• Journal of agricultural medicine and community health
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• v.25 no.2
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• pp.217-230
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• 2000

For the longest time, our government has played an inconsiderable role in the public health services of Korea, especially as it relates to their investment. Voices have cried out against increases in national health expenditure and for more establishment of public medical facilities. In light of this, the necessity and importance of public medical facilities have come into focus amidst the recent medical crisis. When public medical facilities filled in the gap created by the suspension or closure of private hospitals and clinics as a result of this national crisis and acted as a safety net, the demand for more establishment of such facilities increased. Although patient diagnosis and treatment are the first priority of public medical facilities, they must also deal with scopes that private medical facilities do not deal with, dislike, or have difficulty with. In this respect, the closure or privatization of public hospitals to reduce their number just because of their low profits or financial burdens that must be carried by the government is to ignore their innate importance and social role; therefore, we must do all we can to block such efforts and further empower these public health facilities according to demands of the time. The improvement of public health services can be realized by redefining its goals and roles, increasing government funding, strengthening of existing public health facilities and reorganizing the public health services system. Even if public health facilities were to increase their medical services and be reinforced, they cannot take on all the services related to public health services, Therefore, in a country like ours where public health services come second to private health services in the health care system, the health of citizens can be safeguarded only when private and public facilities cooperate and private medical facilities share the social responsibilities. Only the show of interest and effort by government, politicians, health professionals, professional organizations and public can initiate the improvement that is sought.

• Health Policy and Management
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• v.11 no.1
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• pp.107-130
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• 2001

During the last year, we had a very severe situation with the strike of physicians working in medical facilities. From that time, many politicians and scholars insisted on the expansion of public hospitals to enhance the public role in the medical care sector. They think that private medical facilities work for profit motivation and that the high proportion of private to whole facilities is an obstacle to the public function of medical care under social insurance system. They found that one of the reasons for failing to prevent the physicians' strike was the high proportion of private facilities. Others insisted that the strike was not a good reason for the expansion of public hospitals. The physicians' strike was a very rare case, and it is not a good basis for generalization of the discussion of public hospitals. Last year almost all apprentice physicians in public facilities took part in the strike, and consequently the public hospitals also lost the role of public function. They view this increasing involvement of government in the medical sector as improper and the cause of inefficiencies. In this paper we review the debate over the expansion of public facilities. To clarify the debate, we review traditional criteria for the role of government in a market system and to apply these criteria to medical care. There are two traditional areas where government Is acknowledged to have a role in a market system: market imperfections and market failure. Where market imperfections and market failure exist, there may be a role for government. The justifications for government intervention are consumer protection and the existence of externalities. One of externalities is to provide medical care for the poor. The appropriate measures to provide medical owe to the poor can be sought in both demand and supply side subsidies. National health insurance is a method of demand subsidies and establishment of public hospitals is a method of supply side subsidies. Under the National Health Insurance System, the expansion of public hospitals is not an appropriate subsidy policy.

• Journal of Wellbeing Management and Applied Psychology
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• v.6 no.2
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• pp.1-7
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• 2023

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to investigate the characteristics of airborne radon concentration by season in public-use facilities in South Korea. Research design, data and methodology: The data is provided by the public data portal, and public-use facilities nationwide where radon in the air is measured are specialized sanatorium for senior citizens, libraries, childcare facilities, postpartum care centers, medical institutions, funeral halls, underground shopping malls, and underground subway stations. Results: The facility with the highest radon concentration in public-use facilities was childcare facilities with an average of 50.2 ± 21.7 Bq/m³, while the average of medical institutions was the lowest at 24.8 ± 5.7 Bq/m³. The season with the largest difference in average radon concentration between childcare facilities and medical institutions was in the order of fall (28.6 Bq/m³), followed by winter (28.1 Bq/m³), spring (23.0 Bq/m³), and summer (22.0 Bq/m³). Conclusions: The main concentration levels of each public-use facility shown in this study are all below domestic and international standards, but there is a significant concentration difference between facilities. By season, winter showed the highest average concentration (40.6 ± 21.3 Bq/m³) and summer showed the lowest average concentration (23.8 ± 14.0 Bq/m³).

• The Korean Journal of Emergency Medical Services
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• v.14 no.3
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• pp.13-28
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• 2010

Purpose: In this study, we investigated the better application of the law which is about the AED installation and more effective ways of emergency medical care system, to understand the law and to research the current condition of public facilities which belong to local governments, and to seize the aspect of safety guards who currently work in order to provide the installation of AED in the public facilities and to provide more efficient emergency medical service with the effectuation of the immunity law of the good intention of first-aid treatment. Methods: In Gwang-ju, 234 public facilities have been identified by 31 December, 2008. With the exception of the duplication, we researched 158 facilities and received the answers from 95 of them. Results: In the research, 53% of them have had internal emergency first-aid education, and 55% of them didn't have this education and a CPR education manual, and 30% of the facilities even didn't know how to connect with the manager of the company for the first-aid department. On the other hand, most of them were highly interested in CPR and AED education on the ratio of 91% and 93%. 88% of them have been trained about first-aid, 51% of them haven't been retrained, 17% have never been trained. so, the reality of emergency system at public facilities is serious. 78% of them knew they are working at public facilities, though 49% of them didn't know about AED installation. 57% of them didn't know the fact there is the immunity law related with good intentions for first-aid treatment. 63% of the facilities have security guards, and 30% of them didn't answer the questions. Also, many of them agreed to the opinion that all employees should have first-aid training. At representative survey report of participator of public-facility, emergency treatment is 61%, 16% of patients calling. Accordingly they importantly think better doing an on-site first-aid than evacuating the patient. And the rates show that 57% of them answerers tend to call Fire-Office(119) for evacuating the patients, and 28% of them EMIC(1339) for the first-aid. Conclusions: In this study, we are suggest to improve the details of the efficient operations and management after the grasp of the uninstallation, indifference, and unreliable conditions of AED. 1) Need a publicity of AED install cognition which is an emergency medical instrument at public facilities. 2) Arrangement of safety agents at facilities and concerns about them for good management from the parties concerned. 3) Need a designation of legal details according to the decision of the AED installation and the standard of the AED installation. 4) Training about first-aid of safety guards and the persons concerned in the facilities should be practiced participation with the positive and through this, first-aid treatment could be done by anyone who knows the immunity law related to medical emergency. 5) The brochures for the potential users and the results form practicing the instructions need to be improved in many ways through recording the emergency cases that have happened.

• Health Policy and Management
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• v.33 no.3
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• pp.370-375
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• 2023

The responsibility to ensure the health rights of detainees, particularly their medical rights, fundamentally lies with the state in all nations. However, in the correctional facilities of the Republic of Korea, these rights are currently not adequately safeguarded. Numerous detainees express dissatisfaction with the medical services provided and show a preference for voluntary external treatment. However, barriers such as prolonged application processes for external treatment and the requirement for detainees to cover their medical expenses present significant challenges. Therefore, the National Human Rights Commission of Korea has advocated for an increased medical budget in correctional facilities and a bolstered professional medical workforce to improve the medical care of detainees. Recommendations for improvements include: (1) establishing dedicated correctional hospitals for detainees, (2) setting up specialized correctional wards, (3) collaborating with military hospitals, (4) launching mobile medical buses for diverse specialties, (5) enhancing collaboration with public and private medical institutions, (6) increasing compensation for partnering external medical institutions, (7) improving the working conditions of medical officers, (8) safeguarding the defense rights of medical staff, (9) improving the working conditions of public health doctors from the Ministry of Justice in correctional facilities, and (10) pre-assigning public health specialists and military doctors to correctional facilities. By implementing these measures, it is anticipated that the quality of medical services in the Republic of Korea's correctional facilities will improve, reducing the demand for external treatments among detainees and ensuring their health and medical rights are realistically upheld.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Rural Architecture
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• v.17 no.4
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• pp.33-40
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• 2015

This study is aimed at exploring the direction and characteristics of Japanese medical facility improvement in each area, a move to strengthen local medical services. Also, this study is intended to establish implications for Korea, which has similar social conditions as Japan's. Based on the findings, Japanese medical facility improvement has the following characteristics. First, as for medical service supply system, the linkage between facilities was being strengthened. The purpose is to share the functions and roles of limited medical facilities. It allows patients to receive complete medical services in one area. Second, local public health facilities were consolidated to boost their management efficiency and to improvement their original functions. Third, local medical facility roles were divided into different levels. The purpose is to treat patients more efficiently depending on their diseases. In other words, the cooperative medical system was strengthened by dividing the roles of medical facilities. It is aimed at treating each patient more systematically depending on their conditions in line with the treatment stage. The findings suggest the following for Korea. In order to supply and maintain stable medical services regionally in line with social changes, functional issues of medical facilities should be tackled consistently and systematically.

• Journal of agricultural medicine and community health
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.113-121
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• 1992

In order to estimate the pattern of medical care utilization and recognition for health factor among the inhabitants in Wan-do district which is located off the southern seashore from mainland Korea, household interview survey was performed from January 15 to 30, 1990 in Wan-do Gun area. The results observed were following: 1. Among the users of medical facilities 40.8% used public health facility as first contact facility. Lower the income level was and longer the residency duration was, the utilization rate of public health facilities was higher. By age groups and medical security status the utilization pattern was likely to disperse to local clinic and secondary contact medical resources. 2. Medical expense and access time were significantly different between primary contact and secondary contact medical resources. 3. Public health facility was recognized as the favoured institute having advantage of geographic and economic accessibility. 4. Statistically significant determinants in public health facility utilization among total medical service were the region, the medical expense, and the access time.

• KDI Journal of Economic Policy
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• v.36 no.4
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• pp.103-133
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• 2014

We consider the economic value of emergency medical facilities. An emergency medical facility affects the medical environments in a community, and thus the social demand on the facility increases as the demand of qualified public health service increases. Regarding the increased demand and the limited resources of fiscal budget, it is important to scientifically evaluate the social benefit of the public investment on emergency medical facilities, as the results of evaluation can help make better budgetary decision on each public investment project of emergency medical facilities. In this paper, we try to estimate the economic value of emergency medical facilities based upon the estimated changes in preventable death rate by the facility and the statistical value of life. We hope the results contribute to improve the budgetary decision making on the emergency medical facility projects, thus the public health policies.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.25 no.1 s.37
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• pp.53-63
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• 1992

There are increasing interest and need for information on health care consumer with the significance of hospital marketing and strategic planning being increasingly emphasized. This study was conducted to investigate the criteria for selection of medical facilities according to the characteristics of health care consumer by the types of medical services on a sample of 1,500 population aged 20 years and above. Major findings are as follows ; 1. When considering the criteria for selection of medical facilities into two factors, namely, quality or convenience factors, convenience factor was the major contributor for outpatient and dental services whereas it was quality factor for inpatient services. 2. Females and those residing in large cities selected medical facilities based on convenience factor in the outpatient services. In the case of inpatient service, persons who considered their present health status to be good and whose ages were 50 years old and above choose medical facilities based on quality factor. 3. Persons who considered medical facilities to be profit-making tended to choose medical facilities based on convenience factor for outpatient services. There were no differences in the cases of inpatient and dental services. 4. There was no significant difference on the criteria for selection of medical facilities according to the decision maker for selection or trust on medical facilities. On the use of health service information, selection of medical facilities was based on quality factor for those who made more use of the information in the cases of outpatient and dental services. 5. Analysis using the logistic regression model on the criteria for the selection of medical facilities with the characteristics of health care consumer as independent variables was performed. The selection of medical facilities was significantly related with residential area, sex, and use of information on medical facilities for outpatient services and with age, average monthly income, and perception of health status for inpatient services. For dental services significant association with residential area and use of information on medical facilities was seen. The results of this study, despite some limitations, can be used as baseline data for marketing and strategic planning of hospital management.

• Health Policy and Management
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• v.20 no.4
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• pp.19-44
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• 2010

This study was conducted to investigate the changes in patterns of Daegu- and Gyeongbuk-based patients' use of medical care facilities located in Seoul. The 'Patient Survey' data issued by the Ministry of Health and Welfare for 2002, 2005, and 2008 were used. Among all discharged patients residing in Daegu and Gyeongbuk, 133,456 who used medical facilities in Daegu, Gyeongbuk, and Seoul were selected. Among patients residing in Daegu, 2.2% used medical facilities in Seoul in 2002, 3.7% in 2005, and 3.5% in 2008. The corresponding rates among patients living in Gyeongbuk were 5.6%(2002), 7.1%(2005), and 7.3%(2008). Regarding the ICD-10 disease groups, the use of medical facilities in Seoul by patients residing in either Daegu or Gyeongbuk increased in 2005 right after the introduction of the KTX high-speed train service, covering various disease groups, but decreased again in 2008. 'Neoplasm' cases, however, showed a progressive rising trend during the years studied. Multivariate data analysis for the three years showed that sex, age, payment type, hospital type, residence, year, and disease groups were all significantly associated with the utilization of medical facilities in Seoul. The major results are : First, use of medical facilities in Seoul by Gyeongbuk patients was 2.4-fold higher than that by Daegu patients, but with respect to 2005 and 2008 vs. 2002, use of medical facilities in Seoul by Daegu resident patients' showed a larger increase than that by Gyeongbuk's patients. Second, for patients residing in the two regions, use of medical facilities in Seoul was highest for 'congenital malformations, deformations and chromosomal abnormalities', followed by 'neoplasms'. Third, for patients residing in the two regions, general hospitals comprise the primary factor in the use of medical facilities in Seoul. The study shows that local medical facilities should individually exert more efforts to improve the quality of their medical services. Relevant authorities should likewise help these facilities develop their own unique services and respective specialization.