• Journal of Digital Convergence
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• v.14 no.6
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• pp.325-333
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• 2016

This study was conducted to provide the base line for the use of prophylactic antibiotics and the standard of antibiotic use and the evaluation based on analysis of current use, quality assessment and periodic changes of prophylactic antibiotics in a university hospital. We chose the year 2008, 2009, 2010, 2012, and 2014 as the study periods since the primary evaluation on the first year of implementation in 2007. For this study, healthcare benefit quality assessment data from the Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service was used. We analyzed the differences each year of treatment period; one category for initial treatment timing, three categories for selecting antibiotics, and two categories for the length of treatment from multiple evaluation indices of gastric surgeries, colorectal surgeries, and cholecystectomy. The analysis revealed the followings: Regarding length of antibiotics treatment, total days of treatment decreased down to 1.5, 1.5, and 0.6 days in the year 2014, from 13.5, 12.8, and 6.9 days in the year 2007, for gastric surgeries, colorectal surgeries, and cholecystectomy. Based on these outcomes, the efforts to devise efficient delivery and distribution of the recommendations or indices which medical staff could adhere for quality improvement of the prophylactic antibiotics would be necessary. Also implementing monitoring system to help the hospitals to acknowledge their own faults may be helpful.

• Health Policy and Management
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• v.34 no.1
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• pp.38-47
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• 2024

Background: Korea's population of children and adolescents has decreased by 2.88 million over the past decade and is expected to decline further due to the unprecedented low birth rate. In the fee-for-service compensation system, the decline in the pediatric population relates directly to the profit decrease in the pediatric clinics. This study analyzed whether the worsening profits of pediatric clinics impacted their closure. Methods: We built annual data for pediatric and other department clinics (internal medicine, otolaryngology, and family medicine) using the status of medical institute and health insurance claims data from 2012 to 2022. Then, we analyzed whether institutional variables such as annual profit and regional variables (Herfindahl-Hirschman index, the number of clinics per 100,000, etc.) affected the closure of clinics. The methods used in this study are descriptive statistics and chi-square analysis. Odds ratios for each variable were estimated by generalized estimating equations (GEE). Results: The closure rate of pediatric clinics was 2.66%-7.04% in 2012-2022, which was consistently higher than those of internal medicine, otolaryngology, and family medicine clinics. The profit gap per institution between the pediatric and the other clinics grew from 126 million won in 2012 to 245 million won in 2019. In the GEE analysis, profit decrease compared to the previous year with lower profit was the main factor that increased the closure of pediatric and other department clinics. After adjusting profit-related variables, the decrease in the pediatric population itself did not relate to the closure of pediatric clinics. The number of pediatric clinics or monopolies also did not affect the closure of pediatric clinics. Conclusion: The worsening profit is the crucial factor for the closure of pediatric clinics, while the pediatric population is decreasing. For this reason, it is necessary to actively seek ways to maintain a stable treatment system for children and adolescents.

• Journal of Korean Medicine Rehabilitation
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• v.31 no.4
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• pp.105-116
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• 2021

Objectives Lumbar herniated intervertebral disc (L-HIVD) is common disease in which Western-Korean collaborative treatment is performed in Korea. This study aimed to analyze Western-Korean collaborative treatment utilization of Korean patients with L-HIVD using Health Insurance Review & Assessment Service's Patients Sample Data. Methods This study used the Health Insurance Review & Assessment Service-National Patient Sample (HIRA-NPS) in 2018. Claim data of L-HIVD patients were extracted. The claim data were rebuilt with the operational concept of 'episode of care' and divided into Korean medicine episode group (KM), Western medicine episode group (WM) and collaborative treatment episode group (CT). General characteristics, medical expenses and healthcare utilization were analyzed. In addition, the difference of average visit day and average medical expenses between non-collaborative group (KM plus WM) and CT were analyzed by the propensity score matching method. Results A Total of 64,333 patients and 365,745 claims were extracted. The number of episodes of WM, KM and CT was 69,383 (92.97%), 3,903 (5.23%), and 1,341 (1.80%) respectively. The frequency of collaborative treatment episode was higher in women and the age of 50s. The most frequently described treatment in CT was acupuncture therapy. As a result of the propensity score matching, the number of visit days and medical expenses in the collaborative treatment group was higher than in the non-collaborative group. Conclusions The analysis of healthcare utilization of Korean-Western collaborative treatment may be used as basic data for establishing medical policies and systematic collaborative treatment model in the future.

• The Journal of Churna Manual Medicine for Spine and Nerves
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• v.11 no.1
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• pp.53-64
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• 2016

Objectives : The aim of this study is to assess the usage of diagnosis codes for somatic dysfunctions and the general characteristics of patients diagnosed with the code, by analyzing health insurance data provided by the Health Insurance Review & Assessment Service(HIRA) of Korea. This investigation is intended to outline future and willing to contribute to further use of diagnosis code and the approach of Oriental Medicine to somatic dysfunction. Materials and Methods : By analyzing HIRA data, those diagnosed with M99 codes, a code attributed to somatic dysfunction, were selected for analysis. Patients included were assessed for the relevant general characteristics, and the specific diagnostic criteria. The current usage rates and noteworthy characteristics of diagnostic codes of somatic dysfunctions were assessed. A comparative analysis between clinical departments and subcategories, and a comparative analysis to data of 2014 was conducted. Results : Patients given M99 codes constituted a small minority of all patients diagnosed in 2011 as shown by HIRA data. The codes were more frequently to older patients, females, outpatients, and those who filed for Health Insurance compensation. Medical institutions participating in the diagnosis were mostly primary care facilities, usually specializing in orthopedic(Western medicine sector) and internal medicine (Oriental Medicine sector). The most registered code in 2011 and 2014 was M995. The same trend can be observed in Oriental/Western medicine institutions and Public health center, on the other hand, between them, have some different patterns both 2nd and 3rd. Conclusions : This investigation is that of current usage of diagnostic codes of somatic dysfunction. HIRA insurance claim data was analyzed. Based on the current results, more precise diagnostic standards of somatic dysfunction are warranted. This study will provide a foundation for future Oriental Medicine approach to somatic dysfunctions.

• Health Policy and Management
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• v.34 no.1
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• pp.26-37
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• 2024

Background: The purpose of this study was to compare and analyze the differences in charges and length of stay per case between spine specialty hospitals and non-specialty hospitals, and to identify the factors that influenced them. Methods: This study used claims data from the Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service, including inpatient visits from January 2021 to December 2022. The healthcare facility status data was used to identify the characteristics of study hospitals. Multilevel analysis was conducted to identify factors associated with the charges and Poisson regression analysis was conducted to analyze the length of stay between spine specialty hospitals and non-specialty hospitals. There were 32,015 cases of spine specialty hospitals and 17,555 cases of non-specialty hospitals. Results: For four of five common spinal surgeries, specialty hospitals shaped longer length of stay than those of non-specialty hospitals. Multilevel and Poisson regression analysis revealed that regardless of the type of surgery, higher age and higher Charlson comorbidity index scores were significantly associated with an increase in both the charges per case and length of stay (p<0.05). However, when hospitals were located in metropolitan areas, there was a significant decrease (p<0.05). Conclusion: This study found that specialty hospital had higher inpatient charges and loner length of stay contrary to the previous study results. Further studies will be needed to find which contribute to the differences.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.36 no.4
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• pp.349-358
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• 2003

Objectives : Aseptic meningitis is a major cause of Korean childhood morbidity late spring and early summer. However, the nationwide incidences of the disease have not been reported. This study was conducted to evaluate the availability of National Health Insurance data (NHID) for the study of an epidemiological trend in the surveillance of aseptic meningitis in children. Methods : All the claims, under A87, A87.8, and A87.9 by ICD-10, among children below 15 years of age, to the National Health Insurance Corporation, between January and December 1998, were extracted. A survey of the medical record of 3,874 cases from 136 general hospitals was peformed. The availability of the NHID was evaluated by the three following methods: 1) The diagnostic accuracy (the positive Predictive value : proportion of the confirmed aseptic meningitis among the subjects registered as above disease-codes in NHID) was evaluated through a chart review, and according to age, gender, month and region of disease-occurrence. 2) The distribution of confirmed cases was compared with the distribution of total subjects from the NHID, for subjects in General hospitals, or the subjects surveyed. 3) The proportion of confirmed CSF test was confirmed, and the relating factor, which was the difference in CSF-test rate, analyzed. Results : Among 3,874 cases, CSF examinations were peformed on 1,845 (47.6%), and the CSF-test rates were different according to the medical utility (admission vs. OPD visit) and the severity of the symptoms and signs. The diagnostic accuracy for aseptic meningitis, and during the epidemic (May-Aug) and sporadic (Sept-Apr) periods, were 85.0 (1,568/1,845), 86.0 (1,239/l,440) and 81.2% (329/405), respectively. The distributions by age, sex, month or period (epidemic/sporadic) and region, in the confirmed cases, were similar to those in the NHID, in both the subjects at General hospitals and in those surveyed, to within ${\pm}7%$. Conclusions : In this paper, the NHID for the subjects registered with an aseptic meningitis disease-code might be available for an epidemiological study on the incidence-estimation of childhood aseptic meningitis, as the NHID could include both the probable and definite cases. On the basis of this result, further studies of time-series and secular trend analyses, using the NHID, will be peformed.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.43 no.6
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• pp.523-534
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• 2010

Objectives: We assessed impact of performance reporting information about the readmission rate, length of stay and cost of hip hemiarthroplasty. Methods: The data are from a nationwide claims database, National Quality Improvement Project database, of Health Insurance Review & Assessment Service in Korea. From January 2006 to April 2008, we received information of length of stay, readmission within 30 days, cost of 22 851 hip hemiarthroplasty episodes. Each episodes has retained the diagnoses of comorbidities and demographics. We used time-series analysis to assess the shifting of patients selections, between high volume (over 16 operations in a year) and low volume institutions, after performance reporting (December 2007). The changes of quality (readmission, length of stay) and cost were evaluated by multilevel analysis with adjustment of patient's factors and institutional factors after performance reporting. Results: As compared with the before performance reporting, the proportion of patients who choose the high volume institution, increased 3.45% and the trends continued 4 months at marginal significance (p = 0.059). After performance reporting, national average readmission rate, length of stay were decreased by 0.49 OR (95% CI=0.25 - 0.95) and 10% (${\beta}$=-0.102, p<0.01) and cost was not changed (${\beta}$=-0.01, p=0.27). The high volume institutions were more decreased than low volume in length of stay. Conclusions: After performance reporting, readmission rate, length of stay were decreased and the patient selections were marginally shifted from low volume institutions to high volume institutions.

• Journal of Trauma and Injury
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• v.25 no.4
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• pp.152-158
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• 2012

Purpose: To understand the epidemiology of head trauma and the utilization of brain CT in Korea, we analyzed a national sampling data set, the National Patient Sample obtained from the Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service. Methods: We retrospectively collected and analyzed demographic and clinical data on enrolled patients from the National Patient Sample based on medical claims data for 2009. The data included patient's age, sex, treatment date, diagnosis codes, procedure codes related with CT, holiday or night consultation fee, and fee for emergency management services. Results: In 2009, the estimated population with head trauma was 819,059(1.8%), and the rate of brain CT utilization was 22.4%. Children ages 5 to 15 were the most commonly injured group(22.8%), but had the lowest brain CT utilization(16.5%). The mean age of the estimated population with head trauma was $34.9{\pm}0.5years$ old, and male patients accounted for 60.5% of that population. Intracranial injury was found in 8.6% of all head traumas, and the rate of intracranial injury in children was lower than it was in adults(4.1% vs. 10.9%, p<0.001). Twenty- three percent of patients with head trauma visited the emergency department (ED). More patients with head trauma visited medical facilities in the daytime on weekdays(66.5% vs. 33.5%, p<0.001), but head CT was performed more frequently at night or on weekends/holidays(16.1% vs. 34.7%, p<0.001) There is low incidence of head trauma in the winter in children (p<0.001). In the multivariate logistic regression analysis, patients who were adults, female, or ED visitors were more likely to undergo brain CT (odds ratio (OR): 1.65, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.47-1.84; OR: 1.40, 95% CI: 1.27-1.54; OR: 7.80, 95% CI: 6.91-8.80, respectively). Conclusion: In this study, we analyzed the national epidemiologic trend for head trauma, and the pattern of utilization of brain CT.

• The Korea Journal of Herbology
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• v.27 no.2
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• pp.1-16
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• 2012

Objective : To investigate the current status of prescription drugs in Oriental medical institutes and to draw up a future plan for the revitalization of Oriental medical health insurance, this survey has been performed. Method : The survey has been made with 321 doctors working at Oriental medical institutes in Daegu and Kyungbuk areas for a period of 3 month from June 1, 2010 until September 1, 2010. Result : 1. When it comes to the current status of the use of herbal drugs in Oriental Health insurance, most of doctors surveyed prescribe insurance drugs, and they prescribe insurance drugs to patients, who are less than 20% of total patients visiting their clinics. 2. The awareness of Herbal Health Care Drugs is investigated. When it comes to the understanding of the difference between insurance drugs(powder type drugs) and granular type drugs, doctors admit that they differ only in one aspect, whether or not their being covered by health insurance. Based on the survey results on the understanding of insurance coverage of granular type drugs, doctors, even though they long for granular type drugs to be accepted as insurance drugs, are worrying whether the number of outpatients might dwindle due to increased insurance co-payments. They also point out that the biggest obstacles in the expansion of the granular type drugs as insurance drugs are the lack of understanding of the government and the objection of the Health Insurance Review and Assesment service (HIRA) for fear of increased insurance claims. 3. Upon investigation on Oriental medicine doctors' understandings of herbal pharmaceutical industry, it is found that doctors' responses on pharmaceutical industry are not all positive ones('new product development and neglect of R&D infrastructure' and 'smallness of industry'). When it is investigated what area needs the greatest improvement in herbal pharmaceutical industry, 'securing sufficient capital, good manufacturing, and strengthening quality control', is the highest. 4. When it is asked what are the most needed in order to improve herbal health insurance medicine, responses such as 'the increase in the accessibility to and the utilization of Oriental medical clinics through the diversification of the means of prescriptions', 'the improvement of insurance benefits(cap adjustments)', 'increase the proportion of high quality medicinal plants', 'the ceiling of co-payments(deductible) at 20,000 won or more', 'expansion of the choices of formulations', 'formulational expansions of tablets and pills', and finally 'admittance and expansion of granular type drug as insurance drug' are the highest. 5. Upon investigating the general characteristics of the current status of the usage of Oriental health care herbal drugs, the followings are observed. First, the frequency of use of health insurance drugs by the doctors who use health insurance with general characteristics shows similar differences in case of total monthly sales amount (p<0.001), average number of daily patients (p<0.05). Secondly, as to the willingness of the expanded usage of insurance drugs, similar differences are observed in case of total monthly sales amount (p<0.05). 6. Upon investigating the general characteristics of the perception of Herbal health care drugs, the followings are observed. First, inspecting general characteristics and insurance claims due to increased co-payments(deductible amount) reveals similar differences in case of working period (p<0.01) and in case of total monthly sales amount (p <0.01). Secondly, inspecting general characteristics and the obstacles that hinder granular type drugs from being accepted as health care insurance drugs shows similar differences in case of working period (p<0.05). 7. Upon investigating the general characteristics of the understanding of Oriental Herbal pharmaceutical companies, the followings are observed. First, opinions on the general characteristics of pharmaceutical companies, when examined with variance analysis, shows similar differences in case of total monthly sales amount (p<0.05). Secondly, when opinions are examined on general characteristics and the problems of herbal pharmaceutical companies, similar differences are found in case of working period (p<0.01) and in case of total monthly sales amount (p<0.001). Lastly, opinions on the general characteristics and reforms of pharmaceutical companies, similar differences are observed in case of working period (p<0.001). 8. Upon investigating the general characteristics of the improvement of insurance Herbal drugs, the followings are observed. First, regarding general characteristics and insurance benefits, similar differences are observed in case of working period (p<0.05), in case of total monthly sales amount (p<0.05), and in case of average number of daily patients (p<0.01). Secondly, opinions on the general characteristics and the needs for the improvement of Herbal insurance drugs are examined in 5 different aspects, which are the approval of granular type drugs as insurance drugs, the expanded practices of the number of prescription insurance drugs, the needs of a variety of formulations, the needs of TFT of which numbers of Oriental medical doctors are members for the revision of the existing system, and the needs of adjusting the current ceiling of the fixed amount and the fixed rate. When processed by the analysis of variance, the results show similar differences in case of average number of daily patients (p<0.01). Conclusion : From the results of this study the first measures to take are, to reform overall insurance benefit system, including insurance co-payment system(fixed rate cap adjustment), to expand the number of the herbal drugs to be prescribed matching with insurance benefit accordingly, and to revitalize herbal medicine insurance system through the change of various formulations. In addition, it is recommended to improve the effectiveness of herbal medicine by making plans to enhance the efficacy of herbal medicine and by enabling small pharmaceutical companies to outgrow themselves.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.14 no.7
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• pp.3390-3399
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• 2013

The purpose of this study was to examine the incidence rates of pressure ulcers depending on the types of healthcare organizations and to determine whether the characteristics of patients and facilities influence on the incidence of pressure ulcers in long term facilities. We analyzed data on 796,857 patients of the 2009 National Patient Sample which was extracted from to claims for medical fees to Health Insurance Review & Assesment Service(HIRA). A total of 3.2% of patients(n=25,339) had at least 1 pressure ulcer during their hospitalization. The pressure ulcer rates were highest in long term care facilities(8.2%, n=11,895) following general hospital(2.7%, n=8,052), hospital(1.7%, n= 5,059). According to logistic regression analysis, urinary incontinence (Odds ratio(OR)=2.462, 95% confidence interval(CI)=2.038-2.974), hypertension(OR=1.456, CI=1.400-1.515), peripheral vessel diseases (OR=1.357, CI=1.200-1.534) were significant predictors of pressure ulcers. As the number of diagnoses, age, and the number of doctors per 100 beds increased, the incidence of pressure ulcers increased. In addition, more number of beds was associated with fewer pressure ulcers.