Comparative Research for the Healthcare Budget and Burden of Disease in Perspective Resource Allocation

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Health Economics
• Health Policy

Background:

• Disease burden is a key metric for prioritizing healthcare investments.
• Analysis of the 2018 Ministry of Health and Welfare (MOHW) research and development (R&D) budget was conducted.
• Findings were compared against the 2015 Korean National Burden of Disease (KNBD) study.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the alignment of the MOHW R&D budget allocation with the disease burden in South Korea.
• To identify discrepancies between R&D funding and disease burden metrics like economic impact and disability-adjusted life years (DALYs).
• To inform future R&D funding strategies for minimizing national disease burden.

Main Methods:

• Utilized the 2018 MOHW R&D Project integrated implementation plan for budget analysis.
• Categorized the R&D budget by KNBD disease groups and budget lines.
• Compared R&D allocations with 2015 economic burden and DALYs data for diseases and risk factors.

Main Results:

• The 2018 MOHW R&D budget was USD 435.1 million (3% of total government budget).
• Disease-specific R&D funding: 35.9% communicable, 64.1% non-communicable, 0% injury/violence.
• Neoplasms received the highest disease-specific R&D funding; climate change and behavioral risks were targeted risk factors.

Conclusions:

• Current R&D allocations do not optimally align with minimizing disease burden.
• Significant mismatches exist between R&D budgets and disease burden (economic burden and DALYs).
• A new approach to government R&D funding allocation is needed to prioritize disease burden reduction in Korea.