• Journal of Acupuncture Research
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• v.27 no.3
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• pp.137-146
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• 2010

Objectives : While there are many studies about treatments of facial palsy, no study has been performed on general population of Korea, especially concerning about comparison between western medicine and oriental medicine. This study aimed to investigate magnitude of health visits and treatment patterns for Korean patients with facial palsy through the computerized database of Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service(HIRAS). Methods : According to the HIRAS database over 5 years' period from 2004 to 2008, the medical records of patients with facial palsy as a main diagnosis were extracted. Inclusion criteria of facial palsy are Bell's palsy(G510), Geniculate ganglionitis(G511), Melkersson's syndrome(G512), Other disorders of facial nerve(G518), Disorder of facial nerve, unspecified(G519) in western medicine. And Paralytic face(G016), Deviated eye and mouth(J01), The other facial palsy(J013) were included in oriental medicine. We compared the claim number of western medical care with that of oriental medicine treatment by year and month. Results : The total claim number of facial palsy was increasing on both western medicine and oriental medicine from 2004 to 2008. In western medicine, the claim number of Bell's palsy(G510) is the most. In oriental medicine the inpatients claim number of Deviated eye and mouth(J01) is the most, while outpatients claim number of the other facial palsy(J013) is the most. Conclusions : Medical database of HIRAS provided comprehensive and vast information on epidemiologic characteristics and treatment, which can be more reliable data to expect medical demand for facial palsy in condition that accurate diagnosis and standardized treatment is delivered in clinical settings.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.33 no.4
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• pp.393-401
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• 2000

Objectives : To evaluate the impacts of the DRG payment system on the behavior of medical insurance claimants. Specifically, we evaluated the case-mix index, the numbers of diagnosis and procedure codes utilized, and the corresponding rate of diagnosis codes before, during and after implementation of the DRG payment system. Methods : In order to evaluate the case-mix index, the number of diagnosis and procedure codes utilized, we used medical insurance claim data from all medical facilities that participated in the DRG-based Prospective Payment Demonstration Program. This medical insurance claim data consisted of both pre-demonstration program data (fee-for-service, from November, 1998 to January, 1999) and post-demonstration program data (DRG-based Prospective Payment, from February, 1999 to April, 1999). And in order to evaluate the corresponding rate of diagnosis codes utilized, we reviewed 820 medical records from 20 medical institutes that were selected by random sampling methods. Results : The case-mix index rate decreased after the DRG-based Prospective Payment Demonstration Program was introduced. The average numbers of different claim diagnosis codes used decreased (new DRGs from 2.22 to 1.24, and previous DRGs from 1.69 to 1.21), as did the average number of claim procedure codes used (new DRGs from 3.02 to 2.16, and previous DRGs from 2.97 to 2.43). With respect to the time of participation in the program, the change in number of claim procedure codes was significant, but the change in number of claim diagnosis codes was not. The corresponding rate of claim diagnosis codes increased (from 57.5% to 82.6%), as did the exclusion rate of claim diagnosis codes (from 16.5% to 25.1%). Conclusions : After the implementation of the DRG payment system, the corresponding rate of insurance claim codes and the corresponding exclusion rate of claim diagnosis codes both increased, because the inducement system for entering the codes for claim review was changed.

• Journal of Korean Medical Science
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• v.33 no.53
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• pp.343.1-343.8
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• 2018

Background: Linkage of public healthcare data is useful in stroke research because patients may visit different sectors of the health system before, during, and after stroke. Therefore, we aimed to establish high-quality big data on stroke in Korea by linking acute stroke registry and national health claim databases. Methods: Acute stroke patients (n = 65,311) with claim data suitable for linkage were included in the Clinical Research Center for Stroke (CRCS) registry during 2006-2014. We linked the CRCS registry with national health claim databases in the Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service (HIRA). Linkage was performed using 6 common variables: birth date, gender, provider identification, receiving year and number, and statement serial number in the benefit claim statement. For matched records, linkage accuracy was evaluated using differences between hospital visiting date in the CRCS registry and the commencement date for health insurance care in HIRA. Results: Of 65,311 CRCS cases, 64,634 were matched to HIRA cases (match rate, 99.0%). The proportion of true matches was 94.4% (n = 61,017) in the matched data. Among true matches (mean age 66.4 years; men 58.4%), the median National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale score was 3 (interquartile range 1-7). When comparing baseline characteristics between true matches and false matches, no substantial difference was observed for any variable. Conclusion: We could establish big data on stroke by linking CRCS registry and HIRA records, using claims data without personal identifiers. We plan to conduct national stroke research and improve stroke care using the linked big database.

• The Journal of the Korean life insurance medical association
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• v.29 no.2
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• pp.33-35
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• 2010

Multiple myeloma is characterized by the neoplastic proliferation of a single clone of plasma cells producing a monoclonal immunoglobulin and it is frequently associated with primary amyloidosis. I experienced a medical claims review case of plasma cell dyscrasia with primary amyloidosis. This medical consulting work to insurance claims will be helpful for another similar claims administration.

• The Journal of the Korean life insurance medical association
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• v.24
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• pp.27-42
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• 2005

Among medical claims review, decision of malignancy is very important. According to the pathologic report may be ordinary pathway. Some tumors are not completely studied especially malignancy. Wheather malignancy or benign is the important thing in medical claims review. We here disscuss on the debatable tumors such as carcinoid tumor, gastrointestinal stromal tumor (GIST), desmoid tumor, MALToma, and pseudomyxoma peritonei. Another controversial subject in the medical claims review is selection of pathologic report. If the result of the pathologic report is not same in one patient, We prefer the selsection of the report from more professional hospital. We have called this professional hospital l as "third hospital" or 'refferal hospital".

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.54 no.1
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• pp.8-16
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• 2021

This article aims to introduce the inception and operation of the COVID-19 International Collaborative Research Project, the world's first coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) open data project for research, along with its dataset and research method, and to discuss relevant considerations for collaborative research using nationwide real-world data (RWD). COVID-19 has spread across the world since early 2020, becoming a serious global health threat to life, safety, and social and economic activities. However, insufficient RWD from patients was available to help clinicians efficiently diagnose and treat patients with COVID-19, or to provide necessary information to the government for policy-making. Countries that saw a rapid surge of infections had to focus on leveraging medical professionals to treat patients, and the circumstances made it even more difficult to promptly use COVID-19 RWD. Against this backdrop, the Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service (HIRA) of Korea decided to open its COVID-19 RWD collected through Korea's universal health insurance program, under the title of the COVID-19 International Collaborative Research Project. The dataset, consisting of 476 508 claim statements from 234 427 patients (7590 confirmed cases) and 18 691 318 claim statements of the same patients for the previous 3 years, was established and hosted on HIRA's in-house server. Researchers who applied to participate in the project uploaded analysis code on the platform prepared by HIRA, and HIRA conducted the analysis and provided outcome values. As of November 2020, analyses have been completed for 129 research projects, which have been published or are in the process of being published in prestigious journals.

• Korea Journal of Hospital Management
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• v.8 no.2
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• pp.93-110
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• 2003

Fiscal crisis in the medical insurance has put the pressure upon hospitals by increasing the rate of curtailment, since the implementation of the separation between prescription and dispensing of Drug. The purpose of this study is to analyze the curtailment for antibiotics, injected drug and other drugs expenditure before and after the system of separation between prescribing and dispensing. Data were gathered from 13 general hospitals and used for analysis of trends on antibiotics and injected drug expenditure, and curtailment in 2000-2001 at three months intervals. The results were as follows; The curtailment rate of antibiotics expenditure has been increased in outpatient and inpatient since 2000. The curtailed antibiotics cost and injected drug cost in outpatient under the prescription within the hospital and in inpatient increased. The ratios of curtailment versus expenditure had increased in antibiotics, injected drugs, anticancer drugs, antiulcer drugs, albumine, antiinflammatory drugs. These results suggest that claim review system in social health insurance were over-focused mainly to control the cost and it might to impede the validity of claim review function in health insurance system. Therefore, it's needed to develope the scientific and reasonable parameter & criteria for claim review of drug expenditure.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.39 no.5
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• pp.433-437
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• 2006

Objectives: The aim of this study is to develop a methodology for estimating a nationwide statistic for hernia operations with using the claim database of the Korea Health Insurance Cooperation (KHIC). Methods: According to the insurance claim procedures, the claim database was divided into the electronic data interchange database (EDI_DB) and the sheet database (Paper_DB). Although the EDI_DB has operation and management codes showing the facts and kinds of operations, the Paper_DB doesn't. Using the hernia matched management code in the EDI_DB, the cases of hernia surgery were extracted. For drawing the potential cases from the Paper_DB, which doesn't have the code, the predictive model was developed using the data mining technique called SEMMA. The claim sheets of the cases that showed a predictive probability of an operation over the threshold, as was decided by the ROC curve, were identified in order to get the positive predictive value as an index of usefulness for the predictive model. Results: Of the claim databases in 2004, 14,386 cases had hernia related management codes with using the EDI system. For fitting the models with applying the data mining technique, logistic regression was chosen rather than the neural network method or the decision tree method. From the Paper_DB, 1,019 cases were extracted as potential cases. Direct review of the sheets of the extracted cases showed that the positive predictive value was 95.3%. Conclusions: The results suggested that applying the data mining technique to the claim database in the KHIC for estimating the nationwide surgical statistics would be useful from the aspect of execution and cost-effectiveness.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.28 no.1 s.49
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• pp.153-174
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• 1995

This study was conducted to examine the determinant factors for expenditure of the medical insurance program for self-employeds based on the analysis of 1991 'The Medical Insurance Program for Self-Employeds Statistical Yearbook', and also similar yearbooks in the metropolitan and other provinces. The major findings are as follows : We have divided benefits into these four components such as the utilization rate for out-patients, expenses per claim for out-patients as paid by the insurer, utilization rate for in-patients, and the expenses per claim for in-patients as paid by the insurer, in order to examine the determinant factors for it. The results of the study revealed the following findings, in urban areas, the supply of medical care had more influence on the benefits than other demographic and economic variables, while, in county areas, both the supply of medical care and the rate of those aged over 65 affected the provision of benefits. The determinant factors for financial balance of the medical insurance program for self-employeds are, first, the determinant factor for administrative expenses was the number of households. The more the number of households, the less the administrative expenses per the insured. This shows that the economy of scale is being. And so, the administrative district must be taken into consideration in the incorporation of small regional medical societies and should be re-organized for more efficient management. Second, in urban areas, the supply of medical care had more influence on utilization rate and expenses per claim as paid by insurer, and therefore it is necessary to control it. In county areas, the supply of medical care and the rate of those aged over 65 raised the utilization rate and expenses per claim as paid by insurer. For the financial stability of county areas, a common fund for medical care for the aged and expansion of finance stabilization fund would be necessary. But, in county areas, it would be unnecessary to control the supply of medical care because it was much more insufficient than in urban areas. The vitalization of public health facilities must be carried out in county areas, for they reduced benefits. Sice the more insured in a single household, the less the utilization of the medical insurance program, benefits for habilitation at home should be given consideration. The law of majority and the economy of scale were applied here, and therefore the incorporation of regional medical societies must be taken into consideration. In integrating regional medical societies, it would be absolutely necessary to review the structural differences among all regional medical societies, the medical demand of each region, and also the local characteristics of each region.

• The Journal of the Korean life insurance medical association
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• v.27 no.2
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• pp.68-74
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• 2008

Medical verification of cancer diagnosis in insurance claims is a very important procedure in insurance administrations. Claims staffs are in need of medical experts' opinions about claim administration. This procedure is called medical claim review (MCR) and is composed of verification and advice. MCR verification evaluates the insured’s physical condition by medical records and compares it with product coverage. It is divided into assessment of living assurance benefit, verification of cancer, and assessment of the cause of death. Actually cancer verification of MCR is applicable to coding because the risk ratio in product development is usually coded data. There are some confusing neoplastic diseases in assessing the verification of cancer. This article reviews gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GIST) and mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue tumors (MALToma) of the stomach. The second most common group of stromal or mesenchymal neoplasms affecting the gastrointestinal tract is GIST. Nowadays there are many articles about the pathophysiology of GIST. However there are few confirmative theories except molecular cell biology of KIT mutation and some tyrosine kinase. Therefore, coding the GIST, which has previously been classified as an intermediate risk group according to NIH2001 criteria, for cancer verification of MCR is suitable for D37.1; neoplasm of uncertain or unknown behavior of digestive organs and the stomach. The gastrointestinal tract is the predominant site of extranodal non-Hodgkin's lymphomas. B-cell lymphomas of the MALT type, now called extranodal marginal zone B-cell lymphoma of MALT type in the REAL/WHO classification, are the most common primary gastric lymphomas worldwide. Its characteristics are as follows. First, it is different from traditional stomach cancers such as gastric adenocarcinoma. Second, the primary therapy of MALToma is the eradication of H. pylori by antibiotics and the remission rate is over 80%. Third, it has a different clinical course compared to traditional malignant lymphoma. Someone insisted that cancer verification is not possible for the above reasons. However, there have been findings on pathologic mechanism, and according to WHO classification, MALToma is classified into malignant B-cell lymphoma and it must be verified as malignancy in MCR.