• Health Policy and Management
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• v.12 no.4
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• pp.1-17
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• 2002

This study was attempted to identify the liquidity trends and determinants of private hospitals in Korea different. Data used in this study were collected from 98 hospitals with complete general data of present conditions as well as financial statements(balance sheets, income statements). They were chosen from hospitals that passed the standardization audit undertaken by the Korean Hospital Association from 1996 to 2000 for the purpose of accrediting training hospitals. The dependent variables in this study were used current ration and quick ratio as a proxy indicator for liquidity. The independent variables were ownership type, hospital type, location, bed size, period of establishment, short-term liabilities to total assets, long-term liabilities to total assets, borrowings to total assets, fixed asset ration, net profit to total assets, operating margin to gross revenue, growth rate of net worth to total assets, total asset turnover, and business risk(volatility of profit). The major findings of this study were as follows. Trends of liquidity(current ratio, quick ratio) had been continuously decreased. Especially, There were very distinct decreasing trends of personal hospitals and less than 300beds, which weakened liquidity. The factors had significant effect on current ratio were short-term debt to total assets(-), fixed asset ratio(-), business risk(+). High short-term debt to total assets, high fixed asset ratio and high business risk significantly decreased in liquidity. The factors that significantly affected on quick ratio were short-term debt to total assets(-), borrowings to total assets(+), fixed asset ratio(-), business risk(+).

• Health Policy and Management
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• v.23 no.3
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• pp.266-280
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• 2013

Background: Information asymmetry between physicians and patients is one of the most unique characteristics of health care. But as consumerism spreads in health care sector, health care consumers are searching comparative information about quality and cost of providers from many information sources. Providing comparative information to health care consumers not only makes consumers choose hospital rationally, but also invigorates the health care market by providers' competition. However there are few studies regarding information searching behavior of health care consumers, then this study is carried out. Methods: The purpose of this study is to understand the information searching behavior of health care consumers based on their characteristics and the types of medical institutions. For this purpose, 313 spinal patients' data of 11 medical institutions (university hospital, spine specialized hospital, clinic) located in Seoul were collected by self-administered surveys. Results: The results of this study are as follows: 1) t-test/analysis of variance analysis showed that according to various characteristics of health care consumers and the types of medical institutions, the level of information searching of each source and the amount of information searching and searching outcomes are statistically different. 2) Regression analysis showed that influence on searching outcomes are statistically different according to the level of information searching of each source and searching content and the amount of information searching has positive effects on searching outcomes. Conclusion: The significance of this study is to provide empirical basis for establishment of health care policy reflecting information needs and preference of health care consumers.

• Korea Journal of Hospital Management
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• v.11 no.1
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• pp.54-90
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• 2006

Medical clinics are core institutes that cover the primary medical care in Korea. Financial viability of the clinics is essential for them to conduct their roles and functions, and can be improved by increasing their operating profitability. On this ground, this study aimed at finding important factors that affect the operating profitability, and thereby at suggesting strategic alternatives that can contribute to the improvement of the profitability. Operating margin was set as a dependent variable, and such factors as general management conditions, number of visits, medical revenue, marketing activities, input resources, medical cost as independent variables. Nineteen hypotheses related to the variables were established and tested using data collected from 138 sample clinics for the year 2003. The results of the study are as follows : Firstly, such variables as percent ratio of the depreciation plus rent costs to total administration costs, type of clinical department manifested whether medical, surgical, or quasi-surgical, percent ratio of the interior facility investment to total fixed assets, and total number of outpatient visit are important factors that affect, positively or negatively, the medical profitability of the clinics. Secondly, following measures are needed to be established and implemented to improve the medical profitability. (1) Administration costs share 53.2% of the total medical costs, and depreciation plus rent costs 16.3% of the total administration costs. This implies that such measures as reinforcement of marketing activities, establishment of the cooperative utilizing system of the facility and equipment, or group practice are needed to increase cost-effectiveness. (2) Occupancy rate of the clinics with inpatient bed is as low as 45.5%, causing high fixed costs and low medical profitability. For its improvement, the resource input structure should be reorganized. Thirdly, in the future, a study that can increase sample representativeness of the study and explanation power of the variables should be performed for each type of clinical department to find more specific determinant factors and to contribute to the improvement of the medical profitability of the clinics.

• Korea Journal of Hospital Management
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• v.13 no.2
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• pp.20-35
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• 2008

Though the attending system was first implemented in 2003 to facilitate the efficient utilization of medical resources and specialties, only a few hospitals and physicians are participated in that system. The purpose of this study was to investigate the actual facts which related to operation of attending system and propose a basic information to revitalized of the attending system in Korea. The data were collected between August 1 and October 30, 2005 from 25 hospitals and 42 attending physicians who were in part of the attending system. Medical institutions were unwilling to participate despite the advantages of the attending system with respect to the utilization of medical resources and improvement in the quality of medical services. The primary reason for this was the lack of understanding among physicians about the attending system and the difficulty(lack of time) encountered by the attending physicians in administering care to patients hospitalized in the attending hospitals. Moreover insufficient reimbursement for rendered medical services constituted another important reason. In conclusion, we can state that the establishment of a committee is required to discuss the issues surrounding the attending system and to control the growing disparity between the viewpoints of hospitals and physicians. Regardless, there is a need to develop economical incentives for medical institutes. The attending system served as a useful policy in promoting the medical service system and bringing about an improvement in the management of medical institutes.

• Korea Journal of Hospital Management
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• v.25 no.3
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• pp.29-37
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• 2020

Purposes: The purpose of this study was to identify the factors related to the long-stay hospitalization of dementia patients aged 65 years or older who had received inpatient care at geriatric hospitals according to the minute facility characteristics and patient features. Methodology: This study was conducted on 317,353 cases of 1,512 geriatric hospitals using the Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service dataset. The data collected were processed using the SAS Enterprise Guide 4.3 for descriptive statistics, the chi-square test, and the binary logistic regression analysis. Findings: As a result of the study, in the facility characteristics of geriatric hospitals, the long-stay hospitalization of the aged with dementia were found to be related to the type of facility establishment, the number of hospital beds, the number of medical specialists, the number of nursing personnel, and the number of geriatric hospitals by region and province. In the personal features of patients, the long-stay hospitalization was found to be associated with the gender, age, insurance, and the patient classification groups. Practical Implication: Considering the results of this study, it seems that securing the sufficient medical personnel in a geriatric facility, providing the good quality medical services, and preparing the appropriate discharge plan can reduce the unnecessary long-stay hospitalization and spend the medical expenses for the older patients.

• Annals of Clinical Neurophysiology
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• v.13 no.2
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• pp.71-79
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• 2011

Geographical differences in the incidence of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) have been reported, and there are still many unresolved problems. The incidence as well as epidemiologic data of ALS is not known in Korea. Web-based multicenter registry of ALS, the Korean ALS registry, was established at January, 2011. The aim of "the Korean ALS registry" is the following: (1) to establish a database for the prospective collection of epidemiological information; (2) to assess the incidence and prevalence; (3) to find the temporal and geographic trends in the disease; (4) to define the full clinical spectrum of the disease; (5) to develop treatment guideline based on the database.

• The Korean Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology
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• v.22 no.3
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• pp.291-300
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• 2018

The purpose of the present work is to establish an ultra-minimal invasive percutaneous puncture inoculation method for a VX2 orthotopic lung cancer rabbit model with fewer technical difficulties, lower mortality of rabbits, a higher success rate and a shorter operation time, to evaluate the growth, metastasis and apoptosis of tumor by CT scans, necropsy, histological examination, flow cytometry and immunohistochemistry. The average inoculation time was 10-15 min per rabbit. The tumorbearing rate was 100%. More than 90% of the tumor-bearing rabbits showed local solitary tumor with 2-10 mm diameters after two weeks post-inoculation, and the rate of chest seeding was only 8.3% (2/24). The tumors diameters increased to 4-16 mm, and irregularly short thorns were observed 3 weeks after inoculation. Five weeks post-inoculation, the liquefaction necrosis and a cavity developed, and the size of tumor grew further. Before natural death, the CT images showed that the tumors spread to the chest. The flow cytometry and immunohistochemistry indicated that there was less apoptosis in VX2 orthotopic lung cancer rabbit model compared to chemotherapy drug treatment group. Minimal invasive percutaneous puncture inoculation is an easy, fast and accurate method to establish the VX2 orthotopic lung cancer rabbit model, an ideal in situ tumor model similar to human malignant tumor growth.

• Quality Improvement in Health Care
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• v.26 no.1
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• pp.11-22
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• 2020

Purpose: The objective of this study was to compare and analyze the work environment, role conflict, and job embeddedness between comprehensive nursing care service (CNCS) ward nurses and general ward nurses. Methods: This descriptive research study involved 70 CNCS ward nurses and 69 general ward nurses working at an advanced general hospital in Seoul. Data were collected using the structured questionnaire from March 27 to April 14, 2019 and analyzed with the SPSS 24.0 program. Results: The work environment of the CNCS ward nurse was higher than that of the general ward nurse (t=4.38, p<.001), and the role conflict of the CNCS ward nurse was lower than that of the general ward nurse (t=-2.09, p=.038). However, job embeddedness did not show any statistically significant difference (t=0.22, p=.824). Conclusion: The results of this study show that the introduction of CNCS ward has shown improvement in the work environment and strengthened the establishment of the roles in their team, while maintaining the job embeddedness of nurses. These results indicate that improvements in the work environment, such as nurse staffing and material support, would contribute to the qualitative enhancement of nursing and that it would need to extend the introduction of CNCS wards.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Culture
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• v.11 no.1
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• pp.107-121
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• 1996

This study was carried out to develop the computer-assisted Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) program for a systematic approach to the identification, assessment and control of hazards for foodservice manager to assure the microbiological quality of food in hospital foodservice operations. Sanitation practices were surveyed and analyzed in the dietetic department of 4 hospitals. Among them, one 762-bed general hospital was selected as standard model to develop computer-assisted HACCP program. All data base files and processing programs were created by using Foxpro package for easy access of HACCP concept. HACCP program was developed based on the methods suggested by NACMCF, IAMFES and Bryan. This program consisted of two parts: the pre-stage for HACCP study and the implementation stage of the HACCP system. 1. Pre-stage for HACCP study includes the selection of menu item, the development of the HACCP recipe, the construction of a product flow diagram, and printing the HACCP recipe and a product flow diagram. A menu item for HACCP study can be selected from the menu item lists classified by cooking methods. HACCP recipe includes ingredients, their amount and cooking procedure. A flow diagram is constructed based on the HACCP recipe. The HACCP recipe and a product flow diagram are printed out. 2. Implementation of HACCP study includes the identification of microbiological hazards, the determination of critical control points, the establishment of control methods of each hazard, and the complementation of data base file. Potentially hazardous ingredients are determined and microbiological hazards are identified in each phase of the product flow. Critical control points (CCPs) are identified by applying CCP decision trees for ingredients and each process stage. After hazards and CCPs are identified, criteria, monitoring system, corrective action plan, record-keeping system and verification methods are established. When the HACCP study is complemented, HACCP study result forms are printed out. HACCP data base file can be either added, corrected or deleted.

• Journal of Digital Convergence
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• v.17 no.9
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• pp.231-240
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• 2019

The purpose of this study was to explore and describe the relationship of the perception of patient safety culture, knowledge of standard precaution and performance of standard precaution among long-term care hospital nurses. Participants were 134 nurse in long-term hospital. Data were collected with structured questionnaires from January 2 to June 4, 2018. Data were analyzed by SPSS/WIN 21.0 program for descriptive statistics t-test, ANOVA, Scheffe's test and Pearson's correlation coefficient. The perception of patient safety culture were significantly correlated with knowledge of standard precaution(r=.192, p=.027), performance of standard precaution(r=211, p=.014). Therefore, in order to enhance the perception of patient safety culture and performance of standard precaution of long-term care hospital nurses, it would be necessary to enable health-care associated infections by themselves by cultivating standard precaution knowledge through systemic education and by enabling the establishment of affirmative patient safety culture.