An empirical analysis of the reduction in medical expenditure by e-health users

We examined the medical expenditure of elderly residents who used an e-health system in Nishiaizu town. Since 1994, health-related data, such as blood pressure, ECG and blood oxygen, have been transmitted to a remote medical institution via a telecommunications network. We selected 412 users from the list of registered e-health users in the town. We also selected 450 residents who were not e-health users. We sent them questionnaires and obtained 199 valid responses from e-health users and 209 from non-users. Then we examined the receipts of these 408 people, which were kept in paper form in the town office. Based on a multiple regression analysis, we found that users of the e-health system had lower medical expenditure for lifestyle-related illness than non-users. The medical expenditure of e-health users was lower than that of non-users by 15,302 yen (US$ 133) per year. This amount was approximately 21% of the average annual medical expenditure of the residents. The results also showed that: long-time users of e-health had lower medical expenditure on lifestyle-related illness; long-time users of e-health had lower medical expenditure than those who used it for a shorter time; e-health had more effect on people with diseases than those without.