• Journal of Bone Metabolism
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• v.22 no.1
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• pp.17-21
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• 2015

Background: There has been lack of epidemiology of proximal humerus fracture using nationwide database in Asia. The purpose of this study was to investigate the incidence of proximal humerus fracture and its mortality following proximal humerus fracture in Korean over 50 years of age. Methods: The Korean National Health Insurance data were evaluated to determine the incidence and mortality of proximal humerus fracture aged 50 years or older from 2008 through 2012. Results: Proximal humerus fracture increased by 40.5% over 5 year of study. The incidence of fracture increased from 104.7/100,000 in 2008 to 124.7/100,000 in 2012 in women and from 45.3/100,000 in 2008 to 52.0/100,000 in 2012 in men, respectively. One year mortality rate after proximal humerus fracture was 8.0% in 2008 and 7.0% in 2012. One year mortality rate were 10.8% for men and 7.0% for women in 2008 and 8.5% for men and 6.4% for women in 2012. Conclusions: Our study showed that the proximal humerus fracture in elderly was recently increasing and associated with high mortality in Korea. Considering proximal humerus fracture was associated with an increased risk of associated fractures and an increased mortality risk, public health strategy to prevent the proximal humerus fracture in elderly will be mandatory.

• The Journal of the Korea Contents Association
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• v.17 no.7
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• pp.696-706
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• 2017

This study is to examine health care utilization and morbidity of disabled and non-disabled children in Korea to evaluate the health disparities. We used medical claim data of 2010 from the National Health Insurance Service-National Sample Cohort data. As a result of the analysis, the disabled children are not in good health condition because they have more frequency of medical service use, hospitalization rate, and more number of diseases and spent more on medical expenses than non-disabled children. Patterns of the most frequent disease differ from significantly between disable and non-disabled. Disabled children had a higher prevalence of selected birth defects and selected health conditions associated with physical disability and a lower prevalence of selected infection disease than children without disability. In conclusion, Health policy changes that would extend the access to health service for children with disabilities characterized by frequent medical care, hospitalization, excessive medical expenditure and complex diseases.

• The Korean Society of Law and Medicine
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• v.15 no.1
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• pp.263-302
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• 2014

The court handed down meaningful rulings related to medical sectors in 2013. This paper presents the ruling that the care workers could be the performance assistants of the care-giving service although the duties of care worker are not included in the liability stipulated in the medical contract signed with the hospital for reason of clear distinction of duties between care workers and nurses within the hospital in connection with the contract which was entered into between the hospital and patients. In relation to negligence and causal relationship, the court recognized medical negligence associated with the failure to detect the brain tumor due to the negligent interpretation of MRI findings while rejecting the causal relationship with consequential cerebral hemorrhage. The court also recognized negligence based on the observation on the grounds of inadequate medical records in a case involving the hypoxic brain damage caused during the cosmetic surgery. In terms of the scope of compensation for damages, this paper presents the ruling that the compensation should be estimated based on causal relationship only in case the breach of the 'obligation of explanation' is recognized, however rejecting the reparation for de factor property damages in the form of compensation, and the ruling that the lawsuit could be instituted in case that the damages exceeded the agreed scope despite the agreement that the hospital would not be held responsible for any aftereffects of surgery from the standpoint of lawsuit, along with the ruling that recognized the daily net income by reflecting the unique circumstances faced by individual students of Korean National Police University and artists of Western painting. Many rulings were handed down with respect to medical certificate, prescription, etc., in 2013. This paper introduced the ruling which mentioned the scope of medical certificate, the ruling that related to whether the diagnosis over the phone at the issuance of prescription could constitute the direct diagnosis of patient, along with the ruling that required the medical certificate to be generated in the name of doctor who diagnosed the patients, and the ruling which proclaimed that it would constitute the breach of Medical Act if the prescription was issued to the patients who were not diagnosed. Moreover, this paper also introduced the ruling that related to whether the National Health Insurance Service could make claim to the hospitals for the reimbursement of the health insurance money paid to pharmacies based on the prescription in the event that the hospitals provided prescription of drugs to outpatients in violation of the laws and regulations.

• Journal of agricultural medicine and community health
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• v.28 no.1
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• pp.15-27
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• 2003

Objectives: This study was conducted to compare the medical care patterns of hypertensive patients between rural and urban areas. Methods: We selected one rural county(Region A where there were 19 public health centers; one health center, 8 health sub-centers and 10 community health posts) and two urban districts(Region B and C where there was no health sub-center and community health post) in Daegu city. Region B had similar socioeconomic characteristics with rural county A while region C had different characteristics. The medical insurance records of 14,422 incident patients (2,501 in region A, 4,873 in region B and 7,048 in region C) with diagnostic code of hypertension from September 1998 to August 1999 were reviewed. Incident patient was defined as a patient who had no record of medical fee claim for hypertension to the national health insurance corporation in past 6 months and visited a medical facility for hypertension for the first time. The data for annual visit days, annual prescription days and annual total medical expenses were abstracted. The medical care pattern was categorized by the number of annual visit days and prescription days. The most proper care group was defined as the patient who visited 6-15 days with 240 prescription days or more in a year. Results: The type of medical facilities for the most visit was clinics, 373.% and it was followed by general hospitals, 28.2%; public health centers, 24.7%; and hospitals, 9.8% in region A(p<0.05). In region B, it was clinics, 63.1% and followed by general hospitals, 27.6%; health center, 5.2%; and hospitals, 4.1%(p<0.05). In region C, it was clinics, 53.8% and followed by general hospitals, 35.0%; health center, 6.3%; and hospitals, 4.9%(p<0.05). Annual mean total medical expenses per patient was highest in region C(won195,993) and followed by region A(won191,683) and region B(won178,713). The proportion of the most proper care group was 7.7% in region A, 5.2% in region B and 6.7% in region C(p<0.05). According to the type of medical facilities for the first visit, the proportion of the most proper care group was highest(14.7%) in the patients of public health centers, and it was followed by general hospitals, 8.8%; clinics, 3.6%; and hospitals, 2.0% in region A(p<0.05). In region B, it was highest in general hospitals, 9.7% and followed by hospitals, 4.0%; health center, 3.6%; and clinics, 3.4%(p<0.05). In region C, it was highest in general hospitals, 10.1% and followed by clinics, 5.2%; hospitals, 4.1%; and health center, 3.1%(p<0.05). Conclusions: The proportion of proper care for hypertension was higher in rural area and it was attributed to the care of health center, sub-centers and community health posts which appeared to follow patients better than hospitals and clinics.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.25 no.3 s.39
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• pp.312-329
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• 1992

The purpose of this study is to estimate cesarean section rate in Korea and analyze the socioeconomic variables and health resources which affect regional variation in the rate. Samples were drawn from the record of vaginal and cesarean section deliveries based upon insurance claim bills which have been submitted to the National Federation of Medical Insurance for the first three months, January through March, 1991. The results are obtained as follows : It was found that. cesarean section rate was increasing rapidly up to 23.1% in 1991. Cesarean section per 10 thousand insured people was 4.8 and the number of cesarean section per 10 thousand insured eligible($15{\sim}49$ years old) female was 7.6. The fee for normal delivery was 109,489 won and that for cesarean section was 390,024 won. The average days of hospitalization in normal delivery was 2.3 days, and those in cesarean section was 7.6 days. On the average cesarean section has a longer of stay as much as by 4.3 days and cost 3.6 times more than normal deliveries. Cesarean section rates vary among medical facilities 19.8% at clinics 37.6% in small-scale hospitals, and 29.1% in general hospitals. The regional variation of cesarean section rates was also fairly prominent. The South Cheju Gun has the highest rate of cesarean section, 56.2%. Meanwhile no cesarean section cases has been reported in Sunchang Gun during the period of this study. The variation is noted among provinces. The rate for Cheju province has been 3.4 times higher than that for Chunnam. The number of cesarean section per 10 thousand insured people vary greatly among regions, too. This study has found that there exists significant regional variations among various geographic units in terms of average length of stay, average cost, number of obsretricians and number of beds. Multiple regression analysis was done to identify factors explaining the regional variance of various cesarean section rates : In the urban areas, no significant explaining variables were noted except the number of beds for the dependent variable of cesarean section cases per 10 thousand insured eligible females. The smaller the number of bed, the more cases of cesarean section was noted for an urban area. The is mostly because the rate of cesarean section is higher in medium-size hospitals than in large general hospitals. In the rural areas, the factor of education has been found significant for all three deplendent variables. The higher the educational level, the rate of cesarean section is most likely to rise. An income variable measured by the amount of monthly insurance contribution has been identified a powerful predictor in explaining the valiance of cesarean section rates. The same has been noted for the number of obstetricians. Similar findings are observed for the country as a whole. The income level has veen found as the most powerful explaining factor in the regional variance of cesarean section rates. In general the rate is higher in the urban areas, and lower in the area with more small hospitals. As this is the initial attempt to identify the factors relevant to the regional difference in the rates of cesarean section, more elaborated study is urgently required.

• The Korean Society of Law and Medicine
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• v.11 no.2
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• pp.181-208
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• 2010

Maternity services is often perceived as a troublesome business and obstetric litigation is on the increase in Western countries. Overall, the number of claim and cost of litigation to the NHS Litigation Authority (NHSLA) from maternity services in the UK is increasing every year. Maternity services account for 60-70% of the total sum paid. This has widespread implications for both the individual practitioners and the institutions where they work, due to increasing malpractice insurance premiums. Fear of litigation is also attracting fewer medical graduates into the specialty, leading to a recruitment crisis in obstetrics and gynaecology. The litigation process can cause pain, suffering and distress to clinicians as well as to the patients and their families. Litigation in maternity services is the result of a complex of events when malpractice (presumed or real) impacts on the attitude of pregnant women and their environment. In such complexity, information is mandatory but may often be misinterpreted. If messages are not tailored to the receiver's capacity, communicating well with the pregnant patient becomes crucial. Therefore, to reduce medicallegal issues in obstetrics, increasing attention and an applicable standard of obstetric care to avoid negligence and medical errors should go along with other measures. Considering UK's experiences, NHS redress scheme make it easier to pursue small claims and birth related claims, without necessarily reducing the number of claims processed through the conventional legal system and perhaps encouraging even more of them. The task of dealing with the greater number of inquiries into their practice would inevitably create an added burden for clinicians and hospital managers. Thus further proposals are required to limit the cost of processing inflated claims and to consider whether clinicians should be given some protection from litigation alleging a failure to prevent birth related impairment.

• Korea Journal of Hospital Management
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• v.8 no.4
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• pp.149-181
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• 2003

It has been asserted that per diem payment system should be introduced, in place of the current fee-for-service system, for payment of the inpatient services of the geriatric hospitals, Based on the assentation, this study aims at calculating costs and profits per inpatient-day of the geriatric hospitals, and thereby at contributing to the managerial improvement from the both sides of the Government and the hospitals. Relevant data of the three months, May to August, 2002 were collected from the five geriatric hospitals, and per inpatient-day costs and profits were calculated for the three disease groups. Major results and conclusions are as follow : Firstly, total costs per insured inpatient-day of the geriatric hospitals are 65, 389 won for dementia (including optimal profit of 3,858 won), 69,730 won for stroke (including optimal profit of 4,117 won), and 70,085 won for other diseases (including optimal profit of 4,134 won). Secondly, the amount of the non-insured costs per inpatient-day occupies 34.5% of the total costs for dementia, 30.3% for stroke, and 30.1% for other diseases. Thirdly, the total amount of the per inpatient-day costs calculated including the optimal profits is, on the average, higher by 12% than the present price level calculated for the current fee-far-service system. This implies that the present price level should rise by 12% when the current fee-far-service payment system be maintained, and Finally, introduction of a sliding-scale payment system should be considered for the inpatient medical management fees for the length of stay over six months or more that are being cut in the claim examination process by the insurance corporation.

• Korea Journal of Hospital Management
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• v.12 no.2
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• pp.1-24
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• 2007

The medical fee reimbursement denied by HIRA(Health Insurance Review Agency) amounted to about 1.2% of the total medical fee claim to HIRA for reimbursement. Most of the denials stem from the inappropriate prescriptions of medical staff violating the medical fee review standards issued by HIRA. Considering the significant impacts of the standards observance behavior on the hospitals' financial viability, we attempted to analyze the predisposition factors of medical staffs' review standards observance behavior. The TPB(Theory of Planned Behavior) was adopted as the theoretical framework of the analysis. Data were collected by administrating a survey on the concepts included in TPB model to the 187 medical staff of a tertiary care hospital. Of the 187 questionaries distributed, 150 were responded resulting 80.2% of response rate. The mean differences among the groups classified by age group, years of experience, medical specialty and gender were analysis using ANOVA. The relationships among the TPB concepts were analysed by applying the Structural Equations Modeling method. The TPB model consists of three exogenous concepts (attitude toward the behavior, subjective norm, and perceived behavioral control) and two endogenous concepts (intention and the behavior). The results of ANOVA indicated significant mean differences among the groups classified by the medical staff's age, years of experience, and medical specialty. The older and the more experienced had the higher mean of observance behavior score. The results of Structural Equations analysis showed that the subjective norm and perceived behavioral control had statistically significant influences on intention, but the influence of attitude to intention was not statistically significant. The influences of perceived behavioral control and intention on behavior were significant. Based on these results the theoretical and practical implications were discussed.

• Journal of Acupuncture Research
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• v.27 no.2
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• pp.43-49
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• 2010

Objectives : Among young generation, the prevalence of spinal disorders is known to be increasing. This study aimed to analyze the clinical data of spinal disorder in young ages in Korea. Methods : Number of patient, kinds of disorder, and medical cost were analyzed for patients(7~18 years) underwent spinal disorders using computerized database of Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service(HIRAS) from 2004 to 2008. We included dorsopathies as spinal disorder according to Korean Classification of Diseases(KCD) and excluded spinal disorder caused by trauma. We compared the data of traditional Korean medicine treatment with that of western medical care. Results : 4.8% of the children and adolescents had medical treatment with spinal disorder in 2008. The claim number and medical cost for both traditional Korean medicine and western medicine treatment are increasing 1.8 and 1.3 times respectively over 5 years. Total medical spent of western clinic was 2.1 times than those of traditional Korean clinic. The most common spinal disorder was dorsalgia(31.8%) and scoliosis(13.5%) in western clinics while back pain(29.0%) and neck pain(10.8%) in oriental clinic. Conclusions : We first reported the clinical tendency of spinal disorder in Korean children adolescents from 2004 to 2008. This study will support the development of a strategy for traditional Korean medicine-based prevention or treatment of spinal disorders in young generation.

• Journal of Society of Preventive Korean Medicine
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• v.22 no.2
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• pp.25-32
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• 2018

Objectives : This study was conducted to investigate the frequent diseases among the people who had been treated by collaborative treatment of Korean medicine and Western medicine, and to compare their medical use behaviors before and after the collaborative first-stage pilot project between Korean medicine and Western medicine. Methods : 4,467 patients were identified as the patients who are participated in the collaborative first-stage pilot project between Korean medicine and Western medicine during the period between July 15, 2016 and March 31 2017. We used 28,480 records of Korean national health insurance claim data from January 1 2016 to March 31 2017 to analyzed present condition of cooperative medical usage. Also we conducted a paired t test to compare the percentage of collaborative treatment days before and after the pilot project period. Results : We found that the most frequent diseases treated in the pilot project were the diseases of musculoskeletal and nervous system and then 10 major diseases such as H, K, J, C (D), N, L, E, A, H and F disease codes in order. Also it was confirmed that 14 major and 53 medium diseases are included from more than 90% of total patients. As a result of high frequency of medical treatment in Western medicine or Korean medicine is "administration of Korean medicine", which is same as before and within the pilot project. The ratio of utilizing both Western and Korean medical care for the same disease on the same day by both general patients and patients in KCD-7 disease code group C, G, I, M and S had been increased significantly. Conclusions : The pilot project might change the behavior of utilizing the medical care service by increasing the ratio of collaborative treatment of Western medicine and Korean medicine for the same disease on the same day.