• Korean Journal of Occupational Health Nursing
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• v.4
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• pp.5-29
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• 1995

Occupational health services in Korea have been operated as dual types : one is operated by occupational health care manager and the other is health care agency without their own personnel. The performance of occupational health service should be different due to the variety of characteristics of health care manager and workplace, qualification of health care manager. This study is to analyze performance of occupational health care services with a particular consideration of job performance shape and efficiency, based on comparing those two types of health care management to show on the basic data for the settlement of more qualitative health care management system at workplace. For this study, total 391 places in Seoul and Inchon city area ; 154 places (39.4%) managed by designated health care manager and 237 places (60.6%) by the agency with their commission are selected as research samples. Tools for data collection are questionnares that have been investigated during the period of 20 September 1993-20 December 1993. Those data are compared with percentiles, mean, standard deviation and B/C ratio using SPSS PC program. Conclusions observed from the tests and each comparison could be summerized as follows : 1. Occupational health care have been accomplished at workplaces with designated people than with agencies people, and coverage rate of the occupational health care services has differences, due to management types. The reason of these results is due to visit only one or two times monthly by the agencies, while their own health care manager obsess, at the workplaces all the times. 2. Most of the expense for environmental control of all health care services expenditures shows that there is almost no fundamental improvement because more expenses are needed for procuring personal protective equipment and measuring work environment instead of environmental improvement. 3. It is investigated how much the cost of occupational health care services needs per worker, and calculated how much the cost needs per service hour per worker. The results from this show that the cost of occupational health services at workplaces with their own managers used less than the cost of health care agencies, eventually the former gives better services with less cost than the latter. 4. Benefit/Cost ratio is also produced by total benefit/total cost. The result from the above way reads 4.57 as a whole, while their own manager having workplaces reads 4.82 and the agencies do l.56. Even if their own manager performing workplaces spent more cost, this system produces more benefit than the agencies management. 5. The B/C ratio for medical organization such as local clinic, health care center and pharmacy shows more than or equal to at the workplaces controlled by the agencies. It is inferred that benefit would be much less than the cost used, with so being inefficient. 6. It is assumed that the efficiency ratio of health education is equal to reduction rate of workers medical organization visit. Estimated reduction rate 5%, 10%, 15%, show that the efficiency ratio of health education have an effect on producing benefits. It is estimated that more benefit can be produced if more qualitative education will be provided for enhancing health care efficiency. 7. Results of this study cannot be generalized because there are large scale of deviation in case of workplaces with less than 300 full time workers, but B/C ratio reads 2.69 as a whole and 3.25 at workplaces with their own health care manager are higher than 1.63 at the workplaces manged by the agencies. Finally, all the benefit concerning health care services could not be quantified, measured and shown on the value of money. This is a reason that a considerable part of benefits are so underestimated. This is also thought that measurement tools should be developed for measuring benefits of health care services with a comprehensive quantification. in the future. It is also expected that efficiency of occupational health care services should be investigated using cost-effectiveness analysis.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.43 no.6
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• pp.496-504
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• 2010

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to analyze the effect of outpatient cost-sharing on health care utilization by the elderly. Methods: The data in this analysis was the health insurance claims data between July 1999 and December 2008 (114 months). The study group was divided into two age groups, namely 60-64 years old and 65-69 years old. This study evaluated the impact of policy change on office visits, the office visits per person, and the percentage of the copayment-paid visits in total visits. Interrupted time series and segmented regression model were used for statistical analysis. Results: The results showed that outpatient cost-sharing decreased office visits, but it also decreased the percentage of copayment-paid visits, implying that the intensity of care increased. There was little difference in the results between the two age groups. But after the introduction of the coinsurance system for those patients under age 65, office visits and the percentage of copayment-paid visits decreased, and the 60-64 years old group had a larger decrease than the 65-69 years old group. Conclusions: This study evaluated the effects of outpatient cost-sharing on health care utilization by the aged. Cost sharing of the elderly had little effect on controlling health care utilization.

• Quality Improvement in Health Care
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• v.12 no.2
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• pp.75-83
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• 2006

Background : Utilization review has been adopted as a vehicle for cost and utilization control of health care services. Its role was further stressed and expanded through the establishment of Health Insurance Review Agency in 2001. This article is to introduce concept, activities, and effect of utilization review based on the experiences of U.S. and to suggest important characteristics for ideal utilization review activities at the national level in Korea. Method : Twenty-five articles related with utilization review were reviewed after being selected through web site search through Med Line and Richis. Result : Utilization review was introduced mainly for health care expenditure control either by insurer, provider or the third parties under the pressure of increasing health care cost. It's activities can be categorized to prospective, concurrent and retrospective review according to the time of service provision. Based on most of studies, utilization review has been effective in controling rising health care cost and utilization. However it's effectiveness assumes a reimbursement structure of managed care like capitation payment. More worse, it is still unknown it's effectiveness on quality of care. Conclusion : Utilization review should be employed to increase the cost effectiveness of medical care by optimizing quality and patient's outcomes while also attempting to reduce the use of resources. So, it should consider outcomes before expenditures, check for both under and over-use, and construct an structure in which consumption is reduced equitably. Aggressive adoption of utilization review in Korean health care setting with fee-for-service reimbursement structure might not be a cost-effective approach before adoption of prospective payment system such as D.R.G. and capitation.

• Journal of Korean Academy of Nursing Administration
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• v.4 no.2
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• pp.351-361
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• 1998

The purpose of this study was to explore whether there is a point within the range of physical impairment after which the cost of home care exceeds the cost of nursing home care among the elderly who require long-term care. The provision of long-term care for the elderly is a major health policy issue, in part due to the aging of the American population and dramatic increase in health care costs. The framework for this study was guided by Pollak's(1973)model of costs of alternative care settings for the elderly. This study used a retrospective, descriptive correlational design. Physical impairment was measured by the modified Index of Activities of Daily Living(Katz et al. 1963). Cost of care was measured by the average cost per patient per day. The sample for this study included 67 patients receiving long-term care at home from the Long-term Home Health Care Programs (LTHHCPs) and 67 patients receiving long-term care in nursing homes. Data were collected on patient characteristics. including activities of daily living and cognitive impairment. and on the number of physician visits. emergency room visits. and hospitalization from the patient records. For each patient. Medicaid cost data for home care services/or nursing home services were collected from the financial department of each home care agency or nursing home. The living costs and informal care costs were estimated for home care patients. The results indicated that the home care sample and the nursing home sample were similar in terms of gender. ethnic background. and marital status. The elderly patients in the home care sample were: however. younger and less physically impaired than those in the nursing home sample. The hypotheses of this study were supported: For elderly persons with physical impairment scores below 12(possible range of 0 to 14), cost of care was lower in home care than in the nursing home care setting. However, for elderly persons with physical impairment scores above 12. the cost of care was higher in home care than in the nursing home care setting. Thus. in this sample for elderly patients with extreme physical impairment, the cost of home care exceeded the cost of nursing home care.

• Journal of Korean Academy of Nursing Administration
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• v.16 no.3
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• pp.295-305
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• 2010

Purpose: This study was conducted to evaluate the economic efficiency of a community-based nursing care center to help policy makers determine whether or not to invest in similar facilities. Methods: The subjects were 101 elderly people over 65 years who participated in a health management program from February 1 to July 31, 2007. Direct cost was estimated with center operations cost, medical cost for out-patients and pharmacy cost. Indirect cost was measured by transportation cost. Direct benefit was calculated by saved medical cost for out-patients, saved pharmacy cost, saved transportation cost, and reducing hospital charges. Indirect benefit was estimated with prevention of severe complications. Economic efficiency was evaluated by cost-benefit ratio and net benefit. Results: Operating a community-based nursing care center was found to be cost-effective. Specifically, the cost of operating the center evaluated here was estimated at 135 million won while the benefit was estimated at 187 million won. Benefit-cost ratio was 1.38. Conclusion: The Community-based nursing care center that was described here could be a useful health care delivery system for reducing medical expenditures.

• Journal of Korean Academy of Nursing
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• v.24 no.2
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• pp.216-225
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• 1994

The cost of hospice care should be covered by the insurance system if it is to be promoted in our country and this, in turn, requires a proper method to the estimate of this cost. The purpose of this study was to set up the method to estimate the cost of hospice care. First the cost effectiveness of hospice care were studied. By tracing the activities of hospice nurses for a given period, all the relevant data such as the scope and load of activities as well as the cost were collected. Then these were analysed and compared with the data obtained from hospice and home care. The results showed that the cost of hospice care was the most economic, and indicate its qualification as .1n in-dependent system. The main part of the cost of hospice care was found to be the labor cost which was up to 83% of the total. Therefore a method to estimate the cost should reflect the real labor cost. Several methods have been proposed in the study in terms of unit labor cost, service time, material cost, and the weight of the labor cost. All variables, including the service time surveyed in this study, can easily be translated into numerical values and it would not difficult to estmate the cost of hospice care. Hence by letting the hospice care be insured, hospice care can be expected to function as a good alternative to the present medical system.

• Journal of Korean Academic Society of Home Health Care Nursing
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• v.10 no.2
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• pp.113-122
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• 2003

Purpose: This is a simple survey for discussion about cost analysis methodological issues in home care nursing service studies. Method: The subject of this study were articles published in Korea from 1961 to August, 2002, and searched by key word 'cost' and 'nursing' from various DB(National Assembly Library, The National Library of Korea, RICH etc). Finally, 13 articles were collected. Result: 1) The major type of cost analysis studies was a cost comparison or a simple cost study. 2) The important methodological weaknesses were as followers; (1) few studies were suggested cost analysis framework or analytic perspective, (2) it ,was not enough to describe for basis of selection of cost/effectiveness items, (3) few studies were done by sensitivity analysis. Conclusion: These above results will be used to develop a more proper cost analysis methodological framework in home care nursing services and also to contribute as a guideline for further studies.

• Nutrition Research and Practice
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• v.9 no.4
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• pp.400-403
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• 2015

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: By the year 2050, thirty-eight percent of the Korean population will be over the age of 65. Health care costs for Koreans over age 65 reached 15.4 trillion Korean won in 2011, accounting for a third of the total health care costs for the population. Chronic degenerative diseases, including coronary heart disease (CHD), drive long-term health care costs at an alarming annual rate. In the elderly population, loss of independence is one of the main reasons for this increase in health care costs. Korean heath policies place a high priority on the prevention of CHD because it is a major cause of morbidity and mortality. SUBJECTS/METHODS: This evidence-based study aims to the estimate potential health care cost savings resulting from the daily intake of omega-3 fatty acid supplementation. Potential cost savings associated with a reduced risk of CHD and the medical costs potentially avoided through risk reduction, including hospitalizations and physician services, were estimated using a Congressional Budget Office cost accounting methodology. RESULTS: The estimate of the seven-year (2005-2011) net savings in medical costs resulting from a reduction in the incidence of CHD among the elderly population through the daily use of omega-3 fatty acids was approximately 210 billion Korean won. Approximately 92,997 hospitalizations due to CHD could be avoided over the seven years. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings suggest that omega-3 supplementation in older individuals may yield substantial cost-savings by reducing the risk of CHD. It should be noted that additional health and cost benefits need to be revisited and re-evaluated as more is known about possible data sources or as new data become available.

• Health Policy and Management
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• v.10 no.4
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• pp.116-143
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• 2000

Considerable attention has been devoted in the accounting literature to identify the factors that cause or drive the costs of overhead activities. This paper extends recent cost driver research to the health care provider. In various case studies, it has been suggested that overhead costs are driven by volume and complexity variables. This paper investigates the significance of these variables in determining hospital overhead costs, how they are structurally related and how the cost impacts of these variables can be estimated in practice. This paper analyzes the determinants of hospital costs using the sample of South Korea hospitals for seven year during the period 1952－1997. The paper focuses on the extent to which hospital overhead costs depend on complexity, efficiency in addition to depending on more conventional volume based measures of hospital activity. The results of regression analysis suggest that volume and complexity factors positively and significantly affect overhead costs in the hospital industry. The results show that the complexity-related cost drivers strongly affected on the overhead costs in tile health care provider industry more than manufacturing industry which is mainly affected by volume-related cost drivers. That means each Industry may have different cost structures. Therefore it Is Important to find their proper cost structures and cost drivers and use them. Futhermore identification of overhead or indirect cost drivers is likely to be particularly useful in heath care. The identification of cost drivers can be of benefit to all health care stakeholders because these facilitates more efficient management of the national resources devoted to health care. While this study has documented that the level of service complexity is a significant determinant of hospital overhead costs, caution should be exercised in interpreting this as supportive of the cost accounting procedures associated with ABC. It is an open question whether even a well-designed ABC system will provide suitable proxies for marginal costs for decision making purposes.

• Health Policy and Management
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• v.24 no.4
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• pp.304-311
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• 2014

This manuscript treats a new paradigm for the Korean health care system. We give an account of innovative health care delivery and payment models widely discussed in the contemporary US accountable care organization and coordinated care organization. In doing so, we explore a new health care model amenable to foreseeable changes to the health care system. We propose creating an integrated health care system in which the network of health care providers delivers coordinated and comprehensive care for enrolled patients residing within the geographic boundaries served by the provider network; providers may participate voluntarily in one or more networks and assume shared responsibility for patient care and cost; provider networks compete with each other based on cost and quality; and consumers are allowed to choose a network. We expect that the new paradigm will create a financially-sustainable system that assures quality of care and improves patient experience, minimizing the existing system-wide inefficiency through cross-network competition and within-network care coordination.