• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.52 no.6
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• pp.579-589
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• 2002

Since the inception of the National Tuberculosis Control Program in 1962, the incidence of tuberculosis and its associated mortality has declined dramatically due to effective anti-tuberculosis drugs and a systematic control program. The prevalence of radiographically active tuberculosis has fallen from 5.1% in 1965 to 1.0% in 1995. However, tuberculosis is still a major problem, as the mortality rate is still higher compared to other developed countries. Furthermore, tuberculosis is currently re-emerging in HIV/AIDS epidemic countries. In order to lower the tuberculosis death rate to the levels of developed countries, the tuberculosis control efforts in private healthcare institutions and the national tuberculosis control program in the public sector, need to work together more effectively and efficiently. In this paper, the quthor reviewed the current situation regarding tuberculosis management in private healthcare institutions of Korea based on the literature and the National Health Insurance Claim data, and the future tasks of tuberculosis management are suggested.

• Health Policy and Management
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• v.26 no.1
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• pp.4-11
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• 2016

Background: Hospital admissions for ambulatory care sensitive conditions (ACSCs), which are widely used as an indicator of poor access to primary care, can be used as an efficiency indicator of healthcare use in countries providing good access to health care. Korea, which has a national health insurance (NHI) system and a good supply of health care resources, is one such country. To quantify admission rates of ACSC and identify characteristics influencing variation in Korean health care institutions. Methods: By using NHI claims data, we computed the mean ACSC admission rate for all institutions with ACSC admissions. Results: The average ACSC admission rate for 4,461 institutions was 1.45%. Hospitals and clinics with inpatient beds showed larger variations in the ACSC admission rate (0%-87.9% and 0%-99.6%, respectively) and a higher coefficient of variation (7.96 and 2.29) than general/tertiary care hospitals (0%-19.1%, 0.85). The regression analysis results indicate that the ACSC admission rate was significantly higher for hospitals than for clinics (${\beta}=0.986$, p<0.05), and for private corporate institutions than public institutions (${\beta}=0.271$, p<0.05). Conclusion: Substantial variations in ACSC admission rates could suggest the potential problem of inefficient use of healthcare resources. Since hospitals and private corporate institutions tend to increase ACSC admission rates, future health policy should focus on these types of institutions.

• Korea Journal of Hospital Management
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• v.22 no.2
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• pp.58-69
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• 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 Society of Preventive Korean Medicine
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• v.28 no.1
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• pp.59-67
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• 2024

Objectives : This study aims to systematically examine the determinants of the intention to take herbal medicine among individuals with experience in Korean medicine. Methods : This study utilized the 3,245 respondents from the 2020 Korean Medicine Utilization and Herbal Medicine Consumption Survey who reported having used Korean medical services; the responses were selected through a complex sample analysis, and analytics techniques including frequency analysis, Rao-scott chisquare test, and logistic regression were used to analyze the responses. Results : The results of data analysis reveal that the intention to take herbal medicine in the future among these individuals was significantly influenced by factors such as enrollment in private health insurance, the facility environment of Korean medical institutions, and treatment outcomes. Conclusions : Therefore, it is imperative for Korean medical institutions to continuously try reasonable action strategies, including improving medical facilities/environments and building institutional mechanisms among medical staff and members to enhance the quality of Korean medical services. Additionally, the Ministry of Health and Welfare needs to make policy efforts to reduce patients' medical expenses, such as reducing the co-insurance rate in the pilot project of applying health insurance to herbal medicine.

• Health Policy and Management
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• v.16 no.3
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• pp.19-36
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• 2006

The purpose of this study was to assess adequately equipped with convenience facilities for the disabled in 160 healthcare institutions in Jongno district, Seoul. Healthcare institutions were equipped an average of 3.7 facilities out of 10. General hospitals had an average of 5.0 facilities, which was higher than an average of 3.6 facilities for private clinics (p<0.05). Of 160 healthcare institutions, only 13 (8.1%) offered easy access to the outpatient setting from the entrance for wheelchair users, highlighting difficult wheelchair access within hospitals. To provide easy access to medical service for the disabled, more accessible designs need to be adopted as part of the effort to improve public facilities for the disabled. Also, universal designs could be applied for newly constructed roads, structures and transportation vehicles to maximize accessibility for the disabled. Increased accessibility for the disabled in the community will eventually increase the use of healthcare institutions.

• Journal of The Korea Institute of Healthcare Architecture
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• v.19 no.4
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• pp.29-36
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• 2013

Purpose: Currently meaning and the needs of the times for the mental health are extensively changing. Contemporary needs for mental health has led to a change in the mental health policy and mental health facilities. But Change on Most of the mental health facilities have been focused on quantitative increase. So, changes in mental health facilities due to changes in mental health policy are needed for the study. This study investigate to the mental health facility system through this changes. Methods: In order to determine the flow of Mental health policy in Korea the mental health laws and reports were investigated Results: the result of this study can be summarized into two points. Korea's mental health policy has changed from the rehabilitation of the mentally ill to the prophylaxis of all the people. So, mental health facilities are changing form rehabilitation facilities in the private sector to public mental health center. Especially, mental medical institutions and mental health center are changing to requirement for the needs of the times. Mental medical institutions are changing from inpatient to outpatient and mental health center are changing from the rehabilitation of the mentally ill to the prophylaxis of all the people. Implications: Understand the flow of mental health policy, mental health facilities and the corresponding need.

• The Journal of Health Technology Assessment
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• v.6 no.2
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• pp.81-87
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• 2018

With the recent change of healthcare environment including rapid technological development, evidences are more and more important and necessary to support relevant policies in health technology assessment to provide safe and effective health services, utilizing medical resources efficiently. Despite of the emphasis on the importance of real world data and real world evidence in health care research, current infrastructure supporting clinical research is considerably weak due to absence of legal and institutional basis. However, in accordance with the Article 26 of the Health and Medical Technology Promotion Act, there is a limited legal apparatus that can be used only in public data with other dataset for the purpose of healthcare technology assessment at the National Evidence-based Collaborating Agency. Although the use of linked data from various sources was often required in the field of clinical research, it was not yet working well due to insufficient environmental conditions. In order to support the decision-making of medical practice and health care policies, data-linking platform for clinical research is needed. If the legal system that can link up to the data of the private institutions without violating the significant value such as the protection of private informations is established, it will be a decisive foundation reinforcing the researches and policy making processes for the improvement of the national health care system.

• Korean Medical Education Review
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• v.24 no.1
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• pp.10-17
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• 2022

South Korea is not a wasteland of publicly funded health care-instead, it has a good medical social security system known as the national health insurance (NHI). The NHI of Korea has three unique features; (1) low premiums, low insurance fees, and low coverage; (2) obligatory designation of medical institutions; (3) and allowance of non-benefit services. These features have made hospitals and doctors interested in profit-seeking. However, the commercialization of medical institutions has taken place in both private- and public-established sectors. A basic problem of commercialization is the co-existence of the obligatory designation of medical institutions and non-benefit services. The problem became worse in the Kim Dae-Jung government because it officially permitted non-benefit services. Since 2000, the Korean government has consistently pursued benefit extension policies, but the coverage rates of the NHI have stagnated. In addition, premiums and current medical expenses have markedly increased because policy-makers have emphasized accessibility to the NHI, while ignoring important principles of medical social security such as a needs-based approach and patient-referral system. In order to resolve the commercialization problem, the obligatory designation of medical institutions to the NHI should be changed to a contract system, and non-benefit services should be prohibited at NHI institutions. We must re-establish the patient-referral system via a needs-based approach. We also need to build a primary healthcare system and public health policies. We should make a long-term plan for healthcare reform.

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

• Journal of The Korea Institute of Healthcare Architecture
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• v.11 no.3
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• pp.19-30
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• 2005

As the population of the elderly increases drastically year by year in Korea, the more welfare centers for them are greatly needed. There are, however, a small number of public geriatric hospitals currently available. And a limited number of private-founded geriatric centers are under construction throughout the country. And the systematic standards for the spacial composition and departmental area distribution for them are not satisfactorily set up yet. The analytical study of the space composition and area distribution of the hospitals in question shows that publicly-shared spaces, such as day-room and lobby, are much more useful for their communications than private spaces, such as shut-in living rooms. It also shows that in-yards or in-gardens which are located in the center of the wards are very helpful for their comfortable long-term hospitalization. The shared spaces are recommended to be in sight of and within earshot of their caretakers. In relation with out-patient departments, the programs for the local elderly residents, such as the day-care center and recreation facilities are recommended to be prepared for their physical care and emotional treatment at a time by municipal welfare centers rather than by private institutions. The analytic study carried out in terms of departmental area distributions reveals that the areas for the wards are generally wider and areas for out-patient/or diagnosis departments are relatively narrower than those in the general hospitals. These area distributions seem to have come from the considerations of their relatively long-term staying in the centers than general hospitals and their mental stability as well.