hospital Visits; Many Experience Difficulty Visiting During Holidays

'Levcli' (https://levcli.jp/), an online medical consultation platform operated by Leverages Co., Ltd., conducted a survey on the actual conditions of hospital visits among 520 people who have experienced in-person hospital visits within the past year. - About 70% feel burdened by in-person visits, driven by waiting times and transportation costs. - About half spend '1 hour or more' for a hospital visit; transportation cost burden is significant in out-of-pocket treatments. - About 60% have experienced visiting a hospital during consecutive holidays, finding long waiting times and travel stressful. - 80% feel burdened by taking time off work for hospital visits, worrying about the strain on colleagues. 1. About 70% feel burdened by in-person visits, driven by waiting times and transportation costs When asking those who experienced in-person hospital visits within the past year about their most frequent symptoms/concerns (*1), among those receiving insurance-covered treatments (*2), 'lifestyle-related diseases such as hypertension and diabetes (25.1%)' was the highest. For those receiving out-of-pocket treatments (*3), 'cosmetic dermatology (42.3%)' and 'hair loss/thinning hair treatment (24.6%)' ranked highest. Furthermore, regarding in-person hospital visits, it was found that about 70% (72.3%) feel some kind of burden (*4). 68.3% of those who received insurance-covered treatments and 73.4% of those who received out-of-pocket treatments answered 'feel a burden', showing a tendency to feel burdened regardless of the medical treatment category. *1 Those who received both insurance and out-of-pocket treatments answered for both experiences; those who received only one answered for that specific category. As a result, 454 responses were obtained for insurance treatments and 260 for out-of-pocket treatments. *2 Treatments covered by the public health insurance system with 10-30% out-of-pocket cost upon presenting a health insurance card. *3 Treatments not covered by public medical insurance, requiring full out-of-pocket payment. *4 The total of respondents who answered they 'feel a burden' or 'somewhat feel a burden' in in-person visits among those with in-person visit experience in the past year. Specifically regarding the contents of the burden, in insurance treatments, 'long waiting time for consultation and billing (59.0%)' and 'few weekend consultations (29.4%)' ranked high. It shows that the burden caused by peripheral experiences like 'waiting/traveling time' and 'adjusting schedules to available hours' is large, rather than the medical act itself. In out-of-pocket treatments, 'travel time and transportation costs for commuting (39.3%)' was the most common, followed by 'difficulty in making reservations (29.3%)' and 'no desired clinical department nearby (27.2%)'. The frequent answers regarding cost and access in out-of-pocket treatments suggest a potential maldistribution of clinics biased towards urban areas. 2. About half spend '1 hour or more' for a hospital visit; transportation cost burden is significant in out-of-pocket treatments The total time spent per hospital visit was '1 hour or more' for about half of the respondents in both categories: 52.5% for insurance treatments and 45.8% for out-of-pocket treatments. Regarding round-trip transportation costs, '0 yen (40.1%)' was the most common for insurance treatments. On the other hand, '3,000 yen or more (28.8%)' was the highest for out-of-pocket treatments, showing a difference of over 20 points compared to insurance treatments (7.3%). This suggests that for out-of-pocket treatments like cosmetic dermatology and AGA treatments, people may be traveling far due to a lack of nearby medical institutions. 3. About 60% have experienced visiting a hospital during consecutive holidays, finding long waiting times and travel stressful Regarding the experience of searching for and visiting a hospital due to sudden illness during consecutive holidays, about 60% combined answered 'many times (19.6%)' and 'about 1-2 times (41.9%)'. Also, stresses felt during holiday visits included 'waiting for a long time in a crowded waiting room (49.7%)' and 'traveling far to an open hospital while feeling unwell (38.4%)'. It shows that because medical institution operations are limited during holidays, patients feel greater geographical and temporal burdens than during normal times. 4. 80% feel burdened by taking time off work for hospital visits, worrying about the strain on colleagues When asked about taking time off work for hospital visits within the past year, about 60% have taken time off, combining 'frequently (7.1%)', 'sometimes (25.0%)', and 'about 1-2 times (25.2%)'. Among them, about 80% answered they 'feel a heavy burden (31.2%)' or 'somewhat feel a burden (48.0%)' regarding taking time off. As reasons for feeling burdened, 'because my absence puts a strain on other members' work (52.5%)' was prominent.