• Quality Improvement in Health Care
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• v.27 no.2
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• pp.73-82
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• 2021

Purpose: This study aims to examine the quality of tuberculosis (TB) care after the 1st to 3rd national quality assessment (QA) program for TB healthcare service in Korea was conducted. Methods: We analyzed Health Insurance Review & Assessment Service (HIRA) claims data of new TB patients during the period of January to June from 2018-2020. The new TB patients were defined as TB patients reported to Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KCDA). The unit of analysis was the patient. Chi-square tests were used to analyze the differences in indicator value according to the types of medical facilities. The QA indicators of TB care were divided into 3 areas consisting of the following 7 quality indicators: 4 indicators of diagnosis test (the rate of acid-fast bacilli smear, the rate of acid-fast bacilli culture, the rate of Mycobacterium tuberculosis-polymerase chain reaction, drug susceptibility test), 1 compliance of treatment guideline, and 2 indicators of care management of TB patients (encounter rate, day of therapy). Results: The QA program for TB care was conducted among 8,246 patients from 534 facilities in 2020. The value of the 7 quality indicators was shown to increase as a result of the QA program. The indicators of the diagnostic test were all higher than 95%, with the exception of the drug susceptibility test which was 84.8%. Both indicators for care management of TB patients were 88.5%. Conclusion: The quality of TB care has been improving with the implementation of the QA program. In order to continue to improve the quality of TB care, it will be necessary to disclose the results of the QA program in medical facilities in the future.

• Quality Improvement in Health Care
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• v.22 no.1
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• pp.11-26
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• 2016

The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, which has continuously evaluated the performance of healthcare systems, has recently invested much effort into hospital performance measurement. The purpose of this paper is to introduce the hospital performance measurement programs operated by international organizations or at the national level based on the OECD's hospital performance project. Health Insurance Review & Assessment service (HIRA)'s quality assessment was analyzed based on the analytical framework of the OECD's hospital performance project. The hospital performance measurement programs of WHO, Canada, Australia, United States and United Kingdom are briefly explored, in view of the conceptual framework, key performance dimensions and indicators that are currently in use. The OECD suggested seven key dimensions of hospital performance: timeliness, efficiency, continuity, effectiveness and appropriateness, staff orientation, patient orientation and safety. The analysis of the quality assessment program of HIRA, which operates 36 diseases and procedures and 347 indicators, shows that the numbers of indicators are relatively small in the areas of safety, patient centeredness and efficiency. Continuity of care and staff orientation are not fully developed also, but the situations are similar in other countries. In conclusion, hospital performance measurement using stable and comprehensive data should be developed to improve overall system performance, and discussions on a conceptual framework that can lay out directions and key performance domains need to take into place.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.45 no.3
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• pp.148-155
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• 2012

Since the reformation of the National Health Insurance Act in 2000, the Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service (HIRA) in the Republic of Korea has performed quality assessments for healthcare providers. The HIRA Value Incentive Program (VIP), established in July 2007, provides incentives for excellent-quality institutions and disincentives for poorquality ones. The program is implemented based on data collected between July 2007 and December 2009. The goal of the VIP is to improve the overall quality of care and decrease the quality gaps among healthcare institutions. Thus far, the VIP has targeted acute myocardial infarction (AMI) and Caesarian section (C-section) care. The incentives and disincentives awarded to the hospitals by their composite quality scores of the AMI and C-section scores. The results of the VIP showed continuous and marked improvement in the composite quality scores of the AMI and C-section measures between 2007 and 2010. With the demonstrated success of the VIP project, the Ministry of Health and Welfare expanded the program in 2011 to include general hospitals. The HIRA VIP was deemed applicable to the Korean healthcare system, but before it can be expanded further, the program must overcome several major concerns, as follows: inclusion of resource use measures, rigorous evaluation of impact, application of the VIP to the changing payment system, and expansion of the VIP to primary care clinics.

• Journal of Korea Multimedia Society
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• v.16 no.1
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• pp.50-55
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• 2013

This article presents a simple and reasonable in-service, real-time, and continuous single-ended objective video quality assessment model for DTV broadcasting using a multiburst signal at the bottom of the transient effect area, similar to Vertical Interval Test Signals. The issue of in-service video-quality monitoring in DTV broadcasting is addressed, and an effective method of quality monitoring is presented. The proposed method is also implemented and tested in a range of situations using a simulated HDTV broadcasting network.

• Quality Improvement in Health Care
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• v.28 no.2
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• pp.30-38
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• 2022

Purpose: The Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service (HIRA) in South Korea initiated a quality assessment (QA) program for blood transfusion healthcare services in 2020 to ensure patient safety and appropriate blood use. This study examines the quality of blood transfusion services since the first national QA program for blood transfusion services in Korea. Methods: We analyzed HIRA claims and QA investigation data based on inpatient medical records from all tertiary, general, and primary hospitals between October 2020 and March 2021. The target population was patients aged 18 years and older who received either total knee arthroplasty or red blood cell transfusion. The QA indicators for transfusion healthcare service consisted of four quality indicators and four monitoring indicators. Results: We analyzed the results of QA indicators for transfusion service from the medical records of 189,668 patients from 1,171hospitals and expressed indicators as proportions. The average results for evaluation indicators were as follows: transfusion checklist presence, 64.8%; irregular antibody tests, 61.8%; transfusions in which the hemoglobin levels before transfusion met the transfusion guidelines for patients undergoing total knee arthroplasty, 20.6%, and transfusions in patients undergoing total knee arthroplasty, 59.3%. The average results for monitoring indicators were as follows: transfusion management implementation in medical institutions, 56.9%; preoperative anemia management in anemia patients undergoing total knee arthroplasty, 43.9%; one-unit transfusions, 82.5%; and the transfusion index. Conclusion: The quality of blood transfusion healthcare varied and the assessment revealed that there is scope for improvement. Hospitals require more effective blood transfusion management and this can be facilitated by providing feedback on the QA results about blood transfusion healthcare services to medical institutions, and by disclosing the results to the public.

• Health Policy and Management
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• v.31 no.4
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• pp.399-408
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• 2021

The emergency medical service system in Korea was built upon the Emergency Medical Service Act, 1995 to respond adequately to be much in demand for emergency medical services. In addition, the government recognized the importance of the trauma care system and set out to plan for the designation and establishment of the regional trauma center by 2012. This study aimed to investigate features of quality management and trauma fee schedule on better understanding of trauma care system. First, quality management of the regional trauma center has been implemented by several quality programs involved in quality assessment, committee on trauma quality management, and mortality and morbidity conference. Second, the trauma fee schedule has reflected a specific quality of severe traumatic conditions and added the result to it, which are graded A, B, and C according to quality assessment. Although the government has contributed to instituting a trauma quality assessment program and trauma fee schedule for the regional trauma center, it could not lead to such a fixed standard for quality management of them. Therefore, it will promote discussion on the sustainability of the regional trauma center that requires reducing preventable trauma death rate and the way to apply comprehensive quality management.

• The Korean Journal of Applied Statistics
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• v.18 no.2
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• pp.487-497
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• 2005

The instruction assessment, which can be a tool to realize a class of high quality, evaluates instruction system and process. The result data of the instruction assessment is analysed and used to reorganize lecture contents or to improve teaching method. It enhances qualitative level of university education. The goal of the instruction assessment is to be a tool that provides high qualitative education to raise students' satisfaction. It is important to improve education service quality through instruction assessment as a useful tool for measuring service quality. The suggestion of valid tool for improving instruction service quality is described in this paper.

• The Korean Journal of Food And Nutrition
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• v.20 no.4
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• pp.525-534
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• 2007

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of a quality assesment of a university dormitory foodservice on the satisfaction degree, value awareness and relationship intention toward the foodservice. A total of 328 questionnaires were completed. Using SPSS package, Cronbach's alpha, analysis of variance and multiple regression analysis were applied. The results are as follows. First, the quality assessment of the foodservice varied depending on the period of service utilization. Customers of less than one year rated the nutrition supply of the university foodservice the highest, followed by those who were customers for more than 3 years and those who were customers for 2 to 3 years, respectively. Second, the quality assessment of the foodservice was substantially influenced by price as compared to service quality. Third, the quality assessment was significantly influenced by the price appropriateness of the foodservice. Fourth, foodservice assessment items such as customer-centeredness, pursuit of nutrition supply and food quality had a meaningful effect on the satisfaction degree toward the university foodservice. Fifth, customer-centeredness, pursuit of nutrition supply and food quality had a significant effect on relationship intention. Sixth, among the items of value awareness for the foodservice, value assessment as compared to service quality, and not price appropriateness, greatly affected the relationship intention. Seventh, the overall degree of satisfaction for the foodservice affected the relationship intention.

• The Korean Journal of Franchise Management
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• v.11 no.1
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• pp.19-29
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• 2020

Purpose - To understand the assessment basis of customers' coffee shop experience and give more practical advices to the franchised coffee shops which are poorly managed in the competitive market, this study identified factors to measure the quality of customer experience and explored the relationship between these factors and customer satisfaction and loyalty. Further, this study analyzed which role self-efficacy played in the structural relationship between the quality assessment factors, satisfaction and loyalty of franchised coffee shops. Research design, data, methodology - The data were collected from respondents who had visited franchised coffee shops within the previous month through online survey. The questionnaires were surveyed from February 11 to February 14, 2019. A total of 318 responses were collected after excluding four of incomplete or uncandid responses. A structural equation modeling approach was used to examine the proposed hypothesis and a confirmatory factor analysis was employed to verify the four dimensions of quality assessment. Results - The findings of this study are as follows. First, the three of quality assessment variables significantly influenced on satisfaction except environmental quality. Second, economic and service quality significantly influenced on self-efficacy but environmental and menu quality didn't. Third, satisfaction significantly influenced on loyalty but not on self-efficacy. Fourth, self-efficacy significantly influenced on Loyalty. Conclusions - This study identified the four dimensions to assess the franchised coffee shop service - menu, environment, service and economic quality and verified these four dimensions are valid as indicators to measure the quality of customers' coffee shop experience. Further, by empirically testing the structural relationships among these quality assessment dimensions, satisfaction, self-efficacy and loyalty, this study provided theoretical foundations to explore the relationship between customer and the franchised stores in restaurant businesses. For the industry, the study findings showed that customers highly appreciated menu and economic quality of the service rather than the stores' interior. This indicate that the franchised coffee shops need to focus more on the basics of coffee such as taste and menu variety and economic value than the decoration of the store, which are often over-invested nowadays.

• Journal of Korean Academy of Nursing Administration
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• v.9 no.2
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• pp.251-264
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• 2003

Purpose : The expectations are defined as desired expectations in initial SERVQUAL scale(1985, 1988), but in modified SERVQUAL scale(1991), are defined as a feasible ideal point expectations. In assessment of nursing service quality by SERVQUAL scale, the definitions of expectations is important problem. The purpose of this study was to compare the feasible ideal point expectations with the desired expectations in assessment of nursing service quality using SERVQUAL scale. Methods : The subjects were 256 inpatients at 4 general hospitals in Jeju-do(123 for feasible ideal point and 133 for desired). The data were collected by two types of self-reporting questionnaires to measure the feasible ideal point and desired expectations. For data analysis, t-test, multiple regression, and comparative analysis of multiple Rs via Fishers Z transformation. Results : Compared with the SERVQUAL scores, the feasible ideal point expectations better explained the variations of the overall consumer satisfaction($R^2$=O.33) than the desired($R^2$=O.25). Conclusion : The feasible ideal point expectations were more suitable to the assessment of nursing service quality using SERVQUAL scale. It will be need to explore the conceptual definitions of expectations using SERVQUAL scale in different settings. Also, further study needs to be conducted to compare alternative service quality measurement scales.