• Korean Journal of Clinical Pharmacy
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• v.26 no.3
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• pp.220-229
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• 2016

Background: The treatment goal for patients with chronic hepatitis B infection is to prevent progression of the disease to cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma. Current therapies include standard and pegylated interferon-alfa and nucleoside/nucleotide analogues: lamivudine, adefovir, entecavir, telbivudine, clevudine, and tenofovir. This study aims to analyze changes in the prescribing patterns of chronic hepatitis B (CHB) medications in South Korea between 2013 and 2014. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted using National Patients Sample data compiled by the Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service from 2013 and 2014. Patients with CHB were identified with Korean Standard Classification of Diseases code-6 (B18.0 and B18.1) and those who were maintaining active prescriptions with CHB medications covering the index date (December $1^{st}$, each year) were included. The utilization of antiviral therapy was investigated during 2013 and 2014. Results: A total of 4,204 and 4,552 patients in 2013 and 2014 respectively, were included in the analysis. The proportion of male patients was two of third and the patients 41-60 years old accounted for 60% of all analyzed patients. The most utilized drug was entecavir (55.1% in 2013 and 44.8% in 2014) and the second most utilized drug was tenofovir in both years (18.8% in 2013 and 29.0% in 2014). The percentage of combination therapy was 13.6% and 13.1% in 2013 and 2014, respectively. The proportion of tenofovir prescriptions was increased in 2014 compared with 2013. Conclusion: With the development of new drugs and the changes in clinical practice guidelines, the prescription pattern of the antiviral agents for patients with CHB has changed. The rate of utilization of tenofovir has increased.

• Korean Journal of Clinical Pharmacy
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• v.30 no.2
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• pp.81-86
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• 2020

Background: The number of patients with dementia continues to increase as the age of aging continues to grow. Psychiatric symptoms caused by senile dementia are controlled using antipsychotics. However, these antipsychotics can lead to Parkinson's disease, and abuse of dopamine derivatives such as levodopa among Parkinsonian drugs can lead to psychosis. Therefore, we evaluated the patterns of prescribed antipsychotics and antiparkinsonian drugs in patients with senile dementia. Methods: We used data from the sample of elderly patients from the Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service (HIRA-APS-2016). We analyzed the patterns of prescribing antipsychotics and antiparkinsonian drugs including prescribed daily dosage, period of prescription, and number of patients with both antipsychotics and antiparkinsonian drugs for senile dementia. Results: Among the 159,391 patients with dementia included in this analysis, 4,963 patients (3.1%) and 16,499 patients (10.4%) were prescribed typical and atypical antipsychotic drugs, respectively. The most frequently prescribed typical antipsychotic was haloperidol (4,351 patients with dementia), whereas the atypical agent was quetiapine (12,719 patients). The most frequently prescribed antiparkinsonian drugs were in the order of levodopa/carbidopa, benztropine, and ropinirole. In addition, 1,103 and 3,508 patients prescribed typical and atypical antipsychotics, respectively, were co-prescribed antiparkinsonian drugs. Conclusions: Atypical antipsychotics were the preferred prescription in patients with senile dementia. The prescription dose was relatively low; however, the average treatment duration was mostly long-term. Selection of antipsychotics and/or antiparkinsonian drugs should be made carefully in senile dementia and the causal relationship of adverse drug reactions needs further study.

• YAKHAK HOEJI
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• v.54 no.6
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• pp.507-521
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• 2010

Training for asthma patients by professionals has been highly emphasized for patients' self-management. In the present study, three standardized training sessions targeting hospital pharmacists were performed. On the basis of the number of training sessions taken, a non-educated group (CG), an once-educated group (NG), and a twice more-educated group (IG) were allocated. The most frequent errors of using an inhalant were shaking before the use in MDI while taking breathe out before inhaling in the case of DPI, and the total average number of errors were the biggest for CG and the smallest in IG. On comparison in the number of the four symptoms of asthma according to the level of seriousness, it was revealed that the total average number was the biggest in CG and the smallest in IG. In the level of awareness regarding the contents of training for patients, patients over 50 tended to answer that they were aware of education contents, and particularly in mouth rinsing and the use before/after a meal, significant similarity was examined. Regular asthma patient training performed by hospital pharmacists appeared to reduce errors in the inhaler usage, increase the quality of life of an patient, and help a patient remember the contents of the training. Especially among patients over 50, it was found to be more effective and retraining of more than two sessions was requisite.

• Journal of The Korea Institute of Healthcare Architecture
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• v.23 no.2
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• pp.27-35
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• 2017

Purpose: This study analyzed the status of general hospitals as an expanded concept of medical resources including medical staff and equipment. The purpose of this study is to provide a basic for the feasibility study of the scale and establishment of facility guidelines at the planning stage of general hospitals. Methods: The subjects of this study were limited to general hospitals. The status of medical resources was based on the data of the Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service. The number of beds, doctors, nursing grades and major medical equipment were surveyed in 335 general hospitals. Results: 1) The characteristic of general hospitals varies depending on the number of inpatient beds. To be concrete, there were differences in the number of medical staffs and equipments in general hospitals based on 300 500 800 1,000 beds. 2) As the number of hospital beds increases, the number of medical staff increases more than medical equipment and facilities. Medical equipment and facilities remain constant, even when the number of beds increases. On the other hand, the number of medical staff increased about 1.5 times in each level. Implications: Architectural plans for medical staff should be considered differently depending on the number of beds. In particular, architectural planning and facility guidelines should be applied differently based on 300 and 500 beds.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.42 no.3
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• pp.165-170
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• 2009

Objectives : We evaluated the risk of fracture associated with hypotension-related adverse drug reaction caused by taking alpha blockers to treat benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH). Methods : We used the Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service database from January 1st 2005 to June 30th 2006 for this study. The male patients with BPH and who had a prescription for alpha blockers following any fractures were defined as the cases. We set the 20 day long hazard period prior to the index date and the four control periods whose lengths were same with hazard period. After 1:4 matching of the hazard and control periods, conditional logistic regression was used to calculate the odds ratios for the risk of fractures as related to the alpha blocker exposure. Results : Doxazosin and tamsulosin showed the increased risk of fractures, whereas terazosin did not. After stratification using the defined daily doses, a protective effect was shown for the patients who took terazosin at the doses lower than 0.4 DDD and the hazardous effect at the doses higher than or equal to 0.4 DDD. There was no significant difference for the risk of patients taking tamsulosin at the doses higher than 1.0 DDD but there was a statistically significant increase in the risk at the doses higher than or equal to 1.0 DDD. Conclusions : Alpha blockers for BPH may increase the risk of fracture in elderly patients who have comorbidities and take the concomitant medications. Alpha blockers need to be prescribed with caution, although some have high prostate specificity.

• Korean Journal of Clinical Pharmacy
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• v.24 no.1
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• pp.26-32
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• 2014

Purpose: The aim of this study was to investigate drug prescription patterns for the treatment of asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients in Korea. Methods: Ambulatory adult patients who were diagnosed and received treatment for the asthma (ICD-10 code J45) or COPD (ICD-10 code J44) from January 2009 to September 2011 in two independent secondary hospitals in Korea were enrolled in this study. Prescribed drug lists were generated based on the evidence-based guidelines and prescribed drug dosage forms were identified from the patient medical records and computerized drug prescription databases of the study centers. Results: Total numbers of asthma and COPD patient enrolled in this study were 2,432 and 2,615, respectively. Individual prescription-based accumulated numbers of patient were 12,021 for asthma and 16,584 for COPD. The most commonly prescribed three drugs were oral predisolone, oral formoterol and oral montelukast for asthma and oral formoterol, oral doxofylline and inhaled tiotropium for COPD. Frequencies of oral drugs were 83.4% and 63.3% while inhalers were 16.4% and 30.2%, for asthma and COPD, respectively. Conclusion: The oral treatment was prescribed more in asthma and COPD patients than inhalers. To enhance the compliance of evidence-based guidelines for these chronic airway diseases, more realistic and specific strategies to increase the use of inhalers recommended as primary treatment options for asthma and COPD would be required.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.37 no.2
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• pp.111-119
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• 2004

Purpose : To identify those factors influencing the post-operative satisfaction in myopia patients receiving laser in situ keratomileusis (LASIK) Methods : This study included 288 consecutive patients who received LASIK between July and December 2001 from two eye clinics located in Seoul and Pusan. Factors that were considered to influence post-operative satisfaction included pre-operative baseline characteristics, pre-operative expectation for treatment outcomes, and treatment outcomes. Before undergoing LASIK, study subjects were asked to rate the degree of their expectation for the improvement of visual functions and symptoms after LASIK on a 5-point Likert-type scale: where 1 referred to 'somewhat worse,' 2 to 'no change,' 3 to 'somewhat improved,' 4 to 'improved,' and 5 to 'very improved.' Self-administered questionnaire was used to evaluate baseline visual functions and symptoms on a 5-point scale before LASIK. At 6 months after LASIK, the evaluation was repeated to measure treatment outcomes in terms of the difference in the score before and after LASIK. Post-operative satisfaction was also measured at 6 months on a 5-point scale. Multiple regression analysis was performed to examine the independent relationship between influencing factors and postoperative satisfaction. Results : A total of 171 patients (59.4%) participated in the 6-month follow-up investigation. The average expectation scores for the improvement in visual functions and symptoms were 3.8 and 3.4, respectively. The average score for the 7 questions assessing satisfaction was 4.0. The results of the regression analysis showed that the post-operative satisfaction increased with improvement in the visual function ($\beta$=0.16, p<0.05) and symptoms ($\beta$=0.25, p<0.05), the degree of preoperative refractive error ($\beta$ =0.26-0.67, p<0.05) and in male patients ($\beta$=0.31, p<0.1). The pre-operative expectation was not a statistically significant factor in explaining postoperative satisfaction in the regression model. Conclusion : The finding from this study was that patients with very severe myopia tended to be more satisfied with the treatment than those with mild myopia, which implies that LASIK can be more beneficial to those suffering from a severe visual condition. Patient satisfaction was also significantly affected by the treatment outcomes experienced after LASIK. This suggests that improving the clinical outcome is the most fundamental requirement for the improvement of patient satisfaction.

• Women's Health Nursing
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• v.6 no.3
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• pp.383-397
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• 2000

This study of purpose was to define the relationship between the stress and climacteric symptoms of middle-aged women in order to provide basic data for the development of women's health care program as nursing intervention. The research tools used were a Soon-Young Park's stress questionnaire (4 points scale) and a self diagnostic MENSI scale (3 points scale) developed by a research team of Ill-Yang Pharmacy Co. This research was conducted in Korea in Muan-Gun. Chonnam province, from 22th November to 20th December 1999. The research used a survey design. Seven hundred eleven healthy middle-aged women, aged 40 to 64, and were a convenience sample by stratified ratio using the matching fixed residential and aging blocks. The data were analyzed by GLM. Pearson correlation coefficient and Scheffe test using SAS/ PC+. The results were summarized as follows : 1. The percentage of psychological stress with the following items was: fatigue and enervation, 70.0%; nervous, 61.8%; weakness, 58.5%; The percentage of physical stress with the following items were ; fatigue of eye. 82.3%; backache, 78.0%; headache, 73.8%. 2. The level of psychological stress was 40% of below average level (0-5 points), 31.7 of average level (6-12points), 20.8% of precaution level (13-19 points), and 7.5% of warning level (over 20points). The level of physical stress were 20.1% of below average level (0-5 points), 34.8 of average level (6-12 points), 29.4 of precaution level (13-19 points), and 15.7% of warning level (over 20 points). There were higher physical stress level than psychological stress level of the subjects. 3. The percentage of climacteric symptoms with the following items were : numbness, 75.3%; forgetfulness, 71.0%; pain of joints, 71.0%. The level of climacteric symptoms were 61.8% of mild level 1(10-15 points), 33.0% of moderate level (16-30 points), 5.2% of severe level (over 31 points). 4. There were high positive correlations significantly between the climacteric symptoms and the psychological stress (r=.564. P<0.000), and between the climacteric symptoms and the physical stress of the subjects(r=.678, P<0.000). 5. There were significant differences in the climacteric symptoms of the subjects among below average level, average level, precaution level, and warning level of the psychological stress (F=74.108. P<0.000. Scheffe test). 6. There were significant differences in the climacteric symptoms of the subjects among below average level, average level and precaution level, and warning level of the physical stress ((F=128.181, P<0.000, Scheffe test). In summary, climacteric symptoms complained by middle-aged women are high positive correlated to the level of the stress. Also climacteric symptoms were affected by stress.

• The Journal of Korean Medicine
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• v.41 no.1
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• pp.1-10
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• 2020

Objectives: This study investigated the financial performance of Korean Medicine hospitals in Korea in order to understand the current status of hospital management and improve its efficiency. Methods: Financial statements of 24 medical corporations, 19 juridical foundations and 18 school hospitals from 2016 to 2018 were obtained from the secondary data published by the Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service, the National Tax Service and the Korea Advancing Schools Foundation. Financial performance was measured on 6 dimensions: liquidity, profitability, activity, growth, cost and productivity (investment efficiency) by analyzing 8 financial indicators: Liability to Total Assets, Net Profit to Patient Service Revenues, Total Assets Turnover, Growth Rate of Patient Service Revenues, Operating Expenses to Patient Service Revenues, Value Added to Patient Service Revenues, Value Added to Total Assets, and Value Added to Personnel Expenses. Results: Korean Medicine hospitals showed lower Liability to Total Assets, Liquidity and Value Added to Total Assets than Western Medicine hospitals did. They also showed higher Value Added to Patient Service Revenues and Value Added to Personnel Expenses than Western Medicine hospitals did. They also showed higher Value Added to Patient Service Revenues and Value Added to Personnel Expenses than those of Western Medicine hospitals do. The net profit decreased significantly (-50.8%) in 2018 whereas Patient Service Revenues increased (6.9%) for the same period due to Operating Expenses increase and Non-Operating loss. Conclusions: These findings suggest that the Korean Medicine hospital sector in Korea needs to improve liquidity and financial structure and to enhance profitability by reducing Personnel Expenses and generating Non-operating revenues in order to improve its investment efficiency and competitiveness.

• Journal of the Korean Data and Information Science Society
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• v.26 no.3
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• pp.715-727
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• 2015

This study was conducted to explore the impact of nursing staffing on inpatient nursing outcomes in long term care hospitals. A secondary analysis was done of national data from the Health Insurance Review and Assessment Services including evaluation of long term care hospitals. Patients per RN was a significant indicator of foley catheter ratio in high risk group and low risk group. Patients per RN&NA was a significant indicator of decline in ADL for patients with dementia, non dementia, urinary incontinence and new pressure ulcer development in the high risk group. The average nursing outcome of inpatient in high grade was higher than that low grade in long care hospital. This higher level of nursing staffing and the higher the grade shown a positive effect on the nursing outcomes of the inpatient. We therefore recommend modifying the above nurse staffing policy so as to make it more effective in improving nursing outcomes.