• Health Policy and Management
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• v.9 no.2
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• pp.118-138
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• 1999

This study presents the variations on drug utilization for outpatients' URI, gastritis. and hypertension by the type of hospital- tertiary hospital. general hospital. hospital. clinic. It investigated drug expenses. daily drug expenses. days of medication. the highest price of the drugs used. and the number of the different drugs used for each disease and type of hospital. This study also performed analysis to see how much the variations of variables related to drug use affect the variations of drug expenses. The dependent variable was drug expenses and the independent variables were days of medication. the average price of the drugs used. and the number of the different drugs used. Analysis of the drug utilization was performed on NFMI(National Federation of Medical Insurance) 1994 medical expense claim data. Patients with secondary diseases were excluded. In this study. 379 patients with URI, 386 patients with gastritis. 1.257 patients with hypertension were included. It was founded that there were large variation on drug utilization between the types of hospital for same diseases. Days of medication were longest in tertiary hospitals and shortest in hospitals or clinics. Clinics showed the lowest daily drug expenses in all of the diseases investigated. Daily drug expenses were highest in general hospitals or hospitals. which also tended to use drugs of higher price than other types of hospital. General hospitals and hospitals had larger variations in daily drug expenses and the highest price of drugs. It suggested that drug might be utilized overly in general hospitals and hospitals and some other factors might influence on drug utilization in these hospitals. It was found that the variations of drug expenses were affected by the variations of drug price and days of medication rather than the number of the different drugs. Then the strategy to reduce the variations of drug utilization and to improve the quality of drug utilization should focus on the drug price and days of medication. Further study is needed to assess the quality as well as the variation of drug utilization and to show the factors which affect them.

• Health Policy and Management
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• v.19 no.4
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• pp.66-77
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• 2009

This study aims to examine the effect of socioeconomic status (hereafter, SES) on healthcare utilization of the patients with rare and incurable diseases. Information of 2,973 patients who were self-employed insured and utilized healthcare service in 2007 was drawn from the National Health Insurance (hereafter, NHI) claim data. SES was set as four groups based on the monthly contribution. Outcome variable was the expense for outpatient and in-hospital services, which was log-transformed and square-rooted in oder to obtain normal distribution. Covariates included age, gender, residence and diagnosis. To examine the effects after controlling for covariates, we employed generalized estimating equation model, since patients with the same diagnosis are likely to have similar characteristics of demographics and healthcare utilization. Univariate statistics showed that lower SES was associated with less utilization of healthcare services. After controlling for covariates, a significantly smaller amount of money was expended for the lowest SES group compared to the highest one. Rural residence was associated with less utilization, except that residents in Seoul significantly more utilized outpatient services in tertiary hospitals. Considering that there is a subsidy program for the low income patients, such differences in healthcare utilization according to SES seems to result from the burden of out-of-pocket payments for uncovered services of the NHI.

• Korea Journal of Hospital Management
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• v.12 no.2
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• pp.1-24
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• 2007

The medical fee reimbursement denied by HIRA(Health Insurance Review Agency) amounted to about 1.2% of the total medical fee claim to HIRA for reimbursement. Most of the denials stem from the inappropriate prescriptions of medical staff violating the medical fee review standards issued by HIRA. Considering the significant impacts of the standards observance behavior on the hospitals' financial viability, we attempted to analyze the predisposition factors of medical staffs' review standards observance behavior. The TPB(Theory of Planned Behavior) was adopted as the theoretical framework of the analysis. Data were collected by administrating a survey on the concepts included in TPB model to the 187 medical staff of a tertiary care hospital. Of the 187 questionaries distributed, 150 were responded resulting 80.2% of response rate. The mean differences among the groups classified by age group, years of experience, medical specialty and gender were analysis using ANOVA. The relationships among the TPB concepts were analysed by applying the Structural Equations Modeling method. The TPB model consists of three exogenous concepts (attitude toward the behavior, subjective norm, and perceived behavioral control) and two endogenous concepts (intention and the behavior). The results of ANOVA indicated significant mean differences among the groups classified by the medical staff's age, years of experience, and medical specialty. The older and the more experienced had the higher mean of observance behavior score. The results of Structural Equations analysis showed that the subjective norm and perceived behavioral control had statistically significant influences on intention, but the influence of attitude to intention was not statistically significant. The influences of perceived behavioral control and intention on behavior were significant. Based on these results the theoretical and practical implications were discussed.

• Asia-Pacific Journal of Business Venturing and Entrepreneurship
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• v.11 no.6
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• pp.51-59
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• 2016

Recently the company is getting bigger and has many employees. Therefore, sometimes, the uniform internal marketing devices for whole employees are inappropriate because they are different demographic aspects. To find efficient internal marketing factors, this paper analyzes empirically the determinants of employee's satisfaction to their firm, by group based demographic aspects(male and female : 2 groups, ages : 3 group, employment period : 3 groups), for a insurance claim adjuster company As a result, it is found that the psychological factor has the statically significant determinant in all the 8 groups, with biggest positive coefficient in the 7 groups. Other factors, such as the organizational factor, the individual factor and spatial factor are statically significant determinant depending on the groups differently.

• Journal of Acupuncture Research
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• v.27 no.2
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• pp.43-49
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• 2010

Objectives : Among young generation, the prevalence of spinal disorders is known to be increasing. This study aimed to analyze the clinical data of spinal disorder in young ages in Korea. Methods : Number of patient, kinds of disorder, and medical cost were analyzed for patients(7~18 years) underwent spinal disorders using computerized database of Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service(HIRAS) from 2004 to 2008. We included dorsopathies as spinal disorder according to Korean Classification of Diseases(KCD) and excluded spinal disorder caused by trauma. We compared the data of traditional Korean medicine treatment with that of western medical care. Results : 4.8% of the children and adolescents had medical treatment with spinal disorder in 2008. The claim number and medical cost for both traditional Korean medicine and western medicine treatment are increasing 1.8 and 1.3 times respectively over 5 years. Total medical spent of western clinic was 2.1 times than those of traditional Korean clinic. The most common spinal disorder was dorsalgia(31.8%) and scoliosis(13.5%) in western clinics while back pain(29.0%) and neck pain(10.8%) in oriental clinic. Conclusions : We first reported the clinical tendency of spinal disorder in Korean children adolescents from 2004 to 2008. This study will support the development of a strategy for traditional Korean medicine-based prevention or treatment of spinal disorders in young generation.

• Journal of Society of Preventive Korean Medicine
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• v.22 no.2
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• pp.25-32
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• 2018

Objectives : This study was conducted to investigate the frequent diseases among the people who had been treated by collaborative treatment of Korean medicine and Western medicine, and to compare their medical use behaviors before and after the collaborative first-stage pilot project between Korean medicine and Western medicine. Methods : 4,467 patients were identified as the patients who are participated in the collaborative first-stage pilot project between Korean medicine and Western medicine during the period between July 15, 2016 and March 31 2017. We used 28,480 records of Korean national health insurance claim data from January 1 2016 to March 31 2017 to analyzed present condition of cooperative medical usage. Also we conducted a paired t test to compare the percentage of collaborative treatment days before and after the pilot project period. Results : We found that the most frequent diseases treated in the pilot project were the diseases of musculoskeletal and nervous system and then 10 major diseases such as H, K, J, C (D), N, L, E, A, H and F disease codes in order. Also it was confirmed that 14 major and 53 medium diseases are included from more than 90% of total patients. As a result of high frequency of medical treatment in Western medicine or Korean medicine is "administration of Korean medicine", which is same as before and within the pilot project. The ratio of utilizing both Western and Korean medical care for the same disease on the same day by both general patients and patients in KCD-7 disease code group C, G, I, M and S had been increased significantly. Conclusions : The pilot project might change the behavior of utilizing the medical care service by increasing the ratio of collaborative treatment of Western medicine and Korean medicine for the same disease on the same day.

• Health Policy and Management
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• v.8 no.2
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• pp.166-190
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• 1998

This study presents the status on drug prescription for clinic outpatients' bronchitis, gastritis, and gastric ulcer, and also the physician factors that affects their prescriptions. In this research project the physician factors are as follows: their demographic features, their work related features, education related features, drug information related features and drug promotion related features. The variables in drug prescriptions are drug expenses, daily drug expenses, days of medication, the highest price of the drugs used and the number of the different drugs used. Analysis of the use of prescription drugs was performed on NFMI(National Federation of Medical Insurance) 1994 medical expense claim data. Data on physicians' characteristics were collected by mailing surveys. Patients with secondary diseases were excluded. In this study, 388 adults with bronchitis, 1,038 children with bronchitis, 1,158 patients with gastritis, 369 patients with gastric ulcer were included. The older physicians tend to allow the lower drug costs: this explains that the older doctors who are more experienced less depend on the medicines. It can be also explained that doctors are likely to use the medicines that had been used for their intern and resident practice/training period. General practitioners give more intensive prescription compared to specialists. And specialists prescribed medicines to patients for longer period. The doctors' prescriptions for patients are largely affected by commercial sources. So objective and reliable sources for drug information is needed for patients' benefits. Physician factors explain better at the daily drug expenses, the drug price and the number of different drugs than days of medication. Gastric ulcer are better explained by the prescription model adopted in this study than other diseases.

• Health Policy and Management
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• v.15 no.4
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• pp.46-64
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• 2005

This study was conducted to verify the current criteria and classification system used to determine specialized general hospitals status. In this study, we proposed a new classification system which Is simpler and more convenient than the current one. In the new classification system clinical procedure was chosen as the unit of analysis in order to reflect all the resource consumption and the complexities and degree of medical technologies in determining specialized general hospitals. We developed a statistical model and applied this model to 117 general hospitals which claim their national insurance through electronic data interchange(EDI). Analysis based on 984 clinical procedures and medical facilities' characteristic variable discriminated specialized general hospital in present without misclassification. It means that we can determine specialized general hospital's permission In new way without using the current complicated criteria. This study discriminated specialized general hospital by the new proposed model based on clinical procedures provided by each hospital. For clustering the same types of medical facilities using 984 clinical procedures, we executed multidimensional scale analysis and divided 117 hospitals into 4 groups by two axises : a variety of procedure and the Proportion of high technology Procedure. Therefore, we divided 117 hospitals into 4 groups and one of them was considered as specialized general hospital. In discriminating analysis, we abstracted proportion of 16 clinical procedures which effect on discriminating the specialized general hospital in statistical system also we identify discriminating function which include these variables. As a result, we identify 2 discriminating functions, one is for current discriminating system and the other two is for new discriminating system of specialized general hospital.

• Journal of Korean society of Dental Hygiene
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• v.7 no.4
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• pp.365-379
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• 2007

The objective of the current study is to provide basic data necessary for the development of systematic program that is required for the systematic occupational work training of dental hygienists who newly employed at dental hospitals or clinics. The results of the surveys were listed as in below. The survey was conducted for 175 experienced dental hygienists who are in charge of occupational work training in 6 regions(Seoul, Kyunggi, Busan, Ulsan, Kwangju, Chungnam, Kyungnam) of the country where the occupational work training for new dental hygienists is systematically operated. 1. The recognition of experienced dental hygienists for the importance of occupational work training revealed that image training was the most importantly recognized by dental hygienists in Seoul Kyunggi regions(pE.01). In case of Busan region, periodontic training and conservative dentistry training were the most importantly recognized, and customer service training was mostly highly recognized in Ulsan region(pE.01). In case of Kwangjuregion, dental health insurance claim training was recognized as most important subject, and Patient consultation training was the most importantly recognized in Chungnam region. In case of Kyungnam region. Oral surgery was recognized as the most important training subject. 2. Regard on the importance of the range of occupational work training, the experienced dental hygienists with less than 2 years of experience were found to recognize the training of greeting and naming most importantly, the dental hygienists with 2~3 years of experience most importantly recognized oral surgery, and the dental hygienists with 4~5 year of experience were found to recognize conservative training most importantly. In case of dental hygienists having 6~9 year of experience recognized periodontic and conservation trainings as the most important subjects, and the dental hygienist having more than 10 years of experience were found to recognize conservative and image trainings mostly importantly.

• Korean Journal of Clinical Pharmacy
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• v.28 no.2
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• pp.131-137
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• 2018

Background: In South Korea, 22.3% of women ${\geq}50years$ of age and 37% of women ${\geq}70years$ of age visit the doctor to obtain treatment for osteoporosis. According to the analysis of the National Health Insurance Services claim data between 2008 and 2012, the number and incidence of hip and vertebral fractures increased during the same period. Denosumab, a newly marketed medicine in Korea, is the first RANK inhibitor. Methods: A cost-utility analysis was conducted from a societal perspective to prove the superiority of denosumab to alendronate. A Markov cohort model was used to investigate the cost-effectiveness of denosumab. A 6-month cycle length was used in the model, and all patients were individually followed up through the model, from their age at treatment initiation to their time of death or until 100 years of age. The model consisted of eight health states: well; hip fracture; vertebral fracture; wrist fracture; other osteoporotic fracture; post-hip fracture; post-vertebral fracture; and dead. All patients began in the well-health state. In this model, 5% discounted rate, two-year maximum offset time, and persistence were adopted. Results: The total lifetime costs for alendronate and denosumab were USD 5,587 and USD 6,534, respectively. The incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER) for denosumab versus alendronate was USD 20,600/QALY. Given the ICER threshold in Korea, the results indicated that denosumab was remarkably superior to alendronate. Conclusion: Denosumab is a cost-effective alternative to the oral anti-osteoporotic treatment, alendronate, in South Korea.