국내 바이러스 검사 건강보험 행위 등재 및 수행 현황

Abstract

Background: Rapid and accurate diagnosis of viruses is important. In this study, we investigated the current status of viral tests that could be performed overseas or by the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) to provide a basis for the introduction of viral tests into the Korean health insurance service. Methods: We summarized the current status of the health insurance service for viral tests by referring to the national health insurance allowance of medical care and the Current Procedural Terminology (CPT) in the USA. We analyzed the status of viral tests performed overseas from the 10-year (2013–2022) data of five major Korean referral laboratories. The items tested by KCDC were based on the annual reports and the integrated guidelines for diagnostic testing published by KCDC. Results: According to the viral tests in the health insurance service, special cultures, immunological, immunofluorescence, and western blotbased tests could be listed. The molecular tests included nucleic acid amplification and hybridization as well as sequencing. In the CPT coding system, the viral tests were included under each microbiological test method. Based on the high-frequency virus tests performed overseas and by KCDC, the proposed tests included molecular assays for measles, hepatitis A, Japanese encephalitis, adenoviruses, and enterovirus types as well as antigen tests for dengue virus infection. Conclusions: The hereby presented data and suggestions on the current status of health insurance service of virus testing in Korea would be potentially helpful in viral infection diagnosis and management.