• The Korean Society of Law and Medicine
• /
• v.8 no.2
• /
• pp.9-35
• /
• 2007

The Health care program in Korea has now been systemized after 30 years of declaring the inauguration of the national health insurance system by the current government. The national health care covering all Korean citizens was achieved after 12 years of implementing the national health insurance and the health care program since 1977. Hundreds of multiple operational agencies managing the insured individually had undergone the amalgamation process from 1998 to 2000, and had been restructured as one agency, the National Health Insurance Corporation. In 2003, the community/area based financial management was also merged together with the employment based financial management. The National health care system of Korea offer various merits, compared with that of other countries, such as health care provision covering all Koreans, low insurance premium, accessibility of medical services/facilities etc. However, there are still some weak features which need to be addressed for improvement; below expectation insurance cover system, mistrust on the medical services, low medical charges resulted from excessive restrictions, and unstable financial status of the national health insurance etc. Therefore, the National health care system should continue to evolve to re-establish itself as more effective national health care system by further strengthening its merits, and by improving its weaknesses; with adopting the positive system to optimize the costs of prescribed medicines/drugs, applying simpler insurance coverage system to calculate the optimum medical charges, promoting private medical insurances, and increasing insurance premium etc.

• Korea Journal of Hospital Management
• /
• v.26 no.3
• /
• pp.56-67
• /
• 2021

There are few domestic studies on medical services in medically vulnerable areas where medical use is not met due to a lack of medical resources. The past studies on smart medicine targeting medically vulnerable areas grasp only the overall satisfaction level, or the sub-dimensions of satisfaction are not classified clearly. Also, it lacks consideration of the patient's needs. This study aims to analyze the effect of users' experience of the smart medicine pilot project conducted in medically vulnerable areas on satisfaction and demand. The user's experience was measured by variables in the dimensions of structure, process, and outcome. Among the pilot project participants, 282 subjects responded to the 2019 survey. Using the hierarchical regression method, we tried to find out the determinants of satisfaction and service demands. Experience factors affecting satisfaction were found to be accessibility, certainty, effectiveness, and efficiency. In addition, it was found that the demand in their 60s was high and that accessibility, certainty, effectiveness, and efficiency had a statistically significant effect on the demand. It is expected that the smart medicine pilot project will be effectively operated by well utilizing the factors influencing satisfaction and demand revealed in this study.

• Health Policy and Management
• /
• v.27 no.3
• /
• pp.267-271
• /
• 2017

This year marks the 40th anniversary of the introduction of National Health Insurance (NHI) which has contributed to improving public health and accessibility. This article aims to show the trends of main indicators during the last 40 years. NHI has achieved rapid expansion of target population (1977-1989). The percentage of population covered increased from 8.8% in 1977 to 94% in 1990. The average number of visit days per person was 0.75 in 1977 but significantly increased to 31.11 in 2015. In 2015, NHI revenues were 52.4 trillion won and expenditures were 48.2 trillion won which is 9.5 times and 9.6 times higher than in 1995. NHI achieved universal coverage in short period of time and has contributed to improving the healthcare status. However, there still remain problems including low-benefit coverage and high out of pocket money. Therefore, the effort to reform these problems is needed.

• Research in Community and Public Health Nursing
• /
• v.29 no.1
• /
• pp.41-53
• /
• 2018

Purpose: This study was conducted to identify the factors affecting on unmet healthcare needs of married immigrant women, especially who are working in South Korea. Methods: It is designed as a cross-sectional descriptive study. We analyzed data from 8,142 working married immigrant women to the 'National Survey of Multicultural Families 2015.' Based on Andersen's health behavior model, logistic regression was conducted to determine the predictors of unmet healthcare need. Results: The prevalence of unmet healthcare needs among the subjects was 11.6%. In multivariate analysis, significant predictors of unmet needs included existence of preschooler, country of origin, period of residence in predisposing factors, monthly household income, helpful social relationship, social discrimination, Korean proficiency, working hour per week in enabling factors, and self-rated health, experience of grief or desperation in need factors. Conclusion: The association between labor-related factors and unmet healthcare needs of marriage immigrant women currently working was found from nationally representative sample. Support policies for immigrant women working more than legally defined hours and having preschooler should be supplemented to reduce unmet healthcare needs. In addition, eradicating discrimination in workplace, enlarging social relationship, and developing culturally competent nursing services tailored to health problems caused by labor are needed.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
• /
• v.52 no.3
• /
• pp.200-204
• /
• 2019

On September 12, 2018, President Jae-In Moon announced the Comprehensive Plan for Lifelong Care for People with Developmental Disabilities, with representatives from the associated government branches (Ministry of Health and Welfare, Ministry of Education, and Ministry of Employment and Labor) in attendance. The goals of this plan are to provide health, medical, rehabilitative, special education, and social welfare services according to the life-stages of the affected individuals; to reduce parental pressure; to promote social interventions; and to enhance community-level participation in order to create a 'welfare society in harmony.' However, in order for the plan to succeed, additional efforts must be made in the following areas. First, an epidemiological survey is needed to understand the scale, prevalence, and incidence of developmental disabilities and to establish an evidence base to support policy development. Second, accurate definitions of developmental disabilities must be established in order to avoid policy discrimination based on impairment type and age. Third, personal evaluations to assess disabled individuals' unmet needs and customized service designs to deliver those needs are required. Fourth, the plan must fulfill the goals of accessibility and fairness that the government intends to provide. Fifth, the government should consider an integrated financial support system and to propose a detailed plan for monetary distributions. Finally, an integrated system that links health, medical, employment, educational, and welfare services must be constructed.

• Korea Journal of Hospital Management
• /
• no.spc
• /
• pp.1-13
• /
• 2016

In a situation where competition becomes intense, health care organizations constantly strive to provide more services with given personnel and time. While not only the 'quantity' of the services but also the 'quality' becomes increasingly important, various problems that can occur during the 'process' of service provision can be effectively managed by applying the methods of management science. In this study, we introduce the cases where the methods of management science can be applied for the management of health care organizations in Korea and abroad. There are many cases where various scenarios for improving the patients' accessibility to the services and for maximizing the efficient use of limited resources are established, and simulation or basic statistical analysis methods are used to solve the problems more systematically or to develop improvement plans. In this study, several exemplary cases, such as no-show of patients, crowding in the emergency room, prediction of the number of available beds in the intensive care units, nurse scheduling, delay of arrival of patients, and ordering of the proper amount of therapeutic materials, are introduced and discussed. From the perspective of administrators or clinicians, however, it may not be easy to master the methodology that requires considerable mathematical background or apply the theories to practice directly. Therefore, it is suggested that more practical and relatively simple analytical methods should be applied. Also, having a more positive attitude toward improving the current performance (e.g., a belief that 'we can always be better than now'), and paying attention to improving the job satisfaction by addressing problems, with experimental spirit and data-driven decision management.

• Korean Medical Education Review
• /
• v.24 no.1
• /
• pp.10-17
• /
• 2022

South Korea is not a wasteland of publicly funded health care-instead, it has a good medical social security system known as the national health insurance (NHI). The NHI of Korea has three unique features; (1) low premiums, low insurance fees, and low coverage; (2) obligatory designation of medical institutions; (3) and allowance of non-benefit services. These features have made hospitals and doctors interested in profit-seeking. However, the commercialization of medical institutions has taken place in both private- and public-established sectors. A basic problem of commercialization is the co-existence of the obligatory designation of medical institutions and non-benefit services. The problem became worse in the Kim Dae-Jung government because it officially permitted non-benefit services. Since 2000, the Korean government has consistently pursued benefit extension policies, but the coverage rates of the NHI have stagnated. In addition, premiums and current medical expenses have markedly increased because policy-makers have emphasized accessibility to the NHI, while ignoring important principles of medical social security such as a needs-based approach and patient-referral system. In order to resolve the commercialization problem, the obligatory designation of medical institutions to the NHI should be changed to a contract system, and non-benefit services should be prohibited at NHI institutions. We must re-establish the patient-referral system via a needs-based approach. We also need to build a primary healthcare system and public health policies. We should make a long-term plan for healthcare reform.

• Health Policy and Management
• /
• v.29 no.1
• /
• pp.90-97
• /
• 2019

This study investigated the healthcare status of South Korea and member states of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). By employing the position value for relative comparison index, healthcare status was measured through the following components: demand, supply, accessibility, quality, and cost. Statistical analysis was conducted through the Mann-Kendall test from analyzing trends from 2000 onwards. Results showed that while Korea, on average, scores higher than the OECD average in most of the investigated components, it is below average in certain indexes including primary care and mental health care. Considering the various health issues that have been raised about these indexes, it is important these components be improved upon by policy-makers.

• Korea Journal of Hospital Management
• /
• v.28 no.3
• /
• pp.39-46
• /
• 2023

Purpose: Korean medical services are not balanced across regions and social classes. To prevent mortality gaps, Korea must distribute its medical resources more efficiently. Patient factors affecting emergency room visits serve as basic data for determining best practices for public healthcare distribution. Methods: The data included 18 473 visits by 14 949 de-identified patients who visited a public emergency room over one year. The dependent variable was the number of emergency room visits. A Poisson regression was conducted with the independent variables, comprising sociodemographic, socioeconomic, and spatial accessibility factors and patient characteristics. Results: Older men with higher Korean Triage and Acuity Scale scores visited more frequently. Greater patient-hospital distance decreased visits; however, the presence of a hospital within 1 km of a patient's residence did not affect the number of visits. The use of 119 services was negatively correlated with the number of visits. Visits increased with more medical benefits. Conclusions: Patient age, distance to hospital, use of 119 services, and medical benefits should be considered when planning or managing public hospitals in Korea.

• The Korean Journal of Emergency Medical Services
• /
• v.24 no.3
• /
• pp.117-128
• /
• 2020

Purpose: This study analyzed the information and accessibility of toxic substances provided to Internet websites. Methods: From August 1, 2020, to August 31, 2020, we analyzed eight internet websites regarding toxic pharmaceuticals, pesticides, and chemicals. The website-evaluation criteria were divided into five categories for information and five categories for website convenience. Results: All eight websites about toxic substances were hosted by reliable institutions or organizations and provided accurate information in terms of informational relevance. The website run by the Safety and Health Corporation scored the highest with 100points. Analysis of the websites' accessibility to non-members' revealed that six (75.0%) were accessible, but two (12.5%) provided only limited information. Access to information through mobile apps was only available in three of the eight cases (37.5%). Conclusion: This study can be used as a reference for Internet websites about toxic substances. Toxicological information that can be viewed only with membership and manager approval requires membership in advance of viewing. In addition, emergency medical personnel working at a site or hospital should be familiar with the characteristics of toxicity information retrieval.