• The Journal of the Korea Contents Association
• /
• v.13 no.12
• /
• pp.379-388
• /
• 2013

u-Healthcare integration between ICT and healthcare service is able to utilize effectively for people's healthcare anywhere and any time. The purpose of this study is to explore the perception and influence factors on intention to use u-Healthcare service of physicians and staffs working for medical institutions. Ninety eight(98) valid cases have been collected for this study. It is also analysed by SPSS 18.0 and SmartPLS 2.0M3. Empirical findings provide important insights as follows: firstly, performance expectation, effort expectation and social influence positively influence intention to use u-Healthcare service; secondly, perceived risk negatively influences usage intention, and finally, performance expectation, effort expectation and perceived risk are moderated by voluntariness.

• Journal of Korea Multimedia Society
• /
• v.12 no.11
• /
• pp.1680-1691
• /
• 2009

To improve the quality of healthcare and build up the health delivery system, electronic health record system is important for healthcare institutions providing health services. However, the systems currently operated in domestic healthcare institutions use independent software interface with distributed environment for data search and process. Therefore, it raises an additional expense to buy or develop each interface module when there is a link to new system and the problem of complexity. To solve these problems, this study implemented the service oriented architecture basis for home nursing service and carried out an assessment. The study defined the process modeling and business requirements based on the scenario of service and drew 17 suitable services based on five verification items for service design. To draw the final service, seven services were selected by service litmus test (SLT). The study found that, by the improvement of business process for healthcare service support department, SOA based information system has an effect of time reduction of patient processing time. In conclusion, to enable the hospital information system to cope with various demands of healthcare consumers, it is necessary to consider the application of SOA technology which has excellent interoperability, reusability and maintenance.

• Health Policy and Management
• /
• v.28 no.1
• /
• pp.35-47
• /
• 2018

Background: The purpose of this study is to elucidate the context of medical experience and the perception of unmet healthcare of elderly people with chronic diseases based on in-depth interview data. Methods: We carried out in-depth interviews with 10 elderly people with chronic diseases using semi-structured questionnaires based on literature review. The in-depth interview data were analyzed using thematic analysis; one qualitative research methodology, three core meaning categories, and four attributes associated with unmet healthcare were ultimately derived. Results: The context of the medical experience were based on the following three categories: (1) discomfort due to diseases and high medical needs, (2) the poor community medical environment and difficulties in accessing to metropolitan medical institutions, and (3) inconvenience caused by long waiting time and side effects of medicine. In addition, the elderly with chronic disease realized the unmet healthcare as (1) the availability related to the desired medical institutions at the right time, (2) the affordability related to their economic capacity, (3) the effectiveness of the medical services they experienced, and (4) the appropriateness related to receiving medical services in a pleasant environment. Conclusion: The perception of unmet healthcare among the elderly with chronic disease is the result of interaction of multi-level and multi-dimensional factors related with their medical experience.

• Health Policy and Management
• /
• v.32 no.1
• /
• pp.94-106
• /
• 2022

Background: The efforts to build more "people centered," "patient centered" health system has been emerging all over the world. Aligning with it, the Korean government is conducing the survey called "Medical Service Experience Survey (MSES)." There are critics, however, that MSES is not scrutinizing the medical experiences of patients in various healthcare settings. For this reason, this study aims to perform an empirical analysis of the differences in answers of patients responding to various healthcare settings. Methods: There are two steps in this study. First, explanatory analysis is conducted to compare the tendency of statistical concentration on questionnaires by divided healthcare settings. Second, confirmative analysis is carried out to evaluate the construct validity, reliability, and discriminant validity of the questionnaire in each healthcare setting. The raw data of MSES, which was conducted in 2020 by the Ministry of Health and Welfare in Korea and the Korean Institute for Health and Social Affairs is used. Results: As a result of exploratory factor analysis for all outpatients, the items were classified into four factors statistically: "doctor experience," "nurse experience," "outpatient service experience," and "patient satisfaction." It was confirmed that the reliability of all factors extracted was secured. However, for patients who visited hospitals, questionnaires related to personal privacy, such as "experiences on medical staffs considering physical exposure" or "experiences related to personal information exposure," were answered in conjunction with items of "nurse experience." Besides, patients responded that administrative elements of medical services, such as "experiences of comfort in medical institutions" and "experiences of satisfactory administrative services," were related to the items of "nurse experience." The answers of patients who visited traditional medical hospitals and clinics about "doctor experience" and "nurse experience" were not discerned statistically, and the answers to "doctor experience," "nurse experience," and "medical institution experience" were entangled with the responses of patients who visited dental hospitals and clinics. On the other hand, as a result of the confirmatory factor analysis, it was found that the inquiries of MSES generally had intensive validity. Conclusion: The collection of objective and scientific data is the prominent component to enlighten the patient-centered healthcare system alongside with change of the worldwide paradigm of measuring the healthcare system performance as follows the transition of perspective of health care from provider-centered to patient-centered. This study empirically shows that the patient experience can vary as the healthcare settings. Furthermore, to make an advance in measuring the experience of patients with medical services, this article proposes the deliberate consideration of the different kinds of healthcare settings and articulate design of the survey.

• The Korean Society of Law and Medicine
• /
• v.24 no.1
• /
• pp.67-98
• /
• 2023

In the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, Korea took the lead in implementing "social distancing" policies more strongly than other countries. In addition to making it mandatory to wear a mask according to the policy, all patients using medical institutions are tested for COVID-19 to prevent Healthcare-Associated Infections, and only those patients who test negative have been regulated to receive face-to-face medical treatment. In this process, situations such as the disabled, who have difficulty wearing masks, were not taken into account, and emergency patients did not receive timely treatment or surgery from medical personnel. In response, the National Human Rights Commission of Korea has decided that forcing everyone to wear a mask and restricting access to medical institutions constitutes discrimination against the disabled. Therefore, the purposes this study has that, the first is to review cases of human rights discrimination against persons with disabilities due to measures to prevent the transmission of infectious diseases that did not consider the characteristics of persons with disabilities in the COVID-19 situation and issues regarding the decisions of the National Human Rights Commission of Korea, the second is to find a reasonable plan and the need for measures to prevent refusal of treatment by medical institutions for the disabled who have difficulty wearing masks.

• Journal of The Korea Institute of Healthcare Architecture
• /
• v.23 no.3
• /
• pp.9-17
• /
• 2017

Purpose : The easiest and most cost-effective way to prevent medical-related infections is known as proper hand washing of health care workers. The experience of MERS in domestic medical institutions has increased the importance of hand hygiene for medical workers to prevent infections in hospitals. It is necessary to investigate the level of hand hygiene practice by type of medical institutions and the factors influencing the infection prevention. Methods : Domestic and overseas hand hygiene related business cases and literature data were collected and analyzed in order to investigate the hand hygiene status of medical institutions in Korea. Result : As a result of hand hygiene monitoring of all hospital-level medical institutions in 2016, the total number of observations was 24,328 and the hand hygiene performance rate was 75.9%. The hand hygiene performance rate of hospitals was 71.5% for general hospitals, 75% for general hospitals, and 81.3% for hospitals. Implications : In general hospitals and hospitals, the HR(Hand Rubbing) method is preferred as a way of performing hand hygiene, whereas the HW(Hand Washing) method is relatively high in the small hospitals. It is estimated that the HW system is preferred because of the cost burden at the hospital medical institution. Therefore, it is necessary to compensate the related expenses to improve the hand hygiene performance of the physicians who are engaged in the hospitals.

• Journal of Korean Society of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene
• /
• v.30 no.2
• /
• pp.124-133
• /
• 2020

Objectives: Mask fit is a crucial factor in preventing respiratory infections among healthcare workers. The current coronavirus(COVID-19) pandemic calls for the replacement of imported N95 medical masks with domestic N95 versions. In this study, we aimed to determine whether these masks provide proper protection. Methods: Thirty-five participants from three healthcare institutions donned four types of masks and Quantitative Fit Tests(Portacount, USA) were performed. The order of fit test for the four types of masks was randomized, and a three-minute washout period was applied between test times(2 min 29 sec) to reduce potential error stemming from physical exhaustion. Results: There were no significant differences in the Fit Factor for the four types of masks, and there were no gender differences. However, the Fit Factor significantly differed across the three healthcare institutions (p=0.007). With eight of the 35 participants passing, the pass rate with the criteria of 100 or higher was 21%. Conclusions: The mask used in this study was a new domestic N95 medical mask, and the participants were unfamiliar with how to wear it. They reported difficulties with mask fitting. In light of a previous finding that mask fit improved with frequently used masks, wearer preferred masks, or when masks that are regularly worn are used during fit training, the fact that participants were unfamiliar with the mask used in this study is a limitation that should not be overlooked.

• Korea Journal of Hospital Management
• /
• v.22 no.2
• /
• pp.58-69
• /
• 2017

Recently, with the increase in the number of private health insurance subscribers, interest in overuse of the medical service is increasing. This study analyzed the impacts of private health insurance (PHI) on medical institution selection in outpatient service utilization among persons with arthritis. In order to control patients' health status, we extracted outpatient episodes with the same disease (KCD6, M13) from Korea Health Panel. The unit of analysis was an outpatient visit with arthritis in 2014 (n=23,363). In the light of insurance coverage, we redefined three type of private health insurance (ex, indemnity, fixed benefit, and non-insured) as a test variable and two type of medical institution (ex, hospital and physician visit) as a dependent variable. We conducted a probit regression analysis to identify the impacts of PHI on medical institution selection controlling for heteroscedasticity. The results of this study showed that the insured with indemnity were more likely to choose hospital departments than clinics (marginal effect=0.0475, p=0.000). The impact of participation of fixed benefit PHI was not as clear as that of indemnity type (marginal effect=0.0162, p=0.047). In conclusion, this study confirmed that PHI, particularly indemnity type has a significant impact on the selection of medical institutions. Healthcare policy makers should consider that PHI not only affects the overall quantitative increase in healthcare utilization, but also influences the selection of medical institutions.

• Journal of Digital Convergence
• /
• v.18 no.10
• /
• pp.285-296
• /
• 2020

The purpose of this study is to provide basic data for developing future ethics education programs by surveying healthcare providers working at institutions of various sizes, using Ethical Issues in Clinical Practice tool. Data were collected from 149 healthcare providers working at medical institutions in G-do. Analysis was done using t-test, ANOVA, Pearson correlation coefficient, and Multiple regression with IBM SPSS WIN/21.0. Needs for ethics education was inversely correlated to end-of-life treatment issues (r=-.22, p=.007) and patient care issues (r=-.28, p<.001). The most influential factor on the subjects' needs for ethics education was patient care issues (β=-.246, p=.035), followed by Buddhism (β=.208, p=.010). The explanatory power was 13.4% (F=5.596, p<.001). Therefore, when organizing the contents of ethics education program, patient care issues should be included to meet the needs of the subjects. Also, a customized program regarding the subjects' religion is necessary.

• Journal of The Korea Institute of Healthcare Architecture
• /
• v.27 no.3
• /
• pp.27-37
• /
• 2021

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to compare the changes in hospital accreditation evaluations, the changes in hospital building design guidelines, and the development of design indicators for reducing medical accidents in the state-of-the-art healthcare providers. Methods: The changes and tools were carefully investigated and compared that had been taken place and used in the building certification standards, design guidelines, and patient safety design standards to reduce accidents in the United States and the United Kingdom. Results: First, medical accidents are recognized as multiple defense layers rather than personal ones, and a public reporting and learning system is created, reporting the accidents in question publicly and suggesting ways to improve them based on the data at a time. Second, for the accreditation institute that secures the service quality of medical institutions, detailed standards for patient safety are continuously updated with focus on clinical trials. The United States is in charge of the private sector, but on the other hand the United Kingdom is in charge of the public sector. Third, the design guidelines are provided as web-based tools that complement various guidelines for patient safety, and are improved and developed as well. Fourth, detailed approaches are continuously developed and provided to secure patient safety and reduce medical accidents through appropriate research, evidence-based design and strict evaluations. Implications: When medical institutions make efforts to strength patient safety methods through valid design standards, accidents are expected to decrease, whereby hospital finances are also to be improved. A higher level of medical quality service will sure be secured through comprehensive certification evaluation.