• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.51 no.5
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• pp.257-262
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• 2018

Objectives: Smoking cessation decreases morbidity and mortality due to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Pharmacotherapy for smoking cessation is highly effective. However, the optimal prescription rate of smoking cessation medications among smokers with COPD has not been systemically studied. The purpose of this study was to estimate the national prescription rates of smoking cessation medications among smokers with COPD and to examine any disparities therein. Methods: We conducted a retrospective study using National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey data from 2007 to 2012. We estimated the national prescription rate for any smoking cessation medication (varenicline, bupropion, and nicotine replacement therapy) each year. Multiple survey logistic regression was performed to characterize the effects of demographic variables and comorbidities on prescriptions. Results: The average prescription rate of any smoking cessation medication over 5 years was 3.64%. The prescription rate declined each year, except for a slight increase in 2012: 9.91% in 2007, 4.47% in 2008, 2.42% in 2009, 1.88% in 2010, 1.46% in 2011, and 3.67% in 2012. Hispanic race and depression were associated with higher prescription rates (odds ratio [OR], 5.15; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.59 to 16.67 and OR, 2.64; 95% CI, 1.26 to 5.51, respectively). There were no significant differences according to insurance, location of the physician, or other comorbidities. The high OR among Hispanic population and those with depression was driven by the high prescription rate of bupropion. Conclusions: The prescription rate of smoking cessation medications among smokers with COPD remained low throughout the study period. Further studies are necessary to identify barriers and to develop strategies to overcome them.

• The Journal of Korean Physical Therapy
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• v.11 no.2
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• pp.61-73
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• 1999

This study was performed to investigate the degree of demand and general features of services required of home visiting physical therapy for chronic ill patients. The study subjects were ambulatory and admitted patients treated with physical therapy at six general and one oriental hospitals, one welfare center, four health centers located in Taejon from March 2, 1999 to March 16. Authors developed structured questionnaire, and distributed it to each physical therapist of study organizations. Total number of distributed questionnaire was 500, and 405 questionnaire were collected and analysed finally. 1. $82.4\%$ of patients and $90.0\%$ of caregivers are showed that home visiting physical therapy was needed(p<0.05) 2. The rate of necessity for home visiting physical therapy by kinds of disease was $949\%$ in cerebral palsy, $95.0\%$ in upper spinal cord injury, $83.3\%$ in lower spinal cord injury, $84.5\%$ in cerebral vascular accident, $89.6\%$ in traumatic brain injury, $83.5\%$ in other diseases. 3. In the general features of required service for home visiting physical therapy, $33.7\%$ of patients and $34.4\%$ of caregivers want special isolated physical therapy center, $33.1\%$ of patients and $43.3\%$ of caregivers want 3 times per week in frequency, $46.7\%$ of patients and $45.0\%$ of caregivers want 30-60minutes in treatment duration, and $48.0\%$ of patients and $46.7\%$ of caregivers want more intensive care than general hospitals. 4. In the working place of home visiting physical therapy, $36.1\%$ of patients and $36.2\%$ of caregivers wants physical therapist worked in general hospital. Also, $53.3\%$ of patients and $52.2\%$ of caregivers answered no interested in physical therapist's gender. The most preferential age of home visiting physical therapist is thirties in $43.2\%$ of patients and $63.4\%$ in caregivers

• The Journal of Internal Korean Medicine
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• v.20 no.1
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• pp.222-231
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• 1999

Uwhangchungsimwon(UC) has been used in the treatment of a wide variety of conditions including stroke, hypertension, arteriosclerosis, autonomic imbalance, mental instablity, etc in Korean traditional hospitals, In particular it is often initialy chosen for emergency care of acute stroke. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of UC on cerebral hemodynamics. Using transcranial Doppler ultrasound, we studied changes of mean flow velocity and pulsatility index(PI) of middle cerebral arteries (MCAs) from 11 health young volunteers who were administrated with 1 pill UC and 11 health controls who were not. We obtained hypercapnia with breath-holding and evaluated cerebrovascular reactivity with breath-holding index(BHI). Systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, and heart rate were measured using ambulatory blood pressure monitoring(ABPM). In UC administration group, the evaluation was performed during basal condition. and repeated at 20, 40, and 60 min after administration. In controls, the evaluation was performed at corresponding time intervals. Mean flow velocity in middle cerebral artery, systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, and heart rate did not change during the observation period and were not different between these two groups. However, administration of UC was associated with decreases in PI by $3.6{\sim}12.4%$ in BHI by $17.9{\sim}24.8%$ compared with pre-administration period. Decreases in PI and BHI with UC were significantly different compared with control group (p<0.05). These results indicate that UC decreases PI and BHI in cerebral artery, which is due to a dilation of cerebral resistance vessels.

• The Korean Journal of Health Service Management
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• v.5 no.3
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• pp.145-155
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• 2011

This study is Dental Hygiene Department of G University for comprehensive dental hygiene control and treatment weekly for four weeks from September 16 to October 20, 2010, excluding those who visited for ambulatory treatment of systemic diseases. For the 90 subjects, we performed oral examination, measured Simplified Oral Hygiene Index (S-OHI), Modified Patient Hygiene Performance (PHP-M), and O' Leary Index, and applied comprehensive dental hygiene control. First, as to the change of OHI according to age, the index in the 1st measurement was 3.43 in those under 35 and 3.17 in those aged 35 or older, so it was higher in the younger group, but in the 2nd measurement it was 1.89 in those under 35 and 2.14 in those aged 35 or older, and in the 3rd measurement it was 1.22 in those aged 35 or older, so it was higher in the older group. Second, as to the change of PHP-M according to age, the index in the 1st measurement was 50.35 in those under 35 and 43.16 in those aged 35 or older, soit was higher in the younger group, but in the 2nd measurement it was 31.97 in those under 35 and 28.88 in those aged 35 or older, and in the 3rd measurement it was 21.31 in those aged 35 or older, so it was higher in the older group.

• Journal of The Korea Institute of Healthcare Architecture
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• v.21 no.1
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• pp.17-26
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• 2015

Purpose : This study examined the social and environmental change in the outpatient department of psychiatry, were analyzed disease characteristics and using characteristics of the mental illness. Thus, this aims to provide a material that can be used for efficient spatial composition of psychiatry. Methods : This study was conducted through a literature review, observation surveys, interviews. Results : Psychiatry is aware of the need to respond to the current needs of ambulatory space, there are concerns that the spatial configuration for your needs. In accordance with the results of studies conducted are as follows: 1) Specialty care programs and space needs based on segmentation and specialization of the disease 2) Considered in conjunction with the layout of essential space and other departments 3) Spatial composition and furnishings for characteristic of psychiatry 4) Spatial configuration taking into account the patient's characteristic. Implications : This study looked at the change of social change and the environment related to psychiatry. Grasp the present state of spatial composition in psychiatry. And the use characteristics of patients and guardians were investigated. Meanwhile, studies of psychiatric outpatient department is still lacking. As a result, its significance is to analyze the spatial composition requirements.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.34 no.1
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• pp.55-60
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• 2001

Objectives : The SERVQUAL scale is based on gap theory, which suggests the difference between consumers' expectations and the quality of the medical service actually received. However, problems in the implementation of the SERVQUAL scale have been identified by several researchers. Some researchers have proposed a simple performance-based measure (SERVPERF) or au exportation-controlled performance-based measure(Non-Diff) as alternatives to the SERVQUAL scale. On the basis of the theoretical concerns discussed, we examined the capability of each of the three scales(SERVQUAL, Non-Diff, SERVPERF) to explain variations in consumer satisfaction. Methods : Data was gathered from a self-administered questionnaire in a 430 bed hospital. Questionnaires evaluating medical services were distributed to 180 ambulatory patients. A total of 167 usable questionnaires were gathered. The questionnaire was composed of 10 expectation, performance and expectation-controlled performance items. In addition, overall satisfaction and purchase intention were measured. Results : Compared with the SERVQUAL scale, the Non-Diff and SERVPERF scales better explained the observed variations in consumer satisfaction(SERVOQUAL, $R^2=0.29;\;Non-Diff,\;R^2=0.51;\;SERVPERF,\;R^2=0.48$) and purchase intention(SERVQUAL, $R^2=0.22;\;Non-Diff,\;R^2=0.33;\;SERVPERF,\;R^2=0.34$). Conclusion : The maier conclusion from our study is that the Non-Diff and SERVPERF scales are more efficient in assessing consumer satisfaction than the SERVQUAL scale. Therefore we suggest that consumer satisfaction he measured by the Non-Diff or SEVPERF scales.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.45 no.5
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• pp.316-319
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• 2012

Background: The standard operative treatment of primary spontaneous pneumothorax (PSP) is thoracoscopic wedge resection, but necessity of pleurodesis still remains controversial. Nevertheless, pleural procedure after wedge resection such as pleurodesis has been performed in some patients who need an extremely low recurrence rate. Materials and Methods: From January 2000 to July 2010, 207 patients who had undergone thoracoscopic wedge resection and pleurodesis were enrolled in this study. All patients were divided into two groups according to the methods of pleurodesis; apical parietal pleurectomy (group A) and pleural abrasion (group B). The recurrence after surgery had been checked by reviewing medical record through follow-up in ambulatory care clinic or calling to the patients, directly until January 2011. Results: Of the 207 patients, the recurrence rate of group A and B was 9.1% and 12.8%, respectively and there was a significant difference (p=0.01, Cox's proportional hazard model). There was no significant difference in age, gender, smoking status, and body mass index between two groups. Conclusion: This study suggests that the risk of recurrence after surgery in PSP is significantly low in patients who underwent thoracoscopic wedge resection with parietal pleurectomy than pleural abrasion.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.33 no.4
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• pp.484-494
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• 2000

Objective : To evaluate the relative benefits and the costs associated with the introduction of the new pharmaceutical provision called 'Mandatory Prescription System' which separates the role of physicians from that of pharmacists with respect to the prescription and dispensation of from the perspective of consumers (i.e., patients). Methods : The costs of the system were measured by considering both direct and indirect costs. Direct costs included additional payments for ambulatory care and dispensing fees that occurred under the new system. indirect costs consisted of transportation expenses and costs related to time spent for physician consultation, waiting for the prescriptions to be filled, and extra traveling. Benefits identified in this study were the reduction of drug misuse and overuse, and the overall decrease in drug consumption among the Korean population. Sensitivity analysis was peformed for the inclusion of benefits for outpatients of hospitals, price elasticity, and increased fees for established patients. Results : The net benefit was estimated to be about minus 1,862 billion won and the benefit-cost ratio was 0.478. This indicates that the costs of 'Mandatory Prescription' outweigh its benefits, relative to the previous system. The sensitivity analysis results for all the variables considered in this study consistently showed the benefit-cost ratio to be less than 1. Conclusion : The results of this study suggest that implementing Mandatory Prescription System in Korea might be inefficient from the consumer's perspective. The results of this study do not coincide with the results of previous studies, presumably because of the differences in study design and in which items of costs and benefits were considered.

• Health Policy and Management
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• v.20 no.4
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• pp.45-57
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• 2010

Background : If different cost efficiency indexes were informed to the same clinic depending on the inclusion or exclusion of pharmacy cost, it may impair the reliability of provider-profiling system. This study aimed to investigate whether the omission of pharmacy cost affects cost-efficiency rankings in medical clinics. Methods : Data for ambulatory care cost at 23,112 medical clinics were collected from the claims database, which was constructed after review by the Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service (HIRA) of Korea in April 2007. We calculated two types of cost efficiency indexes by inclusion or exclusion of pharmacy cost for a medical clinic. The agreement between the decile rankings of the two indexes was also assessed using the weighted kappa statistic of Landis and Koch. Results : When the cost efficiency index for total cost including pharmacy cost was compared with the index for total cost excluding it, the agreement between the two indexes was only 55%. The agreements between the two indexes were relatively low within specialties which have larger pharmacy volume of total cost and lower correlation between total cost with or without pharmacy cost included than the average level of all the specialties. Conclusion : These results suggest that the omission of pharmacy cost may result in contradictory outcomes that may be confusing to a medical institution and may impair the reliability of provider-profiling systems. It is very important to standardize profiling criteria for the reliability of provider profiling system.

• The Korean Journal of Pain
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• v.34 no.3
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• pp.304-314
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• 2021

Background: The study investigated virtual reality (VR) immersion in alleviating procedure-related pain in patients with chronic pain undergoing fluoroscopy-guided minimally-invasive intervention in a prone position at an outpatient clinic. Methods: In this prospective randomized controlled study, 38 patients undergoing lumbar sympathetic ganglion block were randomized into either the VR or the control group. In the VR group, procedure-related pain was controlled via infiltration of local anesthetics while watching a 30-minute VR hypnotic program. In the control group, the skin infiltration alone was used, with the VR device switched off. The primary endpoint was an 11-point score on the numerical rating scale, indicating procedure-related pain. Patients' satisfaction with pain control, anxiety levels, the need for additional local anesthetics during the procedure, hemodynamic stability, and any adverse events were assessed. Results: Procedure-related pain was significantly lower in the VR group (3.7 ± 1.4) than in the control group (5.5 ± 1.7; P = 0.002). Post-procedural anxiety was lower in the VR group than in the control group (P = 0.025), with a significant reduction from pre-procedural anxiety (P < 0.001). Although patients' satisfaction did not differ significantly (P = 0.158) between the groups, a higher number of patients required additional local anesthetics in the control group (n = 13) than in the VR group (n = 4; P = 0.001). No severe adverse events occurred in either group during the study. Conclusions: VR immersion can be safely used as a novel adjunct to reduce procedural pain and anxiety during fluoroscopic pain intervention.