• 보건행정학회지
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• 제18권4호
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• pp.185-206
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• 2008

The National Health Insurance (NHI) has been the main body of health care system in Korea for the last 30 years since the NHI was founded. However, the inefficient management and strong regulations of the NHI have hindered the development of health care industry. The establishment of the MB government, whose interest lies on economic growth rather than equity, is expected to help the health care services gain a momentum. The essential measures that can step up public health care services overall are the following: the introduction of competition within NHI, the activation of private health care insurance, and the allowance of for-profit hospital. The private-public mix with market mechanism would level up the health care service for the public.

• 보건행정학회지
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• 제8권2호
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• pp.1-24
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• 1998

There exists a general consensus in Korea that patients tend to concentrate in large hospitals and this tendency is partly responsible for inefficiency in health services. The process of choosing a medical care provider for health care services and evaluating the provider after utilization seems to involve many diverse factors to become very complex. Therefore a systemsatic study is needed to achieve sufficient understanding of the proeess. For this point of view, this study investigates patient's selection of medical care institution for delivery care services and their evaluation of the institution after delivery. In more specific, the objectives of the study are twofold: 1) to identify the factors associated with expectant mothers' choice of type of medical care institution for delivery among tertiary hospitals, general hospitals, small hospitals, and clinics: and 2) to understand the factors affecting patient evaluation of the medical care institution after delivery. The data used for the analysis were collected through face-to-face interviews with those women who had childbirth during the period from January 1, 1996 to the date of interview in February 1998. The survey was conducted using preqared structured questionnaire in Seoul. The sample was drawn from each of arbitrarily defined four regions of Seoul, Northeast, Northwest, Southeast and Southwest, in proportion to the number of births reported in 1996 in each of them. The distribution of the interviewed women by educational level was made similar to that of mothers of new babies reported in 1996. The sample size was planned to be about 300, but ended up with analytical sample of 319. Major conclusions emerged from the analysis can be summarized as follows: 1) Large hospitals were evaluated as much better for technical quality than other types of institutions, whereas they were compared similar to or worse for other attributes. And it was found that technical quality of care is considered as the most important condition of medical care institution for delivery, while the amount of direct cost is considered as the least important one. Taken together, the utilization of large hospitals is not likely to decrease even though they cannot give satisfaction to patients in other aspects than technical quality. 2) The activeness in the search for information affected the respondents' evaluation of medical care institutions, which would influence their later decision or recommendation to other persons as to the choice of source of health care services. Therefore, increased efforts should be directed to improving availability of useful and correct information for patients in relation to the utilization of health care services. 3) Since the findings of this study were obtained from the analysis of delivery care services, their applicability to other kinds of services may be limited. Thus it would be useful to conduct a comparative study of several kinds of services explicitly taking into account the characteristics of those services in the analysis.

• 대한장애인치과학회지
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• 제2권1호
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• pp.17-30
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• 2006

Federal disability law has evolved from several laws geared to protect people with disabilities since the late 1960s and early 1970s. When U.S. Congress passed the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) in 1990, no federal statute prohibited the majority of employers, program administrators, owners and managers of places of public accommodation and others from discriminating against people with disabilities. Toward the ends to assure equality of opportunity, full participation, independent living, and economic self-sufficiency for individuals with the disabilities, the ADA pursues three major strategies: Title I addresses inequality in employment, Title II, inequality in public services, and Title III, inequality in services and accommodations offered by private entities. The purposes of the study were to analyze the impact of the ADA on health care for persons with disabilities and to review the ongoing health policy reforms at the federal and state governments. Essential remedies that the ADA contemplates are based on two principles, simple discrimination and reasonable accommodation, which significantly improved access to quality care, especially long-term care, by persons with disabilities. However, the ongoing Medicaid policy reforms to control rising health care costs in the U.S. could threaten the access to care by persons with disabilities in optional groups and to optional care services by persons with disabilities in mandatory groups.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• 제43권6호
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• pp.455-458
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• 2010

The Affordable Care Act (ACA) was signed into law on March 23, 2010 and will fundamentally alter health care in the United States for years to come. The US is currently one of the only industrialized countries without universal health insurance. The new law expands existing public insurance for the poor. It also provides financial credits to low income individuals and some small businesses to purchase health insurance. By government estimates, the law will bring insurance to 30 million people. The law also provides for a significant new investment in prevention and wellness. It appropriates an unprecedented $15 billion in a prevention and public health fund, to be disbursed over 10 years, as well as creates a national prevention council to oversee the government's prevention efforts. This paper discusses 3 major prevention provisions in the legislation: 1) the waiving of cost-sharing for clinical preventive services, 2) new funding for community preventive services, and 3) new funding for workplace wellness programs. The paper examines the scientific evidence behind these provisions as well as provides examples of some model programs. Taken together, these provisions represent a significant advancement for prevention in the US health care system, including a shift towards healthier environments. However, in this turbulent economic and political environment, there is a real threat that much of the law, including the prevention provisions, will not receive adequate funding.

• 중환자간호학회지
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• 제11권3호
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• pp.95-107
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• 2018

Purpose : This study aimed to investigate the public's perception of reimbursement for the education and counseling services provided to advanced practice nurses in intensive care units. Method : This was a secondary data analysis study. The original data were collected utilizing an online panel. The sample comprised 615 individuals aged between 19 and 49 years nationwide. The study variables included the public's perception of reimbursement for education and counseling services, age, gender, education level, income, and health status. Variables such as past experience of being admitted to an intensive care unit by self, family, or relatives and the recognition of advanced practice nurses were also examined. Results : The mean of the perception score was 3.15 on a 4-point scale ranging from 1 (strongly disagree) to 4 (strongly agree). Among the participants, 89.2% answered "somewhat agreed" or "strongly agreed" to the question about the education and counseling services being covered by the National Health Insurance. Moreover, education level, past experience of being admitted to an intensive care unit by self, family, or relatives, and recognition of advanced practice nurses were significantly associated with the perception score. Conclusion : Efforts should be made to publicize the need for the education and counseling services that are provided to advanced practice nurses in intensive care units.

• 한국치위생학회지
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• 제15권4호
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• pp.565-574
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• 2015

Objectives: The purpose of the study is to investigate the oral health of the elderly people receiving nursing care and home care services in Chungnam. Methods: The subjects were 350 elderly people receiving 21 nursing care and home care services in Chungnam. The direct interview with the elderly people and oral examination was carried out from July, 2012 to December, 2013 after explanation fo the purpose of the study. The subjects consisted of 178 elderly people receiving nursing care services and 172 elderly people receiving home care services. Except incomplete answers, 315 data were analyzed. The questionnaire consisted of general characteristics of the subjects, characteristics by facility, oral condition, oral care behavior, correlation by factors on oral health, influencing factor on dental caries, influencing factor on periodontal disease, and influencing factor on elasticity of gingival muscle. Data were analyzed by frequency analysis, chi-square test, and multiple regression analysis using SPSS 21.0 program. Results: Multivariate analysis of influencing factors on oral health revealed that the elderly people with low education level tended to have higher incidence rate of dental caries. The influencing factors on oral health were the elasticity of gingival muscle, periodontal disease, educational level, and economic level. (p<0.05). The explanation power was 26.2%. Conclusions: Oral Health Promotion should be obligatorily established as one of the medical system and medical fee system to promote oral health condition for the aged.

• 보건행정학회지
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• 제2권2호
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• pp.112-130
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• 1992

Patient care services are provided to individual patients in response to their health needs produced by illnesses or injuries. The services are often addressed to very serious conditions, and also they constitute the most expensive component of health care services. Therefore, the importance of quality is emphasized, but there are many indications that patient care quality is far from a satisfactory state in most of the countries. Based upon this observation, it is attempted to examine obstacles and approaches to quality improvement in patient care services. In doing so, following Taguchi's(1986) definition of product quality, quality of patient care services is conceived of as better when the less is the sociental loss attributalbe to variability of intended function and harmful side effects they emhibit after being delivered. Some distinguishing features of medical care sector pose difficulties in implementing effective quality improvement programs in patient care services. Nevertheless, newly proposed method of quality management, based on industrial quality management approach, seems to have a great deal of potential to effectively cope with such difficulties. This method, unlike the traditional approach to quality assurance, focuses on total organisational processes, not individuals, as the obproach to quality assurance, focuses on total organizational processes, not individuals, as the objects of quality improvement; variation, not comparison with standards, in quality measurement; and continuous improvement, not removing only bad quality care, as an ideal. Prerequisite to a successful use of any quality mangement method is motivating providers to improve quality. Conceivable approaches for such motivation are self-regulation, external controls and promotion of competition. Since these approaches are not mutually exclusive, they may be employed in an appropriate combination. In Korea, medical care providers are now functioning under the circumstances where they have little reason for making efforts to improve quality of their services. Once these circumstantial conditions are changed to exert pressures on providers to improve quality, the use of adequate quality management method becomes an issue. In this connection, much attention shoould be directed to the newly proposed method described above. In all these efforts for improving quality of patient care services, health insurance would be able to play a pivotal role. Poviders of medical care, buth indiciduals and organizations, are usually very responsive to the measures that affect their financing, and thus health insurance can be a strong instrument for motivationg providers to improve quality. Also, the insurance continuously acquires data on patient care, which could be processed to produce information required to effective quality control.

• 한국보건간호학회지
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• 제24권2호
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• pp.182-196
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• 2010

Purpose: This study examined potential determinants of gender differences in utilization of health care services among Korean adults. Methods: The study population was 21,647 adults ${\geq}$25-years-of-age who had responded to a health interview survey conducted as part of the 2005 National Health and Nutrition Surveys. Relative gender differences in the use of each health service were assessed using chi-square test and sex ratios. The contribution of potential factors of sex differences in the use of health services was evaluated by comparing the odds ratio and sex ratio before and after adjustment for such variables. Results & Conclusions: More females had visited a physician and been admitted to hospital, but hospitalization time was longer for males. Adjustment for poor self-rated health, number of chronic disease and limit of full term for ADL led to a reduction in the odds ratio of females compared to males for health service utilization. However, adjustment for socioeconomic factors (household income, education, occupation, and health insurance) magnified the gender difference concerning length of hospitalization. Factors that explain gender-related differences in utilization of health care services are concluded to be different health needs and socioeconomic status.

• 지역사회간호학회지
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• 제32권3호
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• pp.356-367
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• 2021

Purpose: This study conducted an economic evaluation of hospital-based home care services for the patients who had undergone breast cancer surgery. Methods: A total of 12,483 patients over 18 years of age who had received breast cancer surgery in 26 tertiary hospitals in 2018 were analyzed with the claim data from the Health Insurance Review & Assessment Service using cost-minimization analysis and societal perspectives. Results: There were 156 patients who utilized hospital-based home care services within 30 days after breast cancer surgery, and they received 2.17 (SD=1.17) hospital-based home care service on average. The average total cost was 5,250,028 KRW (SD=1,905,428) for the group receiving continuous hospital-based home care and 6,113,402 KRW (SD=2,033,739) for the group not receiving continuous hospital-based home care (p<.001). The results of the economic evaluation of continuous hospital-based home care services in patients who had undergone breast cancer surgery indicated a total benefit of 953,691,000 KRW, a total cost of 819,004,000 KRW, and a benefit-cost ratio of 1.16 in 2018. Conclusion: Continuous hospital-based home care was considered economically feasible as the total costs for the group receiving continuous hospital-based home care were lower than those of the group not receiving continuous hospital-based home care. Therefore, policy modification and financial incentives are recommended to increase the utilization of hospital-based home care services for patients who had undergone breast cancer surgery.

• 대한예방한의학회지
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• 제9권1호
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• pp.77-89
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• 2005

Since 1990's, the Korean society, experiencing the low fertility and aging society, has been confronting with the threats in health care sector. The threats are the increases in the demand for health care, health care financial burden, and so on. In particular, the change of disease pattern and aging population result in the increases patients' demand for not only western medical services but also oriental medical services and complimentary medicine. Recently, the increases in availability of oriental medical services and the health care resources related to oriental medicine are raising some issues and conflicts in the Korean health sector. Theses circumstance required policy makers, central and local government, and public health sector to develop health policies related to oriental medicine and interface or integrate of traditional Korean medicine and Western medicine. For the near future, these issues will probably remain the focus of integration of traditional Korean medicine and Western medicine in public health sector. To cope with the threats in health care sector, one of the opportunities is to scale-up e public role of traditional Korean medical services. The main purpose of this study was to develop strategies to scale-up the Public role of traditional Korean medical services for the future society. The research questions are: what are the trends and problems in traditional Koran medical sector; what are the causes of or associated factors to the problems; how to cope with the problems and how to resolve the cause?; what are the health policy directions and its strategies that the government should take to cope with the future demand and the burden on health care sector? The results of this study are as follows. In order ta scale-up the public role of traditional medicine, this research offered health policy directions for traditional Korean medicine in response to a change environment of health care sector. There are four directions to be addressed: 1) the development of and investment in public oriental medicine infra-structure; 2) the development of public policy on oriental medicine; 3) modernization and globalisation of traditional Korean medicine; 4) the expansion of academic exchange between Western medicine and traditional Korean medicine. Finally, we discussed stakenholders' on traditional Korean medicine in the health care market. Then, public policy options for future society was suggested.