• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• 제13권8호
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• pp.3767-3772
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• 2012

Objective: We estimated the total medical costs incurred during the 5 years following a cancer diagnosis and annual medical use status for the six most prevalent cancers in Korea. Methods: From January 1 to December 31, 2006, new patients registered with the six most prevalent cancers (stomach, liver, lung, breast, colon, and thyroid) were randomly selected from the Korea Central Cancer Registry, with 30% of patients being drawn from each cancer group. For the selected patients, cost data were generated using National Health Insurance claims data from the time of cancer diagnosis in 2006 to December 31, 2010. The total number of patients selected was 28,509. Five-year total medical costs by tumor site and Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) stage at the time of diagnosis, and annual total medical costs from diagnosis, were estimated. All costs were calculated as per-patient net costs. Results: Mean 5-year net costs per patient varied widely, from $5,647 for thyroid cancer to $20,217 for lung cancer. Advanced stage at diagnosis was associated with a 1.8-2.5-fold higher total cost, and the total medical cost was highest during the first year following diagnosis and decreased by the third or fourth year. Conclusions: The costs of cancer care were substantial and varied by tumor site, annual phase, and stage at diagnosis. This indicates the need for increased prevention, earlier diagnosis, and new therapies that may assist in reducing medical costs.

• 보건행정학회지
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• 제34권1호
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• pp.87-93
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• 2024

연구배경: 최근 건강기능식품 섭취에 따른 의료비 절감효과에 대해 상이한 연구결과들이 제시되면서 논쟁이 불거졌다. 이에 따라 본 연구는 건강기능식품 섭취 여부가 의료비 지출에 미친 영향을 분석하고자 한다. 방법: 2019-2020년의 제2기 한국의료패널 자료에서 2년간 건강기능식품을 섭취한 군과 섭취하지 않은 군을 확인하고 이들의 일반적 특성 차이를 배제하고자 성향점수매칭기법을 통해 1:1 매칭 데이터를 추출하였으며 두 군의 연간 총 의료비를 비교하였다. 더불어 의료비 지출에 대한 건강기능식품 섭취 여부의 영향을 확인하기 위해 다변량 회귀분석(Proc Surveyreg)을 실시하였다. 결과: 건강기능식품 섭취군은 약 172만 원을, 미섭취군은 약 143만 원을 의료비로 지출하였다(p=0.0186). 다변량 회귀분석 결과, 섭취군이 미섭취군에 비해 약 26.15% 더 많은 의료비를 지출하는 것으로 확인되었다(p=0.0004). 결론: 건강기능식품 섭취가 의료비를 절감시킨다는 이전 연구들과 달리, 본 연구에서는 건강기능식품을 지속적으로 섭취하는 사람들이 의료서비스 지출이 더 큰 것으로 나타났다. 이는 건강기능식품 섭취가 질병 예방이나 의료비 절감의 관점보다는 건강에 관심 있는 사람들이 건강관리를 위해 취하는 행동임을 제시한 이전 연구들과 같은 맥락으로 해석될 수 있다. 그러나 의료패널 자료의 다양한 한계점으로 인해 주의 깊은 해석이 필요하다. 향후 개인수준의 코호트 자료를 활용한 인과성 규명이 필요하다.

• 대한의용생체공학회:의공학회지
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• 제26권5호
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• pp.331-335
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• 2005

The fusion technology of small sensor and wireless communication was followed by various application examples of the embedded system, where the social infrastructural facilities and ecological environment were wirelessly monitored. In addition, this technology represents the primary application area being extended into the healthcare field. In this study, a body area network for ubiquitous healthcare is presented. More specifically this represents a wireless biomedical signal acquisition device characterized by small size, low power consumption, pre-processing and archiving capability. Using this device, a new method for monitoring vital signs and activity is created. A PDA-based wireless sensor network enables patients to be monitored during their daily living, without any constraints. Therefore, the proposed method can be used to develop Activities of Daily Living (ADL) monitoring devices for the elderly or movement impaired people. A medical center would be able to remotely monitor the current state of elderly people and support first-aid in emergency cases. In addition, this method will reduce medical costs in society, where the average life expectancy is increasing.

• International Journal of Contents
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• 제16권1호
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• pp.75-86
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• 2020

As the elderly population is becoming an aging society, the elderly are experiencing many problems. Social security costs for the elderly are increasing and the un-linked social phenomenon is emerging. Thus, the social infrastructure and welfare system established in the past economic growth period are in danger of not functioning properly. People socially isolated or with chronic diseases among the elderly are exposed to various accidents. Thus, an active healthcare management service is imperative. Additionally, in the event of a dangerous situation, the system must have ways to notify guardians (family or medical personnel) regarding appropriate action. Thus, in this paper, we propose the smartphone-based healthcare and emergency response service platform. The proposed service platform aggregates movement of relevant data in real-time using a smartphone. Based on aggregated data, it will always recognize the user's movements and current state using the human motion recognition mechanism. Thus, the proposed service platform provides real-time status monitoring, activity reports, a health calendar, location-based hospital information, emergency situation detection, and cloud messaging server-based efficient notification to several subscribers such as family, guardians, and medical personnel. Through this service, users or guardians can augment the level of care for the elderly through the reports. Also, if an emergency situation is detected, the system immediately informs guardians so as to minimize the risk through immediate response.

• KSII Transactions on Internet and Information Systems (TIIS)
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• 제15권3호
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• pp.974-992
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• 2021

Recently, the healthcare field has undergone rapid changes owing to the accumulation of health big data and the development of machine learning. Data mining research in the field of healthcare has different characteristics from those of other data analyses, such as the structural complexity of the medical data, requirement for medical expertise, and security of personal medical information. Various methods have been implemented to address these issues, including the machine learning model and cloud platform. However, the machine learning model presents the problem of opaque result interpretation, and the cloud platform requires more in-depth research on security and efficiency. To address these issues, this paper presents a recent technology for Internet-of-Things-based (IoT-based) health big data processing. We present a cloud-based IoT health platform and health big data processing technology that reduces the medical data management costs and enhances safety. We also present a data mining technology for health-risk prediction, which is the core of healthcare. Finally, we propose a study using explainable artificial intelligence that enhances the reliability and transparency of the decision-making system, which is called the black box model owing to its lack of transparency.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• 제15권8호
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• pp.3383-3389
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• 2014

Background: Prostate cancer is rapidly increasing in Korea and professional societies have requested adding prostate specific antigen (PSA) testing to the National Cancer Screening Program (NCSP), but this started a controversy in Korea and neutral evidence on this issue is required more than ever. The purpose of this study was to provide economic evidence to the decision makers of the NCSP. Materials and Methods: A cost-utility analysis was performed on the adoption of PSA screening program among men aged 50-74-years in Korea from the healthcare system perspective. Several data sources were used for the cost-utility analysis, including general health screening data, the Korea Central Cancer Registry, national insurance claims data, and cause of mortality from the National Statistical Office. To solicit the utility index of prostate cancer, a face-to-face interview for typical men aged 40 to 69 was conducted using a Time-Trade Off method. Results: As a result, the increase of effectiveness was estimated to be very low, when adopting PSA screening, and the incremental cost effectiveness ratio (ICER) was analyzed as about 94 million KRW. Sensitivity analyses were performed on the incidence rate, screening rate, cancer stage distribution, utility index, and treatment costs but the results were consistent with the base analysis. Conclusions: Under Korean circumstances with a relatively low incidence rate of prostate cancer, PSA screening is not cost-effective. Therefore, we conclude that adopting national prostate cancer screening would not be beneficial until further evidence is provided in the future.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• 제36권4호
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• pp.332-338
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• 2003

Objective : To investigate the relationship between medical expenses and the burden of families caring for the elderly in the last 6 months of life, and to evaluate the factors relating to the burden of family caregivers. Methods : The families of 301 persons older than 65 years, who died between 1 July and 31 December 2001, and were registered in Resident-based- Health Insurance Programs in Seoul, were interviewed. The medical expenses and length of stay among the elderly were collected from Korean Health Insurance Corporations. Results : 31 percents of the elderly had no medical expenses in the last 6 months of life. On average, the objective burden (4.92) was higher than the subjective burden (3.35). Families caring for male elderly had a higher burden. With increasing age af death, the objective burden was significantly increased. The burden on a family seemed to be influenced more by the family income than the property of the elderly. With increasing total health care costs, the objective burden on the family caregivers was significantly increased, but with increasing medical expenses, the subjective burden was significantly decreased. Conclusion : An association between healthcare utilization and burden on families was observed. The reason for the decreasing subjective burden when medical expenses were decreased was unclear. Further research will be needed.

• Advances in environmental research
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• 제10권1호
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• pp.17-41
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• 2021

Kazakhstan's cities experience high concentrations levels of atmospheric particulate matter (PM), which is well-known for its highly detrimental effect on the human health. A further increase in PM concentrations in the future could lead to a higher air pollution-caused morbidity and mortality, causing an increase in healthcare expenditures by the government. However, to prevent elevated PM concentrations in the future, more stringent standards could be implemented by lowering current maximum allowable PM concentration limit to Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)'s limits. Therefore, this study aims to find out what impact this change in environmental policy towards PM has on state economy in the long run. Future PM10 and PM2.5 concentrations were estimated using multiple linear regression based on gross regional product (GRP) and population growth parameters. Dose-response model was based on World Health Organization's approach for the identification of mortality, morbidity and healthcare costs due to air pollution. Analysis of concentrations revealed that only 6 out of 21 cities of Kazakhstan did not exceed the EU limit on PM10 concentration. Changing environmental standards resulted in the 71.7% decrease in mortality and 77% decrease in morbidity cases in all cities compared to the case without changes in environmental policy. Moreover, the cost of morbidity and mortality associated with air pollution decreased by $669 million in 2030 and $2183 million in 2050 in case of implementation of OECD standards. Thus, changing environmental regulations will be beneficial in terms of both of mortality reduction and state budget saving.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• 제42권1호
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• pp.5-11
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• 2009

Objectives : This study was conducted to estimate the socioeconomic cost of injuries in South Korea. Methods : We matched claims data from national health insurance, automobile insurance and industrial accident compensation insurance(IACI), and mortality data obtained from the national statistical office from 2001 to 2003 by patients unique identifier. Socioeconomic cost included both direct cost and indirect cost: the direct cost was injury-related medical expenditure and the indirect cost included loss of productivity due to healthcare utilization and premature death. Results : The socioeconomic cost of injuries in Korea was approximately 1.9% of the GDP from 2001 to 2003. That is, 12.1 trillion KRW(Korean Won) in 2001, 12.3 trillion KRW in 2002, and 13.7 trillion KRW in 2003. In 2003, direct medical costs were 24.6%(3.4 trillion KRW), the costs for loss of productivity by healthcare utilization were 13.0%(1.8 trillion KRW), and the costs for loss of productivity by premature death were 62.4%(8.6 trillion KRW). Conclusions : In this study, the socioeconomic cost of injuries in Korea between 2001 and 2003 was estimated by using not only health insurance claims data, but also automobile insurance, IACI claims and mortality data. We conclude that social efforts are required to reduce the socioeconomic cost of injuries in Korea, which represented approximately 1.9% of the GDP for the time period specified.

• 한국병원경영학회지
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• 제5권1호
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• pp.200-231
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• 2000

The price systems of the hospital drug services play key roles in the provision of quality services and the development of pharmacy service technologies. Under the premises, this study attempted to determine the costs of hospital drug service, to compare the costs calculated with the fees publicly fixed by the Government, and based on the results of the analysis, to propose directions for the improvement of the price systems. A Costing model for the study was developed based on the cost-fee relationship analysed of the Korean fee-for-service systems. Data on costs and workloads of the 25 hospitals were collected through survey forms designed for the costing' and analysis for the duration of 12 months of 1998. The results of the analysis show that a tremendous unbalance between cost and price levels of the drug services, and that overally the price level of the services is extremely low when compared to the costs of services. Based on these findings, this study suggests that unfairly high or low price level be corrected, and that service items newly developed and being practiced at tertiary hospitals, such as TDM and TPN consultation services, be compensated by fixing a proper level of price.