• Health Policy and Management
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• v.25 no.3
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• pp.185-196
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• 2015

Background: Issues concerning with the classification accuracy of Korean Outpatient Groups (KOPGs) have been raised by providers and researchers. The KOPG is an outpatient classification system used to measure casemix of outpatient visits and to adjust provider risk in charges by the Health Insurance Review & Assessment Service in managing insurance payments. The objective of this study were to refine KOPGs to improve the classification accuracy and to evaluate the refinement. Methods: We refined the rules used to classify visits with multiple procedures, newly defined chemotherapy drug groups, and modified the medical visit indicators through reviews of other classification systems, data analyses, and consultations with experts. We assessed the improvement by measuring % of variation in case charges reduced by KOPGs and the refined system, Enhanced KOPGs (EKOPGs). We used claims data submitted by providers to the HIRA during the year 2012 in both refinement and evaluation. Results: EKOPGs explicitly allowed additional payments for multiple procedures with exceptions of packaging of routine ancillary services and consolidation of related significant procedures, and discounts ranging from 30% to 70% were defined in additional payments. Thirteen chemotherapy drug KOPGs were added and medical visit indicators were streamlined to include codes for consultation fees for outpatient visits. The % of variance reduction achieved by EKOPGs was 48% for all patients whereas the figure was 40% for KOPGs, and the improvement was larger in data from tertiary and general hospitals than in data from clinics. Conclusion: A significant improvement in the performance of the KOPG was achieved by refining payments for visits with multiple procedures, defining groups for visits with chemotherapy, and revising medical visit indicators.

• Journal of Korean Academy of Nursing
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• v.50 no.3
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• pp.333-348
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• 2020

Purpose: The present study investigated the association between nurse staffing and health outcomes among psychiatric inpatients in Korea by assessing National Health Insurance claims data. Methods: The dataset included 70,136 patients aged 19 years who were inpatients in psychiatric wards for at least two days in 2016 and treated for mental and behavioral disorders due to use of alcohol; schizophrenia, schizotypal and delusional disorders; and mood disorders across 453 hospitals. Nurse staffing levels were measured in three ways: registered nurse-to-inpatient ratio, registered nurse-to-adjusted inpatient ratio, and nursing staff-to-adjusted inpatient ratio. Patient outcomes included length of stay, readmission within 30 days, psychiatric emergency treatment, use of injected psycholeptics for chemical restraint, and hypnotics use. Relationships between nurse staffing levels and patient outcomes were analyzed considering both patient and system characteristics using multilevel modeling. Results: Multilevel analyses revealed that more inpatients per registered nurse, adjusted inpatients per registered nurse, and adjusted inpatients per nursing staff were associated with longer lengths of stay as well as a higher risk of readmission. More adjusted inpatients per registered nurse and adjusted inpatients per nursing staff were also associated with increased hypnotics use but a lower risk of psychiatric emergency treatment. Nurse staffing levels were not significantly associated with the use of injected psycholeptics for chemical restraint. Conclusion: Lower nurse staffing levels are associated with negative health outcomes of psychiatric inpatients. Policies for improving nurse staffing toward an optimal level should be enacted to facilitate better outcomes for psychiatric inpatients in Korea.

• The Journal of Korea Assosiation for Disability and Oral Health
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• v.14 no.1
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• pp.11-16
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• 2018

In order to increase the accessibility of dental care for people with disabilities, National Health Insurance Service has implemented an additional point system of National Dental Insurance for dental treatment of patients with a special health care need (AID). The purpose of this study is to investigate the types and status of AID in Korea using data of the Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service from 2011 to 2017. The basic consultation fee is increased by 9.03 points (713 won) for brain disorder, intellectual disability, mental disability, or autistic disorder. From 2011 to 2015, the number of claims with a basic consultation fee increased from 90,456 to 141,179. Dental treatment and surgical treatment fee is increased by 100% of the defined insurance score for each of the 15 items. During the five years from 2012 to 2016, the number and amount of claims for each item increased steadily. Of the total claims for 5 years, endodontic treatment was highest, with 107,477 cases, followed by 51,641 cases of scaling. There are two types of dental safety observation fee, simple and complex. The simple safety observation fee is 10,370 won per day, and the complex safety observation fee is 20,750 won per day. Dental safety observation fees were charged 34 times in 2015, 14 times in 2016, and 41 times through May 2017. From 2011 to 2017, the number and amount of claims using AID for dental care for people with disabilities increased. However, considering that the number of registered dental users with disability was about 560,000 in 2016, the number of claims using AID is 1-20,000, which is less than 2% of registered dental users with disability. Therefore, it is necessary to expand dental services for people with disabilities including AID.

• Health Policy and Management
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• v.26 no.4
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• pp.333-342
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• 2016

Background: The use of therapeutic materials based on new health technology has increased in recent years in the field of medicine, raising concerns for medical practitioners regarding increased spending on the new therapeutic materials amid the rapid population ageing and increase of chronic diseases in Korea. While therapeutic materials have significant importance in the health care system, they have not been given appropriate attention in the academic world of Korea. The purpose of this study is to identify factors that affect the growth of expenditure on therapeutic materials and to derive implications for an effective management considering the diversity of therapeutic materials. Methods: Using the claims data of the National Health Insurance Services, specific utilization patterns of groups of therapeutic materials in the middle classification level of Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service from 2007 to 2014 were analyzed. Four categories (J5083: drug eluting coronary stent, D0302: nonmetallic anchor, K6014: gauze, K6023: gauze) that exhibit unique patterns with respect to price and volume were selected. Then, decomposition analysis was performed to identify the largest contributor to the spending growth by dividing the products into existing, new, and abandoned products for the period between 2010 and 2013. Results: The effect of new products had larger impact on spending growth than the effect of core items in drug eluting coronary stent (J5083) and nonmetallic anchor (D0302). In addition, existing products in general included items priced relatively lower when compared with another item manufactured by the same company. In the gauze category, however, existing products had the largest impact on expenditure and the effect of volume was greater than that in other categories. Conclusion: This study provides evidence that appropriate management measures classified by the characteristics of therapeutic materials are required for therapeutic materials pricing and reassessment in Korea.

• Journal of Dental Anesthesia and Pain Medicine
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• v.21 no.5
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• pp.461-469
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• 2021

Background: The global population is aging rapidly, and accordingly, the number of patients with dementia is increasing every year. Although the need for dental treatment increases for various reasons in patients with dementia, they cannot cooperate during dental treatment. Therefore, behavioral management, including sedation (SED) or general anesthesia (GA), is required for patients with dementia. Thus, this study aimed to investigate the trends and effects of SED or GA in patients with dementia undergoing dental treatment in South Korea based on the Korean National Health Insurance claims data. Methods: This study utilized customized health information data provided by the Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service. Among patients with records of using sedative drugs during dental treatment from January 2007 to September 2019, patients with the International Classification of Diseases-10 code for dementia (F00, F01, F02, F03, and G30) were selected. We then analyzed the full insurance claims data for dental care. Age, sex, sedative use, and dental treatment of patients were analyzed yearly. In addition, the number of cases of GA or SED per year was analyzed, and changes in behavioral management methods with increasing age were investigated. Results: Between January 2007 and September 2019, a total of 4,383 (male, 1,454; female, 2,929) patients with dementia received dental treatment under SED or GA. The total number of SED and GA cases were 1,515 (male, 528 ; female, 987 ) and 3,396 (male, 1,119 ; female, 2,277) cases, respectively. The total number of cases of dental treatment for 4,383 patients with dementia was 153,051 cases, of which 2.22% were under GA and 0.98% were under SED. Midazolam was the most commonly used drug for SED. Conclusion: Although gingivitis and pulpitis were the most common reasons for patients with dementia to visit the dentist, GA or SED for patients with dementia was frequently used in oral and maxillofacial or periodontal surgery.

• Journal of Oriental Neuropsychiatry
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• v.29 no.3
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• pp.135-144
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• 2018

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to analyze the medical cost for patients with vertigo and to examine associations between chronic vertigo and mental disorder using 2014 Health Insurance Review & Assessment Service-National Patients Sample (HIRA-NPS). Methods: We analyzed sociodemographic characteristics, medical cost and medical care use pattern for vertigo patients. We used hierarchical multiple logistic regression analysis to examine odds ratio between chronic vertigo and mental disorder. Results: A total of 46,502 people and 118,504 claims data were identified for vertigo cases. Characteristics of vertigo patients have significant differences on proportion of female patients (68.36%), patients' average age (54.98) and proportion of medical assistance (5.76%) compared with non-vertigo patients. Results revealed that Korean medicine are one of frequent methods among total treatments for vertigo patients. Total days of medical care and total costs are 2.78 days and 111,362 won, respectively, and days for outpatients in Korean medical care (mean: 2.26 days) are more than those (mean: 5.05 days) in Western medical care. There is significant difference relative to sex between acute vertigo and chronic vertigo. The odds ratio between chronic vertigo and mental disorder is estimated as 1.34, that means risk of becoming chronic is 34% higher for vertigo patients with mental disorder. Conclusions: This study assessed socio-demographic characteristics, medical care use and expenses related to vertigo, and estimated associations between chronic vertigo and mental disorder. Findings provide a basis for economic evaluation studies on vertigo patients and development of clinical practice guidelines for vertigo patients with mental disorder.

• Korean Journal of Clinical Pharmacy
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• v.22 no.1
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• pp.73-80
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• 2012

This study was to determine the inappropriate drug use in pediatric outpatients who received 2 or more prescriptions on the same day. Retrospective drug utilization reviews (DURs) were implemented to samples obtained from national health insurance claims data during December 2008 to February 2009, using 5 DUR criteria (duplication, drug-drug interaction, drug-disease interaction, drug-age contraindication, incorrect dosage) established in the Drug Information Framework (DIF)-$Korea^{TM}$, DUR program. Among 38,451 claims analyzed in the study, 74.7% had more than one conflicts in the 5 DUR modules. Among 16,472 patients analyzed, 49.6% had conflicts with duplication criteria composing of ingredient duplication (23.3%) and therapeutic class duplication (39.6%). Incorrect dosages were found in 73.6% of patients and under-dosage conflicts accounted for 59.9%, which was higher than over-dosage conflicts (38.3%). In this study, inappropriate drug prescriptions such as under-dose, pediatric contraindication and therapeutic duplication were prevalent in pediatric outpatient settings, suggesting much more awareness to the society, to prevent drug related problems in a vulnerable pediatric group.

• The Journal of Korean Medicine
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• v.36 no.3
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• pp.98-110
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• 2015

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to analyze the medical cost of facial paralysis in payer perspective and to estimate the practice pattern of patient using 2011 Health Insurance Review & Assessment Service-National Patients Sample(HIRA-NPS). Methods: Basic statistical system was used for descriptive analysis of NPS dataset. A table for general information (table20) was extracted by disease code, and social demographic characteristics, distribution of the use among inpatients and outpatients, utilization of each kind of medical care institutions, medical cost were analyzed. Subgroup analysis was conducted for assuming the practice pattern of korean medicine and western medicine. Results: A total of 8,219 people and 64,345 claims data were identified as having facial paralysis. Proportion of outpatient was 95.23%, inpatient 0.84% and patient using both services 3.93%. Mean patient charges was 44,229 won per outpatient, 178,886 won per inpatient and 523,542 won per patient using both services. Utilization of korean medical care institutions was 68.81%(claims), 40.46%(patients), utilization of western medical care institutions was 31.19%(claims), 59.54%(patients). The amount charged by korean medical care institutions was 52.61% and western medical care institutions was 47.39%. Cost per claim was higher than those of the korean treatment and cost per patient of western treatment was lower than those of the korean treatment. Conclusions: The research assessed the medical cost and practice pattern associated with facial paralysis. These findings could be used in health care policy and subsequent studies.

• Health Policy and Management
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• v.22 no.1
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• pp.29-48
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• 2012

The purpose of this study is to analyze medical expenses by decedents in their last year of life and compare them with those by survivors during the year 2008. This study is conducted firstly in Korea, except some studies focusing on medical cost of decedents from specific diseases. To study this, national health insurance(NHI) claims data was used with medicaid claims data. The study group(decedents) was selected from the insurance entitlement file who were dropped out from January to December of 2008. The control group(survivors) was selected from the entitlement file by stratified sampling with keeping age-sex composition of the study group. The medical expenses of decedents during one year before death were measured and compared with those of survivors by sex and age. And the medical expenses were analyzed by causes of death, and also the expenses were examined by each item of medical services. On average, the medical expense amounted to 11 million Korean Won per decedent during their last year of life in 2008. The medical expense per decedent was 9.3 higher than that of survivor. The death-related expense of under the age 35 was about 16 million Won, compared with 4 million Won in the case of over the age 95, in average. The death-related expense is higher in younger ages. This means that more medical resources are put in to save life in younger ages. Total death-related expenditure took 8.3 percent in total NHI expenditures. Of the death-related medical expenses, the largest one was injection-related cost which shares twenty five percent, and the second largest one was hospitalization charges, and then the third one was surgery cost. The results of this study suggested that we should pay attention to the medical expenses in the last of year of life when we study health care expenditure in Korea. In addition, we have to deliberate health care policy to cope with medical expenditures before death in more efficient way.

• Health Policy and Management
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• v.23 no.1
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• pp.44-51
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• 2013

Background: This study designed to evaluate the homogeneity of Korean diagnosis related group (KDRG) version 3.4 classification system. Methods: The total 5,921,873 claims data submitted to the Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service during 2010 were used. Both coefficient of variation (CV) and reduction in variance of cost were measured for evaluation. This analysis was divided into before and after trimming outliers at the level of adjacent DRG (ADRG), aged ADRG (AADRG) split by age, and DRG split by complication and comorbidity. Results: At the each three level of ADRG, AADRG, and DRG, there were 38.9%, 38.7%, and 30.0% of which had a CV > 100% in the untrimmed data and there were 1.4%, 1.4%, and 1.9% in the trimmed one. Before trimming outliers, ADRGs explained 52.5% of the variability in resource use, AADRGs did 53.1% and DRGs did 57.1%. The additional explanatory power by age and comorbidity and complication (CC) split were 0.6%p and 4.6%p for each, which were statistically significant. After trimming outliers, ADRGs explained 75.2% of the variability in resource use, AADRGs did 75.6%, and DRGs did 77.1%. The additional explanatory power were 0.4%p and 2.0%p for each, which were statistically significant too. Conclusion: The results demonstrated that KDRG showed high homogeneity within groups and performance after trimming outliers. But there were DRGs CV > 100% after age or CC split and the most contributing factor to high performance of KDRG was the ADRG rather than age or CC split. Therefore, it is recommended that the efforts for improving clinical homogeneity of KDRG such as review of the hierarchical structure of classification systems and classification variables.