• Korean Journal of Clinical Pharmacy
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• v.19 no.2
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• pp.167-179
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• 2009

Hypertension is one of the most common chronic diseases and it causes cardiovascular and cerebrovascular disease. While antihypertensive drug use increased, it took 15% of national health insurance drug expenditure. This study aimed to examine the pattern of antihypertensive drug prescription using National Health Insurance claims database and compare it with recommendations of Korea Hypertension Treatment Guidelines. Among the antihypertensive drugs, calcium channel blocker(64.4%) was most commonly prescribed class, and diuretics(44.6%), angiotensin II receptor blocker(33.3%), angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitor(11.7%) was followed. Approximately 81% of antihypertensives prescription were without cardiovascular or cerebrovascular disease, and among the comorbid conditions, diabetes(10.7%) was most common. calcium channel blocker(62.3%) was mostly prescribed class for hypertension with angina pectoris, angiotensin receptor blocker(45.3%) with myocardial infarction, diuretics(70.2%) and calcium channel blocker(49.5%) with congestive heart failure. For Hypertension with cerebrovascular disease, calcium channel blocker(68.0%) and angiotensin receptor blocker(43.3%) were prescribed mainly. When it comes to diabetes, calcium channel blocker(57.2%) was still mostly prescribed and angiotensin receptor blocker(45.9%) followed. But in hospitals and tertiary hospitals, angiotensin receptor blocker(65.7, 66.1%) was mostly prescribed for the patients with diabetes. For Hypertension with chronic renal disease, angiotensin receptor blocker(59.5%), calcium channel blocker(56.5%), diuretics(54.6%) were mainly used. Average number of classes per prescribing was $1.89{\pm}0.89$ class, average days per prescribing was $33{\pm}19$ day. Among the hypertension without comorbidity, 40.5% of prescription was monotherapy and 58.8% of polytherapy included diuretics. Among the outpatient prescriptions, calcium channel blocker was the most commonly used class, and the prescription pattern in clinic did not closely followed recommendations of Hypertension Treatment Guidelines.

• Korea Journal of Hospital Management
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• v.23 no.2
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• pp.18-27
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• 2018

Purposes: This study aims to investigate the policy effect of mandatory application of DRG for 7 disease groups in general and tertiary hospitals. Methodology: As DRG was fully implemented in July 2013, this study compares two periods before and after the change(from July 2012 to June 2013, and from July 2013 to June 2014). The benefit claim data of the National Health Insurance Service was used for the comparison. Target patients were those who visited general or tertiary hospitals between July 2012 to June 2014. For pharmaceutical consumption, Interrupted Time Series (ITS) analysis was used to see the effect of DRG mandatory application. Findings: The number of drugs prescribed per patient and pharmaceutical expenditure both showed significant reduction compared to before the DRG implementation. Practical Implications: This study used 2 sets of 1 year period data from before and after the full implementation of DRG to analyze pharmaceutical consumption. When the comparison data accumulates further, it would be possible to conduct more diverse analysis to assess policy effect and to provide way forward for the future.

• Journal of Korean Public Health Nursing
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• v.31 no.1
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• pp.5-18
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• 2017

Purpose: This study was conducted to suggest a method for financial projection of health insurance expenditures that reflects future changes in demographic structure. Methods: Using data associated with the number of patients and health insurance cost per patient, generalized linear models (GLM) were fitted with demographic explanatory variables. Models were constructed separately for individual medical departments, types of medical service, and types of public health insurance. Goodness-of-fit of most of the applied GLM models was quite satisfactory. By combining estimates of frequency and severity from the constructed models and results of the population projection, total annual health insurance expenditures were projected through year 2060. Results: Expenditures for medical departments associated with diseases that are more frequent in elderly peoples are expected to increase steeply, leading to considerable increases in overall health insurance expenditures. The suggested method can contribute to improvement of the accuracy of financial projection. Conclusion: The overall demands for medical service, medical personnel, and relevant facilities in the future are expected to increase as the proportion of elderly people increases. Application of a more reasonable estimation method reflecting changes in demographic structure will help develop health policies relevant to above mentioned resources.

• The Korean Journal of Health Service Management
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• v.10 no.1
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• pp.1-11
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• 2016

Objectives : Medical service specialization could have positive effects on their profits and medical service quality. This study was to examine the relationship between medical service specializations and operational performance in hospitals. Methods : We used the National Inpatient Sample data provided by the Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service from 2010 to 2013. The hospital operational performance was determined by measuring the specialization level of the hospital based on DRGs. Results : The information theory index was 2.38 in 2010, 2.38 in 2011, 2.37 in 2012, and 2.37 in 2013. A multiple regression model was constructed which showed that if the specialization level becomes higher, it decreases the length of stay per case with an increase in medical expense. Conclusions : Differentiation and concentrated medical service specialization strategy have had a positive effect on the operational performance of hospitals.

• Korean Journal of Clinical Pharmacy
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• v.27 no.3
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• pp.186-194
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• 2017

Objectives: A significant concern has been raised about the emerging resistance that is largely caused by the excessive or inappropriate use of antibacterial agents for viral respiratory infections. This study investigated the trend of respiratory tract infections (RTIs) and the use of antibiotics. Methods: Utilizing the national level health insurance claims data from 2005 to 2008, we examined encounter days, antibiotic use, and the prescription rate for respiratory tract infections including upper respiratory tract infections (URTIs), lower respiratory tract infections (LRTIs), and otitis media in outpatient settings. The antibiotic use was measured as defined daily dose per 1,000 patients per day (DDD/1,000 patients/day). Results: The visit for URTI increased from 141,693,465 in 2005 to 120,717,966 in 2008 and the visit for LRTI decreased from 61,778,718 to 66,930,122. For RTIs, prescription rates of antibiotics decreased from 65.2% to 58.5% for URTIs and 76.9% to 68.3% for LRTIs from 2005 to 2008. The antibiotic use decreased to 20.85 DDD/1,000 patients/day after a significant increase of 22.01 DDD/1,000 patients/day in 2006. Among antibiotics, J01CR had the highest use- 7.93 DDD/1,000 patients/day followed by J01DC of 3.71 DDD/1,000 patients/day and J01FA of 3.2 DDD/1,000 patients/day. One notable trend is that J01FA presented a continuous increase in antibiotic use from 2.3 in 2005 to 3.26 DDD/1,000 patients/day in 2008. Conclusion: The use of antibiotics had poor compliance to guidelines for RTIs. Despite decrease in the use of antibiotics, prescription rates for URTIs were still about 50% indicating that the delayed prescribing antibiotics (or wait-and-see) were not observed.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.56 no.2
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• pp.145-153
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• 2023

Objectives: Although it is difficult to define the quality of stroke care, acute ischemic stroke (AIS) patients with moderate-to-severe neurological deficits may benefit from thrombectomy-capable hospitals (TCHs) that have a stroke unit, stroke specialists, and a substantial endovascular thrombectomy (EVT) case volume. Methods: From national audit data collected between 2013 and 2016, potential EVT candidates arriving within 24 hours with a baseline National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale score ≥6 were identified. Hospitals were classified as TCHs (≥15 EVT case/y, stroke unit, and stroke specialists), primary stroke hospitals (PSHs) without EVT (PSHs-without-EVT, 0 case/y), and PSHs-with-EVT. Thirty-day and 1-year case-fatality rates (CFRs) were analyzed using random intercept multilevel logistic regression. Results: Out of 35 004 AIS patients, 7954 (22.7%) EVT candidates were included in this study. The average 30-day CFR was 16.3% in PSHs-without-EVT, 14.8% in PSHs-with-EVT, and 11.0% in TCHs. The average 1-year CFR was 37.5% in PSHs-without-EVT, 31.3% in PSHs-with-EVT, and 26.2% in TCHs. In TCHs, a significant reduction was not found in the 30-day CFR (odds ratio [OR], 0.92; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.76 to 1.12), but was found in the 1-year CFR (OR, 0.84; 95% CI, 0.73 to 0.96). Conclusions: The 1-year CFR was significantly reduced when EVT candidates were treated at TCHs. TCHs are not defined based solely on the number of EVTs, but also based on the presence of a stroke unit and stroke specialists. This supports the need for TCH certification in Korea and suggests that annual EVT case volume could be used to qualify TCHs.

• Korean Journal of Clinical Pharmacy
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• v.30 no.3
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• pp.177-184
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• 2020

Background & objective: The Korean government has expanded its benefit coverage to enhance patients' access to orphan drugs and cancer medicines. However, the number of new drugs whose indications were not applied to reimbursement in health insurance was increased. This study aimed to understand the perspectives of experts and various stakeholders on the introduction of a new funding program for cancer treatment and orphan drugs. Methods: We conducted email surveys comprising 19 questions, from September 9 to 26, 2016. We distributed questionnaires to members of the Pharmaceutical Benefit Appraisal Committee and Cancer Assessment Committee. We also conducted a qualitative study through group interviews with stakeholders, including pharmaceutical companies and some patient groups for diseases. Results: A total of 35 survey respondents recommended the introduction of a funding program for orphan drugs, whereas 66% recommended the launch of funding for anticancer drugs. In addition, most pharmaceutical companies and patient groups recommended the introduction of new funding programs targeting patients with cancer and rare diseases. However, some participants asserted that it would be more appropriate to modify the existing reimbursement scheme than launch new funding. Conclusion: This study concluded that introducing new funding needs a social consensus to relieve financial hardships at the patient level.

• 한국노년학
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• v.30 no.1
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• pp.81-91
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• 2010

The purpose of this study was to test a validity and reliability of Cognitive Performance Scale(CPS), a cognitive measure generated from 5 items(comatose status, decision making, short-term memory, making self understood, and eating). Method: 393 patients in 2 hospitals for the elderly with dementia were measured with CPS by two nurses independently. The inter-rater agreement was tested by comparing two scores. The CPS score was compared with GDS, which was measured by doctors and nurses, and MMSE score which was drawn from the claim data of Health Insurance Review & Assessment Service. Result: The correlation coefficient between CPS and GDS was 0.742(p<0.0001), CPS and MMSE was -0.794(p<0.0001). The Cronbach's coefficient alpha of CPS was 0.742, Kappa value was 0.772~1.000. The CPS showed high validity and reliability in long term care hospitals of Korea.

• YAKHAK HOEJI
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• v.59 no.6
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• pp.278-283
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• 2015

The computerized prospective Drug Utilization Review (DUR) program supported by the Korean government has provided alerts to physicians and pharmacists since December 2010. This study aims to propose and apply the tiering system in "drug combinations to avoid (DCA)" and "age-precaution" alerts based on severity to improve the compliance of users. To propose the severity and clinical importance of 647 DCA alerts and 140 age precautions, a Delphi evaluation survey was conducted. An expert panel comprising 5 clinical pharmacists and 5 physicians were participated in mail surveys. Based on the results of Delphi survey, DCA pairs were classified into 3 groups; group 1 (70.6%), 2 (26.9%), and 3 (2.8%). Drug-age precaution ingredients were also classified into three groups; group 1 (53.6%), group 2 (40.7%), and group 3 (5.7%). When this grouping was applied to claim data from 2011 to 2013, the majority of alerts had occurred in the groups of high severity. Presenting DUR alerts with severity level is expected to improve the compliance of clinicians. The implementation of tiering system in DUR criteria should be considered.

• Health Policy and Management
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• v.31 no.4
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• pp.409-422
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• 2021

The growing use of prescription analgesic opioids has rapidly escalated the treatment of chronic pain since the 1990s; however, it is also highly needed to control opioid-related issues, including opioids misuse, abuse, and addiction. In 2018, Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) secretariat administered the survey on opioids use and policies to OECD countries and presented it at the Health Committee meeting of December 2018. This study aimed to review the opioids use in OECD countries and their policies to prevent and reduce associated harms, also seek the available policy lessons from OECD countries. More recently, opioids prescribing rate have been increased 14.7% between 2011-2013 and 2014-2016 and steadily focused on the main substance misused and abused in Korea. In addition, policy efforts have contributed to developing a guideline for prescribing opioids to steer the appropriate use of prescription analgesic opioids since 2000 in Korea, so it is not enough to control opioids compared with other OECD countries. Therefore, taking a people-centered and public health perspective, it will consider the health system policies and interventions at a national level to improve their preparation and approach to control opioid-related issues.