The impact of COVID-19 on the number of active small primary care businesses by severity of the pandemic: evidence from South Korea.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Health systems have become financially fragile owing to the economic recession caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. However, small primary care businesses have received less policy attention than public health and secondary care. We aimed to estimate the impact of COVID-19 on the number of active small primary care businesses in South Korea.

Methods

We selected clinics, dental clinics, oriental clinics, and pharmacies as primary care businesses. Our estimation took advantage of regional variations in COVID-19 cases in South Korea. We determined the number of active primary care businesses from 2019 1Q to 2021 1Q on a quarterly basis, and conducted interrupted time series analysis to estimate the effects of COVID-19 on this sector.

Results

This study found no si

SUBMITTER: Son KB 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8978167 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature