• Health Policy and Management
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• v.28 no.2
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• pp.186-193
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• 2018

Background: The aim of our study was to review the findings of health insurance fraud investigations and to evaluate their impacts on medical costs for target and non-target organizations. An interrupted time series study design using generalized estimation equations was used to evaluate changes in cost following fraud investigations. Methods: We used National Health Insurance claims data from 2009 to 2015, which included 20,625 medical institutions (1,614 target organizations and 19,011 non-target organizations). Outcome variable included cost change after fraud investigation. Results: Following the initiation of fraud investigations, we found statistically significant reductions in cost level for target organizations (-1.40%, p<0.001). In addition, a reduction in cost trend change per month was found for both target organizations and non-target organizations after fraud investigation (target organizations, -0.33%; non-target organizations of same region, -0.19%; non-target organizations of other regions, -0.17%). Conclusion: This study suggested that fraud investigations are associated with cost reduction in target organization. We also found similar effects of fraud investigations on health expenditure for non-target organizations located in the same region and in different regions. Our finding suggests that fraud investigations are important in controlling the growth of health expenditure. To maximize the effects of fraud investigation on the growth of health expenditure, more organizations needed to be considered as target organizations.

• Journal of Korean Society of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene
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• v.29 no.1
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• pp.57-68
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• 2019

Objective: The purpose of this study is to propose the benefits of reduction measures according to the occupational radon reference level in order to present basic data for radon management guidelines considering domestic circumstances. Methods: This study uses radon data measured in the subway stations from 2015 to 2016. Of the total of 4,643 cases, 4,231 cases were analyzed excluding the 412 cases where the values were below $300Bq/m^3$. Results: Cost-Benefit analysis was done on the results of the field survey on subway work sites. At the exposure level of $400Bq/m^3$, the ratio between the cost and the benefit was highest at 1 : 1.81(the cost was KRW 1,398,568,032, while the benefit KRW 2,5248,772,841). At the exposure level of $600Bq/m^3$, the ratio of cost and benefit was 1: 1.80, at $300Bq/m^3$ it was 1.72, at $800Bq/m^3$ it was 1.71, at $200Bq/m^3$ it was 1.54, and at $100Bq/m^3$ it was 1.40. Conclusions: Radon management in the workplace provides economic benefits and appropriate reduction strategies are needed. In addition, it is necessary to establish and distribute radon exposure assessment procedures and guidelines for the safety and health of employees when exceeding the exposure standard, and guidelines for radon management in the workplace should be established.

• Journal of Korean Academy of Nursing Administration
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• v.2 no.2
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• pp.59-71
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• 1996

Today, quality management is appearing as a critical issue in the field of health care service, partly because of increasing cost of health care. And qualified health care is also accepted as the right of clients, and the responsibility of health professions. So nursing profession can survive and develop only through the quality management of nursing practice like other health professions. Recently, Consumers of nursing service require the effectiveness and the efficiency of nursing practice. Effectiveness and efficiency of nursing practice can be accomplished by outcome evaluation. The focus of outcome evaluation in nurisng practice is on the change which occures in patient's health status with nurisng intervention. Evaluation of outcome is difficult because of some related problems which should be solved, or managed. These problems could be classified as problems of measurement, and attribution. To solve the problems and to evaluate the outcome in nursing practice more accurately, following tasks were suggested. 1) Outcome indicators, and outcome measurement tools should be developed. For these purpose, outcome variables that nursing interventions can contribute primarily should be found out. Also, outcome variables which are driven from nursing theories should be developed. 2) Outcome researches which can explain the effect of nursing care to patient outcomes should be performed. The outcome researches are the methods which can increase the power of nursing profession. 3) Models which can be used for the systematic and scientific quality management in nursing practice should be developed. The models should include outcome variables, and be able to explain the relationship between structure, process, and outcome aspects of quality management. 4) The method which can make patients participate in the evaluation process of quality of nursing practice should be devised. Because outcome evaluation is client-focused evaluation, the perspectives of patients should be emphasized, and reflected in the process of evaluation.

• Journal of Korean Clinical Nursing Research
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• v.23 no.2
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• pp.236-247
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• 2017

Purpose: This study was to present improvement strategy and the problems of the nursing fee in national health insurance system. Methods: A total of 23 nursing activities performed by nurses were selected. Data were collected the relative value score and criteria of the Health Insurance Review & Assessment Agency. Sixty clinical nursing experts panels were composed and nursing time surveyed self-reported method. The actual fee was calculated through the nursing time, relative value score and actual labor costs. Nextly, the labor costs analyzed was compared with that in the national health insurance. Results: Although the practices were mainly performed by the nurse, other occupations have been recorded as main practitioners and the time of the nursing activity is partially improperly reflected. Additionally, although the nurse practiced mainly in glucose (semi-quantitative) test, it was confirmed that the principal practitioner was described as a clinical pathologist. The the labor cost gap was estimated that is 9.3 times (median) and 11.9 times (average) in this analysis. Conclusion: This study suggests that it is necessary to legislate a policy that can improve the quality of clinical nursing by reinforcing the appropriateness and improving nursing fee through reflection of the actual time spent for nursing care.

• Journal of Korean Academy of Nursing
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• v.34 no.8
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• pp.1460-1467
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• 2004

Purpose. This study examined the predictive factors enabling access to children's oral health care at the level of financial barriers, beliefs, and the provider. Methods. In-depth interviews were conducted with 320 immigrant mothers of low-income families regarding their use of oral health services for children aged four to eight years old. Access to oral health care was measured with frequency of planned dental visits, continuity of care, and age at first visit to dentist. Results. The mother took her child to the dentist at a younger age if she received referrals to a dentist from pediatrician. Regular dental visits were significantly related to household income, provider availability on week-ends, and insurance coverage. The extended clinic hours in the evenings, and the belief in the importance of the child's regular dentist visits increased the likelihood of continuing care. The mothers perceiving a cost burden for the child's dental care were also less likely to return to the dentist. Conclusion. The available care delivery system, coordinated medical care, and health beliefs were among important predictors of the health service use. The study findings suggest need for culturally competent dental health interventions to enhance access to oral health care among particularly vulnerable populations such as low-income children in Korean communities.

• Korean Circulation Journal
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• v.53 no.11
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• pp.727-743
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• 2023

Although cardiac rehabilitation (CR) has been shown to improve exercise tolerance and prognosis in patients with cardiovascular diseases, there remains low participation in outpatient CR. This may be attributed to the patients' busy schedules and difficulty in visiting the hospital due to distance, cost, avoidance of exercise, and severity of coronary disease. To overcome these challenges, many countries are exploring the possibility of remote CR. Specifically, there is increasing attention on the development of remote CR devices, which allow transmission of vital information to the hospital via a remote CR application linked to a wearable device for telemonitoring by dedicated hospital staff. In addition, remote CR programs can support return to work after hospitalization. Previous studies have demonstrated the effects of remote CR on exercise tolerance. However, the preventive effects of remote CR on cardiac events and mortality remain controversial. Thus, safe and effective remote CR requires exercise risk stratification for each patient, telenursing by skilled staff, and multidisciplinary interventions. Therefore, quality assurance of telenursing and multi-disciplinary interventions will be essential for remote CR. Remote CR may become an important part of cardiac management in the future. However, issues such as cost-effectiveness and insurance coverage still persist.

• Journal of Korean Critical Care Nursing
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• v.6 no.2
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• pp.65-77
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• 2013

Purpose: The purpose of the study was to analyze the nursing activities related to continuous renal replacement therapy (CRRT) in the intensive care units (ICU). Methods: We developed a list of 31 CRRT related nursing activities based on literature review and reviewed by expert group. A total of 109 direct time measurement records by 43 ICU nurses were collected and analyzed in terms of total time per shift, frequency, standard time, difficulty and performance levels of each CRRT nursing activity. Results: The mean time for CRRT nursing activity was 85.60 minutes per 8 hour shift. Nurses have spent average $9.46{\pm}6.98$ minutes in a shift for "waste fluid bag change" activity. In addition, "check catheter location" was the most time consuming single activity. The most difficult activity was "counseling-answer" and the most competent one was "dialysis solutions change". Conclusion: The CRRT nursing activities accounted for a significant portion of total nursing workload. Practical allocation of nursing staff for CRRT patient along with development of a new nursing cost system need to be considered. Continuous nursing educational and training programs on CRRT should be developed.

• Research in Community and Public Health Nursing
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• v.8 no.1
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• pp.21-30
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• 1997

The purpose of the study is to establish the nurses engaged in blood donation business right cognition and supply base data to make out proper directed blood donation rule through investigation of actual condition and general issue related to directed blood donation. In this study I searched for related reference and computed the directed blood donors in seoul national university hospital blood bank. The directed blood donation in Korea have been increased for supplying fresh whole blood and plateletpheresis donor blood. The most blood donation in the blood bank belong to hospital are directed blood donation. The benefits of directed blood donation are enlargement blood donor, easy insurance a demand type of blood. But that program also give rise to recipient severe burden, additional cost and confused blood donation system. First of all for lessening the burden of the recipient and the directed blood donor, blood donation site, time, cost and procedure must be repared by proper rules. An alternative plans for the directed blood donation are autologous blood program and donor registration system.

• Journal of Korean Academy of Nursing
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• v.30 no.6
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• pp.1543-1555
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• 2000

Home health care is moving into a set of new realities. An era of competition and cost containment has arrived. Before nurses are able to contain costs or describe the relationship between nursing activities, cost must be accurately measured based on the nurse's workload. Nurses in home health care usually desire to measure expenses for one of three reasons : reimbursement, management, or research. The purpose of the study was to investigate the work input by Registered Nurse in each of the home health care activities by relative value units and identify the factors affecting the nurses' total work input in health care services. To measure the work input by nurses, work was defined by four dimensions: time, physical effort, mental effort, and stress. This study used a descriptive-correlational design. Data collection consisted of two phases. In phase I, data on home health activities performed by nurses were collected. In phase II, data on nurses' time, physical effort, mental effort, and stress in each of home health care activities discovered phase I were collected. In this method, the respondent was asked to rate a service in relation to a reference service using a ratio scale. The sample included 39 home health care nurses. The results of the study indicated that home health care activities performed by the nurses were in 10 categories and 69 items. Measuring the relative work inputs in each of home health care activities, and foley catheterization was selected as the reference to service. In terms of time and physical effort dimensions, full bath service was rated as the most strenuous among 69 activities by the respondents, and intramuscular injection was rated as least. It was found that emergency treatment required the highest mental effort and the highest stress, while blood sugar tests required the lowest mental effort. Approximately 91.3% of the variance in total work input was accounted for by the linear combination of time, physical effort, mental effort judgement, and stress. Examining the regression coefficients of those variables, physical effort, time, and stress were found as the predictors which were significantly associated with the total work of nurses in home health care. Professional nursing's next step in the conundrum of economic volatility is to develop a tool to reflect the interaction of functional deficiency and direct professional nursing care. And this will be a more accurate predictor of nursing resource use and ultimately a great forcaeter cost.

• Journal of Korean Academy of Nursing
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• v.45 no.3
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• pp.429-438
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• 2015

Purpose: This study was conducted to develop key performance indicators (KPIs) for home care nursing (HCN) based on a balanced scorecard, and to construct a performance prediction model of strategic objectives using the Bayesian Belief Network (BBN). Methods: This methodological study included four steps: establishment of KPIs, performance prediction modeling, development of a performance prediction model using BBN, and simulation of a suggested nursing management strategy. An HCN expert group and a staff group participated. The content validity index was analyzed using STATA 13.0, and BBN was analyzed using HUGIN 8.0. Results: We generated a list of KPIs composed of 4 perspectives, 10 strategic objectives, and 31 KPIs. In the validity test of the performance prediction model, the factor with the greatest variance for increasing profit was maximum cost reduction of HCN services. The factor with the smallest variance for increasing profit was a minimum image improvement for HCN. During sensitivity analysis, the probability of the expert group did not affect the sensitivity. Furthermore, simulation of a 10% image improvement predicted the most effective way to increase profit. Conclusion: KPIs of HCN can estimate financial and non-financial performance. The performance prediction model for HCN will be useful to improve performance.