• Journal of the Korea Convergence Society
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• v.11 no.8
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• pp.71-76
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• 2020

This study measured radioactive surface contamination in general public restrooms in hospitals and in dedicated toilets for nuclear medicine. The measurement method was measured using Berthold (LB 124, Germany) at the entrance to the restroom, inside the restroom, around the restroom, in the urinal, and around the urinal. As a result of the use of the restroom, there was no dedicated place waiting for patients who received radioisotopes in one of the three hospitals. As a result of measuring the restroom for exclusive use of radioisotopes, all measurement sites in the radioiodine therapy room were the highest, and the results of measuring the public restrooms showed background level contamination at all hospitals except hospital B. However, it was measured as 8.073 Bq/㎠ and 6.426 Bq/㎠ in the urinals in the public restroom on the first floor of the B hospital. Therefore, it is recommended to explain the dangers of radiation exposure to patients and provide a place for patients to wait. In addition, a plan should be sought to prevent patients from receiving radioisotopes from using unnecessary movements and general public restrooms.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• v.56 no.2
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• pp.147-152
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• 2018

This prospective study was aimed to detect acute and chronic ocular toxoplasmosis by comparison of anti-Toxoplasma gondii IgM and IgG antibody levels and IgG avidity test. One hundred and seventeen patients with ocular toxoplasmosis (OT) who referred to the Farabi Eye Hospital, Tehran, Iran were included in this study. Of the patients, 77 cases were positive for anti-T. gondii IgG, and 8 cases were positive for anti-T. gondii IgM. IgG avidity test revealed 11, 4, and 102 cases were low, intermediate, and high, respectively, and 6.8% and 9.4% of cases were positive for IgM and IgG avidity tests, respectively (P=0.632). Agreement (Kappa value) between paired tests IgG-IgM, IgG-IgG avidity, and IgM-IgG avidity was 0.080, 0.099, and 0.721, respectively (P<0.05). This study showed that conventional serologic tests (IgM and IgG levels) and IgG avidity correlate well each other and can be used to differentiate recent infections from old OT. It seems that reactivated old infections rather than recently acquired infections are majority of Iranian OT patients.

• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
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• v.43 no.3
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• pp.214-222
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• 2017

Objectives: A hospital is a complex building that serves many different purposes. The indoor environment in a hospital plays a major role in patient well-being and the work efficiency of the hospital staff. This study was conducted to evaluate overall comfort in two major hospitals over the course of one year. Methods: Various indoor environmental conditions were measured in two general hospitals for one year (April 2014 to April 2015). Monitoring alternated between the hospitals at one month per respective monitoring session. The indoor air temperature, relative humidity (RH), mean radiant temperature and air velocity were measured in order to calculate the predicted mean vote (PMV). Carbon dioxide concentration, noise level and illumination level were concurrently measured and applied to the overall IEQ acceptance model for the hospitals (IEQh). Results: The IEQh at the two general hospitals was different at five spaces within a building. The IEQh for summer and winter were significantly different. Real-time IEQh demonstrated that indoor comfort was affected by the hospital's operating hours due to operation of the HVAC system. The percentage of indoor comfort in the hospitals was higher using PMV than IEQh. Conclusion: IEQh in the hospitals was different at locations with different purposes. Indoor comfort assessment using IEQh was stricter than with PMV. Additional research is needed in order to optimize the IEQh model.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.24 no.3 s.35
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• pp.400-413
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• 1991

The purpose of this paper is to identify factors affecting the optimum mix of required inputs and other relevant factors which account for the variation in physician's productivity in general hospitals, and to find out their implications for the efficient health planning and management. An extended version of Cobb-Douglas production function and cross sectional data of one day patient census from all general hospitals in Korea in 1988 were used in the analysis. Main results of the analysis and their implications could be summarized as follows : (1) The production function for physician's inpatient service shows the evidence of economies of scale, but the production function for physician's outpatient and adjusted-patient service, which combines both out- and in-patient service, shows that of dis-economies of scale. (2) The physician's role for production for all service is smaller than auxiliary personnel's, which imply that more intensive utilization of nurses, nursing aides and other auxiliary personnel is desirable for improving general hospital productivity (3) In case of physician's inpatient and adjusted-patient service, nurses' role is greater than nursing aides'. Therefore, more extensive utilization of nurses is recommended for the efficient operation of general hospitals. (4) The factor of hospital beds plays the leading role among required inputs in the production for physician's in- and adjusted-patient service. (5) The physician's productivity of general hospitals in rural area is lower than that in urban area. And the productivity of teaching hospitals is lower than that of the other hospitals. Further analysis was made in physician production function based upon the size of hospitals, namely those hospitals below 250 beds and those above. Explained variances by the factor of hospital beds was significantly increased in the case of those hospitals above 250. A more detailed and thorough investigation is needed for verifying factors influencing physician's productivity in general hospitals in Korea.

• The Journal of the Korea Contents Association
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• v.16 no.12
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• pp.761-771
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• 2016

This study is significant for its proposed health care quality improvement methods to study the relationship between the medical service quality and customer loyalty in the regional hub public hospital. The subjects were selected 604 people who visited the regional hub public hospital to customers from June 9 to June 30, 2014 as the final survey. The analysis was conducted hierarchical regression analysis to identify factors affecting the reliability factor analysis and customer loyalty. In conclusion showed that accessibility factors affecting customer loyalty, awareness hospital, the perceived value of cost-effectiveness, human services on a significant impact. The regional hub public hospitals by focusing efforts I have a continuity of customer care through constant management in order to provide quality health care, increase the frequency of use and loyalty are needed.

• Korea Journal of Hospital Management
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• v.28 no.1
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• pp.37-51
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• 2023

Purposes: There exist many non-covered services that the National Health Insurance does not cover, and thus, their prices are set by individual health care providers. However, little study has been done to investigate how hospitals set prices for those services. The purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between ownership, profitability, and prices of those services for a sample of general hospitals. Methodology/Approach: Data regarding the prices of major non-covered services (e.g., upper-level hospital room fees, MRI, Da 7inci robot surgery, and LASIK) were obtained from the Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service and the financial information, as well as other characteristics, were derived from the financial reports from the Korea Health Industry Development Institute. Descriptive statistics, t-tests, and multiple linear regression analyses were used to test the relationship between the independent variables and the dependent variables. Findings: Hospitals owned by private universities appeared to have higher prices for non-covered services while regional public hospitals tend to have lower prices. Profitability, measured by operating margin, was not significantly related to the prices. Hospitals that charge higher prices were more likely to be located in the capital area (Seoul, Incheon, and Gyeonggi), and to employ larger number of personnel. Practical Implications: Public hospitals tend to charge lower prices for non-covered services. Relative market power appears to be related to pricing. Further research is needed to investigate whether such a relationship varies over time and its effects on the quality and access.

• Journal of Digital Convergence
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• v.21 no.1
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• pp.19-27
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• 2023

This is an implementation study towards the development of a strategy to improve the pneumonia adequacy evaluation index of regional public hospital and to confirm its effectiveness. One physician, eight nurses, one computer room staff, and one nursing professor working at a regional base public hospital located in N city participated in this study from March to October 2021. An implementation study was conducted based on the conceptual model of Zuber-Skerritt & Fletcher. The stages of planning, implementation, evaluation, and reflection were operated in two cycles, and the effectiveness was evaluated in the second and third quarters. Compared to the pneumonia adequacy evaluation index in 2019, all indicators reached 100% of the standard target in 2021. The results of this study therefore infer that to provide higher quality medical services in the future, it is necessary to apply medical quality improvement activities through practical research under multidisciplinary participation and cooperation and to review the applicability of clinical sites.

• The Journal of the Korea Contents Association
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• v.14 no.1
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• pp.318-325
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• 2014

The aim is to analyze a performance evaluation of local governmental public hospitals. Data were collected from public disclosure system DB of National Tax Service on 15 July 2013. Twenty-two income statements of local governmental public hospitals were analyzed using descriptive statistic analysis. The analyzing factors were medical operating profit, contribution margin, and trend of operating profit. The important result was that the medical operating profit was negative, average medical operating profit was -4,678.9 million won. However, the contribution margin was positive in all local governmental public hospitals, and average contribution margin was 12,572.5 million won. The trend of operating profit was positive in 15 local governmental public hospitals between 2011 and 2012. The average increased operating profit was 1,299.1 million won. Through this result, we suggest that not only individual public health hospital perspective, but also the enterprise wide perspective like nation was significantly considered to make decision of closure or maintain of local governmental public hospitals.

• The Journal of the Korea Contents Association
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• v.21 no.5
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• pp.525-537
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• 2021

Since the late 1990s, public nursing hospitals have been established, and as of 2018, 79 hospitals account for 5.1% of all nursing hospitals. Announcing the public Moon Jae-in dementia in the state government responsibility for the convalescent hospital with dementia to patients for specified to the hospital with severe dementia specialist care institution. A different policy options and development. In this regard, the Dementia Management Act was revised in 2018 to provide a legal basis for the operation evaluation of public nursing hospitals, and this evaluation will begin in 2020. As part of the study to conduct the operation evaluation of public nursing hospitals to be implemented from 2020, the research established a function to foster public nursing hospitals as specialized institutions for dementia patients and competent institutions for treating rehabilitation patients during the period of recovery, and developed an evaluation system to evaluate their behavior as medical services, public nature and public institutions.

• Korea Journal of Hospital Management
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• v.27 no.3
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• pp.26-38
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• 2022

Purposes: We analyzed the profitability determinants of regional public hospitals during the entire period between 2010 and 2020 and the period before and after COVID-19. We intended to provide fundamental data for developing publicness evaluation index and task of establishing and expanding regional public hospitals. Methodology: The financial and non-financial information of the regional public hospitals were used as the main analysis data; The financial data was established by the Center for Public Healthcare Policy of National Medical Center, and the non-financial data by the Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service. T-test and regression analysis were used. Findings: The results can be summarized in two. First, the main determinants of profitability of the regional public hospitals were appeared to be the total asset turnover rate and the labor cost rate. Second, during the COVID-19 pandemic in the regional public hospitals, the number of sickbeds, the number of isolation rooms, the total asset turnover rate and the labor cost rate appeared to be the factor worsening the profitability. Practical Implication: The results of this study suggests that the management of the regional public hospitals is not aiming for the profit making, but it performs the functions as the community healthcare safety net such as controlling infectious diseases.