• Asia pacific journal of information systems
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• v.13 no.3
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• pp.85-106
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• 2003

Recently, firms which have offered a "free Internet service" to their customers, are considering a "charged Internet service" for increasing a company's profit. But they have doubts about the results, because consumers may fly away from their web-site easily and may discontinue using their services. The purpose of this study is to investigate which factors make consumers use the charged Internet services. To do this, the factors, which are ease of using the service, usefulness of the service, the reputation of the service provider, service cost, and the intention to use the service as a mediator, are analyzed. To achieve this research objective, a structural equation model was constructed and a field study method was used. The findings are summarized as follows: First, ease of using the service, usefulness of the service, and service cost have significant impacts on the charged Internet service usage through the intention to use. Especially, although service cost influences on the service usage largely, the usefulness of the service has a bigger impact on the charged Internet service usage than service cost. Second, the reputation of the service provider does not have any impact on the service usage. Third, consumers using only the free Internet service tend to hesitate about using the "charged Internet service" because they doubt its ease of use and usefulness in spite of the service cost.

• Journal of the Korean Home Economics Association
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• v.42 no.3
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• pp.119-130
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• 2004

The purpose of this study is to estimate the rate of credit card payment for private education. The results of study can be used to improve credit card handling problems of private educational institutes, leading toward improvements in income transparency, increase in tax burden equity and long-term economic welfare improvement for individual households. 424 households out of 586 household that were surveyed in September of 2002 had 1,700 cases private extracurricular education. 67 of the 1,700 cases that did not have expenditure records were removed from the analysis. Only 3.67％ out of 1,633 cases were paid by a credit cards and the amount of credit card payment were only 5.65％ of the total amount spent for private education. The average fee of private educational institutes that allow credit card payment was higher than the fees of private institutes which don't allow a credit card payment or those of private institutes where consumers don't know whether a credit card payment was allowed. The average fee of private education paid by credit cards was 34,465.46 won higher than that paid by cash. Credit card payments to private educational institutions is an important social issue with respect to fair tax collection and tax burden equity since most private educational services operate in fairly small sizes and are offered by the self-employed, and the expense of private education is a fairly large proportion of the household income. It is also important for consumers if credit card acceptance expands alternatives that consumers can choose in private education. Therefore, credit card payment should be encouraged in private extracurricular education. To do this, private education providers should be forced to join a credit card payment service by the National Tax Service. A regulation that prohibits the refusal of credit card payments should be required, and credit card service charges of private education providers should be incrementally decreased. Also, consumer education and public promotions for credit card use instead of cash in paying for private education fees are recommended.

• Research in Community and Public Health Nursing
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• v.10 no.1
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• pp.5-18
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• 1999

The aim of this study is the development of a fee - based model day care center for the elderly by inquiring into the current condition of facilities in America and in Korea, and in surveying the opinion of domestic elderly about day care facilities. A field trip to U.S. day care services was held between July 5 and July 15 in 1997, and an on-the-spot study for domestic facilities took place during March in 1998. Our research reveals that the overall supply of day care facilities can not meet future demand in terms of quality and quantity. Therefore a model must be created for day care centers of a that consists of a director from a professional group. an adequate environment, and a standardized in order to offer a qualified public health service linked to the home and community in Korea. The director of a day care center is a critical variable in determining the quality of service. Professional skills related to the needs of the elderly and the person's quality of service should be considered in appointing director for the center. This study belleves that a professional nurse should be the director of a day care center. The operating environment of a day care facility should be made up of considerable space comparable to the number of residents, should be in a comfortable and safe location, and should have equipment that provides a qualified, safe service to the elderly. Our model is designed for 20 persons and allocates 4 Peng per person. This model is comprised of a reading room. a craft room, a health room, a room for physical therapy, a dining room, a staff office, and a multi -purpose room connected to other rooms. Day care service should be a comprehensive service program meeting the multidimensional needs of the elderly. A comprehensive service program needs a team of various professionals made up of the elderly family, participants, nurses, social workers, physical therapists, nutritionists, and medical doctors. The program will also include health care service, physical therapy, speech therapy. diet, occupational therapy, transportation service, health and an education program, etc. In conclusion, a model of a day care center is developed with the following components: a professional director and an environment and program, that considers the physical, mental, and social characteristics of the elderly. A model should also motivate self-reliance self-fulfillment in the elderly in order to fulfill their health needs and to prevent isolation from society and mental depression. Furthermore, This facility will be a beneficial factor in reducing a family's burden on caring for the elderly that includes unnecessary hospital expenses. The following is a suggestion based on results this study: A service program should be developed to fit the conditions of the elderly in Korea by specifically analyzing the needs of the elderly.

• Journal of Technology Innovation
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• v.13 no.1
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• pp.295-315
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• 2005

The mobile telecommunication service industry plays major role of the realization to the perfect information society in the 21st century and has a great influence in society and culture. The government has enticed the mobile company to keep up to make the mobile service fee low. In this situation, this paper estimates consumer surplus and price elasticity with on-line survey data from the consumer of mobile service. The total estimated consumer surplus of the market is reached to 6.43trillion won. The consumer surplus from SKT is estimated to 4.98trillion won and 1.66trillion won and 0.67trillion won was made by KTF and LGT respectively. The result also shows that consumer surplus is expected to be increased by the increase of the mobile service demand and the sales.

• Korean journal of communication and information
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• v.46
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• pp.485-510
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• 2009

Since the inception of Internet Protocol TV's real-time service on January, 2009, technological challenges and lack of content diversity of IPTV have been cited as problem areas. While past researches focused on IPTV's technological, industrial and policy facets, this research surveyed the viewers' viewing and usage patterns, and the level of service satisfaction among actual audiences of MegaTV, SKBroadband, and LGTV since January. The results show that subscription fee and content types were the two dominant determinants in audience's choice of a particular IPTV company. The high users of IPTV were on average aged between 30-39, and women tended to be heavier users than men. The surveyed audience also regarded IPTV to be more similar to the Internet than any other medium such as Cable TV and Satellite TV. IPTV audience cited 'lifestyle service' and 'additional service' offerings to be highly relevant to their usage and satisfaction; interactive service and educational service also showed high correlation to usage and satisfaction. The most watched contents on IPTV were domestic TV series, followed by foreign movies and variety shows. 'Fees for additional features,' 'lack of real-time terrestrial TV service', and 'lack of content variety' were the major areas of concern for IPTV viewers. They answered that the monthly fee was the most important factor in the selection of IPTV. Use of pay-per-view contents and add-on interactive service fees were also seen as problematic. With regards to future usage, the IPTV audience revealed that they were very sensitive and reluctant to pay for additional services. While existing researches concentrated on IPTV's technological problems and lack of content diversity, this study illuminated the more pragmatical side of the viewers, namely, the importance of price in audience's selection of an IPTV service provider. From these results, it is recommended that, before doing anything else, the service providers try to meet the audience's expected price points in order to garner the full potential of IPTV and the attendant mass audience.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.43 no.2
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• pp.117-124
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• 2010

Objectives: The Diagnosis Related Group (DRG) payment system, which has been mplemented in Korea since 1997, is based on voluntary participation. Hence, the positive impact of this system depends on the participation of physicians. This study examined the factors determining participation of Korean obstetrics & gynecology (OBGYN) clinics in the DRG-based payment system. Methods: The demographic information, practice-related variables of OBGYN clinics and participation information in the DRG-based payment system were acquired from the nationwide data from 2002 to 2007 produced by the National Health Insurance Corporation and the Health Insurance Review & Assessment Service. The subjects were 336 OBGYN clinics consisting of 43 DRG clinics that had maintained their participation in 2003-2007 and 293 no-DRG (fee-for-service) clinics that had never been a DRG clinic during the same period. Logistic regression analysis was carried out to determine the factors associated with the participation of OBGYN clinics in the DRG-based payment system. Results: The factors affecting participation of OBGYN clinics in the DRG-based payment system were as follows (p<0.05): (1) a larger number of caesarian section (c/sec) claims, (2) higher cost of a c/sec, (3) less variation in the price of a c/sec, (4) fewer days of admission for a c/sec, and (5) younger pregnant women undergoing a c/sec. Conclusions: These results suggest that OBGYN clinics with an economic practice pattern under a fee-for-service system are more likely to participate in the DRG-based payment system. Therefore, to ensure adequate participation of physicians, a payment system with a stronger financial incentive might be more suitable in Korea.

• Information Systems Review
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• v.10 no.3
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• pp.289-311
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• 2008

This study is a development of quality scale and a measurement of quality levels for the Hospital Information System(HIS) used in the hospital industry. This study is to provide decision-making guidelines for hospital managers, system analysts, and software designers, and to provide feedback for the users' information needs. The target people of the study were medical doctors, nurses, pharmacists, and clerical staff. The service contexts of usability were diagnosis/treatment, nursing, medicine preparation, and treatment fee receipt/claim. The quality factors were the efficiency, effectiveness, and satisfaction of IS09241-11. This study shows that the current domestic HISs are mostly based on patient diagnosis/treatment and treatment fee accounting, and that other quality scales are necessary according to different job categories, specializations, positions, and service domains. Especially, the low quality of HIS was found in the abnormal service processing, information sharing by outside institutions, and standardization. It may be added that the HIS should be improved and developed in these respects.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.36 no.1
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• pp.33-38
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• 2003

Objectives : To assess the difference in the volume of psychiatric treatments provided to health insurance inpatients, compared with those on medical assistance(the medical aid program) Korean psychiatric hospitals, and to determine factors which affect the volume of the services. Methods : 21 psychiatrists, from 3 Korean psychiatric hospitals recorded the frequencies psychiatric treatments provided to inpatients in one week (February 18-24, 2002). The records of 329 patients were analyzed through t-tests, and random effectmixed model analyses to define the difference between the two groups, and to find other factors affecting the volume of service. Results : A significant difference in the volume of psychiatric treatments provided was observed between the health insurance and medical assistance groups. The variation in the volume of service between hospitals was prominent, and other factors (gender, agegroup, length of stay and mental disorder)were also found to be significant. The patients on medical assistance received only 70% of the psychiatric treatments of those on health insurance. Conclusions : More effort is required to improve the methods of payment to increase the level of fee scheduling for medical assistance. Further studies on the mechanisms causing these differences in the volume of service are required.

• The Korean Society of Law and Medicine
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• v.18 no.2
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• pp.195-218
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• 2017

The increase in medical expenses for convalescent hospitals is increasing abnormally, which puts enormous burden on the National health insurance finances. This is a phenomenon that has been associated with the social phenomenon of rapid aging. The fact that the convalescent hospitals are paid the fixed amount per day for hospitalization became the incentive for some hospitals to use the patients as means of making money. And these hospitals intend to get regular care or take medicines at other hospitals in order to reduce medical expenses, even when the medical fee is paid. In order to prevent such financial leaks, the Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service adjusted the patient group for inpatients in a hospital with the above behavior, and then cut the cost of medical care benefits. However, Above decision was canceled by the court on the grounds that there was no basis rule. However, based on the above case, I think that it can be an opportunity to draw up the problem and to improve of the Medical Fee System of hospital. The modified medical fee system can strengthen the medical function of the convalescent hospital. In addition, it seems reasonable to exclude admission for "physically disabled group". Even if admission is allowed for the physically disabled group due to social needs, it should be excluded from the National health insurance for the fianacial soundness and the sustainability of the system.

• Health Policy and Management
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• v.27 no.1
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• pp.39-46
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• 2017

Background: We evaluated new patient's satisfactory consultation time (SCT) and their willingness to pay additional costs (WPAC) for their SCT. Methods: We surveyed medical service satisfaction, SCT, WPAC for their SCT, and payable amount to 612 new patients of single general hospital and measured their real consultation time (RCT). To compare WPAC and payable amount, we divided RCT into 4 groups (${\leq}3$ minutes, 3-5 minutes, 5-10 minutes, and > 10 minutes), and SCT into 3 groups (${\leq}5$ minutes, 5-10 minutes, and > 10 minutes). On the basis of WPAC, we estimated new patient's SCT. Results: RCT was 6.2 minutes, SCT was 8.9 minutes, and medical service satisfaction score was 4.3 (out of 5). The number of patients having WPAC (payable group) was 381 (62.3%) and the amount was 5,853 Korean won. Their RCT and SCT were longer than non-payable group (6.4 minutes vs. 5.7 minutes, 9.3 minutes vs. 8.2 minutes). From multiple logistic regression analysis, WPAC of RCT 5-10 minutes was higher than that RCT ${\leq}3$ minutes (odds ratio= 1.78). Payable amount was highest in RCT > 10 minutes (6,950 Korea won) and SCT > 10 minutes (7,458 Korean won). Intuitively we suggest 10 minutes as SCT, based on payable group's SCT (9.3 minutes) and cut-off time differentiating payable group with non-payable group (10 minutes). Conclusion: We found that new patient had WPAC for their SCT and the longer the SCT, the greater the amount. From this, we hope that current simplified new patient consultation fee calculating system should be modified combining the consultation time factor.