• The Journal of the Society of Korean Medicine Diagnostics
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• v.18 no.3
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• pp.187-204
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• 2014

Objectives This study examined the perception and current utilization of Korean medical clinics in South Korea, focusing on university students in their 20s who live in Seoul. In addition, this study investigated methods for improving positive perception on korean medical clinics. Methods The questionnaire consisted of preference, reliability, professionalism, and modernity of korean medical clinics based on previous researches. The data was collected from 203 students of 6 different universities in Seoul through a direct survey from 4th September to 7th September 2013. The collected data were analyzed by the frequency analysis. Results According to the survey, the university students in Seoul have few chances to visit korean medical clinics, and they do not have enough information about korean medical treatment. Also, only few of them have recognized existence of research on korean medical treatment, and most of them request that korean medical care need to be scientifically proven. Conclusion The study implied that if the perception of preference, reliability, professionalism, and modernity regarding korean medical clinics develops by promoting research achievements, an increasing number of university students in their 20s will take korean medical care.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.31 no.3 s.62
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• pp.460-470
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• 1998

By expanding health insurance, customers will carry a smaller burden of medical costs. As a result, the number of visits to a physician increase and this result in the improvement of medical accessibility. But medical care utilization may be changed not only by insurance status but also by socio-demographic factor, economic status and other factors. The question thus remains, at which level of accessibility and what price of medical care service in health insurance will the customer and the medical care service be satisfied. The price of medical care service ls comprised of the customer's out-of-pocket money and the costs not covered by health insurance. If the price of medical care services in health insurance are appropriate, medical care utilization should not differ because of the difference in income status or the acuteness of illness. But If the price is not adequate, low income groups will receive relatively low medical care utilization, particularly in the case of chronic disease. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the differences in medical care utilization among the various income groups and those with varying acuteness of illness. The major hypotheses to test in this study are : (i) whether there are differences in medical care utilization among different income groups exist, (ii) whether differences in medical care utilization among different income groups exist with the hospital type. (iii) whether differences in medical care utilization among different income groups exist with the acuteness of illness and with age. The data was collected from the JongRo District Health Insurance Society in Seoul. A total of 118,336 persons were selected as the final sample for this study. The major findings of this study were as follows; 1. The volume of ambulatory utilization among users was statistically significant by income level. 2. Among different income groups, the volume of ambulatory utilization was statistically significant by the acuteness of illness. 3. Higher income groups with chronic diseases had a greater volume of ambulatory utilization than other groups.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.55 no.4
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• pp.398-406
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• 2022

Objectives: While the risk of depression is expected to substantially increase among older adults receiving community care, leisure life satisfaction can be regarded as a key component in enhancing the mental health of those receiving community care. However, it is not yet known whether community care utilization increases the risk of depression, or what role is played by leisure life satisfaction in these settings. This study investigated the relationship between community care utilization and depression, as well as the main effect and the moderating role of leisure life satisfaction on the link between community care utilization and depression among older adults. Methods: This study, using the 2019 Korean Welfare Panel Survey, conducted multiple regression analysis on data from 4494 elderly people aged 65 years or older. Results: After controlling for potential covariates, older community care recipients were more likely to report symptoms of depression than those who did not receive community care. Meanwhile, leisure life satisfaction was negatively associated with depression in older adults. The test for interaction between community care utilization and leisure life satisfaction revealed that leisure life satisfaction significantly attenuated the link between depression and community care utilization. Conclusions: The findings of this study imply that leisure life satisfaction could play a meaningful role in improving the mental health of older adults receiving community care. Welfare policies affecting older adults should consider leisure life satisfaction as an important resource for reducing depression in community care settings.

• 대한예방의학회:학술대회논문집
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• 2001.10a
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• pp.206-207
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• 2001

• Health Policy and Management
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• v.18 no.4
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• pp.66-84
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• 2008

Objectives: This study aimed to. offer some fundamental evidences for the stroke management policy by investigating the trends of medical care utilization and regionalization in stroke inpatients. Methods: We used the National Health Insurance claims and registry data for stroke inpatients from 1998 to 2005. Among all stroke inpatient claims data, self-employed insured and their dependents were only included in this study. The classification of stroke was based on ICD-10(I60-I69) and its subtype was divided by hemorrhage(I60-I62) and infarction(I63-I64) type. To evaluate regionalization of medical care utilization, relevance index was calculated by regions. The regions were classified 8 large catchment areas and 163 self authorized areas. Results: The overall medical care utilization rate of stroke inpatient has been increased, especially infarction subtype. Among medical care institutions, the utilization of hospital has been the most rapidly increased. Although considered annual rate of interest, total medical cost of stroke inpatients has been increased, Totally, more than 84% of stroke inpatient were admitted to medical care institutions in their own large catchment area during 1998-2005. The relevance indices in their own large catchment area (self sufficiency rates) were more than 70% in most areas regardless of stroke subtype except Chungbuk catchment area. Self sufficiency rates of stroke inpatients among 163 self authorized areas in 1998 and 2005 were 84.2% and 83.1% in metropolitan, 46.7% and 45.5% in urban, and 19.5% and 22.6% in rural areas, respectively. Conclusion: Stroke management policy for improvement of distribution at the district level, especially in rural areas, may be helpful for reducing regional inequality in stroke.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.27 no.3 s.47
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• pp.609-626
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• 1994

This study was conducted to investigate whether variations in hospital services utilization across small geographic areas in Korea existed, and if so, what factors are responsible for the variation. The claims data of the fiscal year 1992 obtained from the regional health insurance societies were used for the study. Main findings of the research can be summarized as follows: 1 Extremal Quotients (EQ) of hospital expenditure per capita and hospital days per capita were 2.69 and 2.73, and Coefficient of Variation (CV) were 0.14, both, respectively. The EQ and the CV of admission rate were also 2.71, 0.15. The EQ and the CV of expenditure per admission were 1.73, 0.10 and those of hospital days per admission were 1.29, 0.06. All these statistics were statistically significant and this result provides strong evidence for the existence of small area variations. 2. Comparing patterns of variation among areas, the area which showed higher utilization amounts is Chansungp'o. Koje area, whereas the areas which showed lower utilization amounts are Yongju, Changhung, Miryang, Mokp'o, Koch'ang area. 3. Multivariate analytic methods were used to examine factors related to the variation across areas. In terms of the health resource availability variables, beds per capita or physicians per capita were positively associated with all utilization indices. As for the health service market structure variables, the proportion of health care institutions operating for less than f years was positively related to the expenditure per capita, hospital days per capita and expenditure per admission. In addition the proportion of the private health care institutions also had a negative relationship with total utilization amount and admission rate and the proportion of physicians under age 40 was negatively associated with expenditure per capita and expenditure per admission. With regard to the socio-demographic characteristics, proportion of medicaid population was positively related to hospital days per capita, and percentage of paved road was positively related to hospital days per admission. As a conclusion, wide variations existed across small areas in Korea and supply factors were found to be important in explaining the variation.

• The Journal of Korean Medicine
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• v.39 no.3
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• pp.17-27
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• 2018

Objectives: Ukgan-san does not appear in Traditional Korean Medicine classics. However, it has been used in research and clinical applications in Korea. In this paper, we are aiming to examine the records concerned with Ukgan-san to the present, and announce the present usage state in Korea. Methods: We searched and summarized the contents of previous medical books about Ukgan-san. In order to investigate the current status of utilization of Ukgan-san in Korea, a bibliographic database of Korea, a database of clinical researches, and a database of pharmaceuticals of the Korea Food and Drug Administration were searched. Results: As a result of searching Ukgan-san related documents, Ukgan-san has been developed in China (Ming dynasty). However, its clinical application has been expanded by modern Japanese kampo medicine doctors. In Korea, cases of Parkinson's disease, other movement disorders, and psychiatric disorders have been reported, and randomized controlled trials had been done and planned. In addition, some extracts which are consisted of Ukgan-san are also available. Conclusions: In Korea, Ukgan-san has been influenced by Japan and has been used for clinical and research purposes. The utilization rate in Korea is still small, but the utilization rate will increase according to the results of clinical studies.

• Journal of Pharmacopuncture
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• v.24 no.3
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• pp.142-151
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• 2021

Objectives: Although Korean Medicine (KM) subsidized by the National Health Insurance (NHI) has been used for a long time, there has been no active analysis using claims data. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to examine the NHI KM utilization trend using NHI statistics and to measure the level of market concentration by year. Methods: By restructuring the contents of NHI Statistics for Pharmaceuticals for 2010-2019, the claim cases, costs, and annual growth rates of KM were demonstrated by year, sex, age group, region, therapeutic group, and KM treatment. The proportion of highly used k treatments in cost was calculated as the concentration ratio (CR) k and its trend by year was investigated. Results: In 2019, the NHI cost on KM amounted to ₩38.2 billion KRW, increasing by 11.6% per year on average in 2010-2019. Notably, KM was used more frequently among women and patients aged ≥ 65 years, and the mixed formulation accounted for 95% of the total cost of KM. The CR of the simple formulation increased rapidly, whereas that of the mixed formulation remained constant. In 2019, three simple formulation treatments- peony, licorice, and ginseng- accounted for 93.8% of the total cost for KM (CR3 = 93.8%). Conclusion: NHI KM is rapidly increasing. Investigating the CR of KM confirmed that KM prescriptions have been concentrated in small numbers over the past 10 years.

• Clinical Endoscopy
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• v.57 no.3
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• pp.342-349
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• 2024

Background/Aims: Nonagenarians will purportedly account for 10% of the United States population by 2050. However, no studies have assessed the outcomes of nonvariceal upper gastrointestinal bleeding (NVUGIB) in this age group. Methods: The National Inpatient Sample database between 2016 and 2020 was used to compare the clinical outcomes of NVUGIB in nonagenarians and octogenarians and evaluate predictors of mortality and the use of esophagogastroduodenoscopy (EGD). Results: Nonagenarians had higher in-hospital mortality than that of octogenarians (4% vs. 3%, p<0.001). EGD utilization (30% vs. 48%, p<0.001) and blood transfusion (27% vs. 40%, p<0.001) was significantly lower in nonagenarians. Multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed that nonagenarians with NVUGIB had higher odds of mortality (odds ratio [OR], 1.5; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.3-1.7) and lower odds of EGD utilization (OR, 0.86; 95% CI, 0.83-0.89) than those of octogenarians. Conclusions: Nonagenarians admitted with NVUGIB have a higher mortality risk than that of octogenarians. EGD is used significantly in managing NVUGIB among nonagenarians; however, its utilization is comparatively lower than in octogenarians. More studies are needed to assess predictors of poor outcomes and the indications of EGD in this growing population.

• The Journal of Korean Medicine
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• v.33 no.3
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• pp.46-53
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• 2012

Objectives: Many cancer patients have been using Korean medicine with conventional medical care. This study aimed to look into current status of Korean medicine in cancer patients in Korea. Methods: We reviewed utilization of Korean medicine for cancer by searching DB (KoreaMed, KMbase, KISS, NDSL, KISTI, National Assembly Library, OASIS, Korean Traditional Knowledge Portal). The first search keyword used was "cancer" and the second keyword used was either "oriental", "alternative" or "complementary". Results: The utilization rate of Korean medicine was 31.0%. In terms of patient's disease characteristics, most of them were suffering from stomach cancer, lung cancer and colon cancer. Most of them were diagnosed as fourth stage of cancer. Ginseng (14.8%) was a favorite Korean medicine, followed by medicinal treatment (8.1%), acupuncture (3.1%), moxibustion (3.0%), and cupping (2.1%). Conclusions: In Korea, one third of cancer patients are using Korean medicine. We need to know the expectations and demand for Korean medicine for treating cancer and establish our strategy to attract public attention.