• Quality Improvement in Health Care
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• v.7 no.1
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• pp.118-131
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• 2000

Background : A continuous healthcare quality improvement is needed to provide high quality healthcare service as well as to maintain trust in terms of satisfying the needs of the patients. Recently it also became an essential issue. in hospital management, recognized for it's competitive potentiality among healthcare organization groups. This study was conducted to analyze patient complaints and issues received by the Quality Improvement Department. Its purpose is to improve healthcare qualities within the hospital, as well as establish policies and appropriate strategies in hospital management. Method : From July 1st to September 30th of the year 1999, we analyzed all complaints and issues made by various patients and their families, which were received through 24 hour phone consultation, numerous suggestion boxes, letters and E-mails, The issues were classified into 16 different categories based on a Patient Satisfaction Assessment Tool. All data were segregated according to the departmental frequencies and their contents. To come up with for environmental and patient satisfaction improvement, all complaints or issues were communicated with hospital administrators, medical and nursing staff and employees. Comprehensive customer satisfaction activities including improving phone etiquette were discussed in Customer Satisfaction Team, CQI Team and each Department. All opportunities for improvement were implemented. Feedback actions were discussed. Results : A total of 317 cases were collected. Issues regarding parking and other accommodation facilities were most common complaints that were 14.5% of total. Issues regarding admission rooms (10.7%), admission procedures (10.7%), waiting room environment (8.8%), nurses and nurse assistants (7.6%), physicians (6.6%) and others (23%) followed. Thirteen of 45 departments received more than 8 complaints. The Nursing Department had the most complaint, receiving 9.8% of total complaints. Complaints regarding the Nursing Department were predominantly related to the environment of patient rooms. The Department of Psychiatry for phone etiquette (4.7%), Department of Otolaryngology for the nursing staff's attitude and phone etiquette (4.4%), and the Admission Department followed. As a part of efforts to improve patient satisfaction, a new parking structure was built and reallocation of the parking space was done. Renovation of other accommodation facilities were carried out by hospital administration, Monthly phone call and answering attitude survey was done by QI Department. Based on this survey we made a phone etiquette manual and distributed throughout the hospital. Compare to the last year, Patient Satisfaction Index measured by Korea Productivity Center using National Customer Satisfaction Index was improved 7 points. According to our organization's own study, we confirmed the phone etiquette was improved 11% than last year. Conclusions : Issues related to parking and other accommodation facilities ranked first followed by complaints made regarding the patient care area, the admission and cashier process, and nurses' and doctors' attitude. The Nursing and Psychiatry Departments need improvement regarding phone etiquette. Results were shared and played a vital role in policymaking and strategic planning of the hospital. It is imperative that we keep our database updated by listening to and solving the needs of each patient. The CQI activities can be achieved only by full commitment of the hospital top management supported by related personal.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.29 no.1 s.52
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• pp.79-90
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• 1996

The purpose of the study was to determine factors influencing compliance with anti-tuberculosis therapy. The study subjects were 104 tuberculosis patients who have received the initial treatment in 3 health centers of Kyongju-City, Dalseong-Gun in Teagu and Kumi-City. Data were collected between September and October 1995. The patients were classified into the improved group and the non-improved group according to outcomes of 3 month treatment with short-term therapeutic regimen. To find factors influencing compliance with anti-tuberculosis therapy, multiple logistic regression was made. There was no significant differences between the improved group and the non-improved group in sex, age, education level, occupation, family pattern, and habitual change regarding smoking and drinking. The level of knowledge about anti-tuberculosis therapy in the improved group was significantly higher than the non-improved group(p<0.01). Multiple logistic regression analysis revealed that family support for not forgetting medication (p<0.05) wis a predictor of improvement and knowledge about anti-tuberculosis therapy(p=0.054), regularity of medication(p=0.062), and consultation to family, doctor and nurse(p=0.075) were marginal predictors of improvement. Treatment must be given to every patient confirmed as having tuberculosis and must be given free of charge to the patients. The requirements for adequate chemotherapy are prescribed in the correct dosage and taken regularly by the patient for a sufficient period to prevent relapse of the disease after cure. It is suggested that education to the patients should be reinforced and connectedness between patients and tuberculosis control workers and family should be solidated.

• Journal of Hospice and Palliative Care
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• v.20 no.3
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• pp.167-172
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• 2017

End-stage liver disease (ESLD) is a terminal condition of cirrhosis which cannot be treated without liver transplantation. Thus, it is natural for patients to consider hospice/palliative care (HPC). Since the recent legislation of the Act on Decisions on Life-Sustaining Treatment for Patients in Hospice and Palliative Care or at the End of Life (Act No. 14013) in Korea, the practicality of this law has become an issue. The criteria for HPC should be defined with consideration to how the severity of each ESLD complication may vary by individual patients. Generally, patients qualify if they have an intractable condition despite aggressive treatment such as the hepatorenal syndrome, hepatic encephalopathy or variceal hemorrhage. However, the option of liver transplantation should be sufficiently discussed with patients and their families before making a decision on HPC. The evaluation of which ESLD patients should receive HPC should be based on a long-term doctor-patient relationship and sufficient objective data. Therefore, a multidisciplinary approach and mutual consultation among cirrhosis specialists and doctors with other expertise are essential to offer optimal and balanced treatments between liver-specific treatment and HPC. Discussed in this review are adequate criteria for HPC and special considerations for ESLD at the point of HPC.

• Child Health Nursing Research
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• v.3 no.1
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• pp.83-98
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• 1997

The purpose of this study were to find out the practical way to enlarged child-raising knowledge and to enhance their satisfaction with out-patient care by evaluating how effectively the education is done by nurses for mothers with ill-child and how their satisfaction with out-patient care changed. This study was designed as a Nonequivalent Control Group study. The subjects studied were consisted of the experimental and control group. Each consisted of 50 mothers with ill-child in pediatric department at one university hospital in Seoul. The period of this study is from May 20, 1996 to J one 28, 1996. The first data were collected from both of experimental and control groups in which mothers with ill-child come to the hospital for the first time. After this being done, the experimental group had been educated by the planned program and then the second data were collected from them. On the contrary, as for the control group, there had been no education and the second data were col looted on the same method. The data analysis was done by SPSS program. The results of this study are as follow, 1 The child-raising knowledge level of mothers with education was higher than that of with no education. (t=18.84, df=49, p=0.000) 2. The satisfaction with out-patient care level of mothers with education was higher than that of no education. (t=10.51, df=49, p=0.000) Based on these results, I suggest as follow, 1. The research on the patients and their family should be made not only in pediatric department, but in every out-patient department. 2. For more effective education, it is required for all out-patient nurses to research the education demand of patients and their family. 3. To increase the effect of education, there must be the consultation room in out-patient department. 4. The meetings with the mothers with ill-child of the same illness have to be established and periodical education must be executed. 5. Audio-visual education programs like video tapes are needed to make use of waiting time for the medical treatment. 6. On-line consulting programs are needed.

• Health Policy and Management
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• v.9 no.1
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• pp.30-71
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• 1999

There has been a dramatic increase in public awareness regarding dementia during recent years. However, dementia remains a family affair and patients do not receive adequate care in Korea. This study aims to assist patients and their caregivers by establishing Home and Community based Long-Term Care in a city. The data collected for analysis include five main categories: dementia prevalence, limitations of daily activities of patients, burden of caregivers, the services that patient's family want to utilize, the resources that handle dementia in the community. Major findings can be summarized as follows: 1)The prevalence rate of dementia for elderly people is 13.1 per 100 persons. Alzheimer's disease amount to 38.9% of dementia patients and vascular dementia account for 36.7% of them 2)Eight out of ten patients have mild dementia. Almost all patients have normal ADL. IADL, however, shows different picture. In every items of IADL, about 60% of patients reveals some limitations. 3)The proportion of patients who had medical diagnosis is as low as 20%. Families of patients think dementia as normal aging process and medical doctors in the community do not give special concern to dementia patients. 4)Caregivers does not have proper social support. They suffer from long care time, experience large obstacles in respect of health, daily living, and social activity. 5)Health center and Community welfare center have launched some programs-consultation, home-visiting nursing, day care center, voluntary force mobilization and so on-for dementia patients. But they do not perform expected roles and functions because of lack of skilled personnels and inadequate coordination of relevant organizations for dementia care. 6)Families of dementia patients prefer home helper and home-visiting nurse to hospitalization. For the future, however, demand for institution-based long-term services will increase. We develope community dementia care model based on above findings as follows: 1)Health center execute community cardiovascular control program for the prevention of vascular dementia. 2)Refer to epidemiologic characteristics of patients and preference of family, the most urgent task for dementia care in this city is to expand and organize Home and Community based Long-Term Care. 3)For the continuous and comprehensive care, care plan for a patient must be prepared. Case management team should be builded to prepare this plan and coordinate relevant resources. 4)Special long-term care unit for dementia will be needed in a near future. This unit should have multiple functions, such as day-care center, short stay facility, training center for relevant personnels, besides long-term nursing home considering effective care of dementia and efficient operation of the facility. 5)Voluntary workers deserve their due efforts. Incentive mechanisms must be developed to activate voluntary activities.

• Journal of Korean Academy of Fundamentals of Nursing
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• v.4 no.2
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• pp.245-265
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• 1997

The purpose of this study was to promote the effectiveness in managing disease or injury, by examining the length of stay in hospital according to characteristics concerned before and after operation, and by serving as a basis for reducing that length. As a result of investigating the length of stay in hospital according to inpatient's personal characteristics, clinical features and other characteristics concerned, the following characteristics appeared significant. The characteristics that showed a significant difference about the length of stay in hospital before and after operation were the age and the fact whether one was married or not among inpatient's personal characteristics. The significant ones among clinical features were the route to be taken to hospital, the form of insurance, the experience of re-hospitalization, whether another disease coexisted, the experiment of changing department, whether a diagnosis was determined by consultation, whether an intensive care unit was used, whether re-operation was performed, the total number of case of the experience of re-hospitalization, inpatient who were again sent to hospital under the same diagnosis was not included in the investigation, which was pointed out as a limit in this study. The significant ones among other characteristics concerned were the date and season when the patients were taken to hospital and the doctor in attendance. The doctor in attendance appeared to give a significant impact on the length of stay in hospital before operation, but no significant difference was noted in the mean among the doctors in attendance. And those characteristics were not found regularly among the selected departments. As stated above, one way to reduce the length of stay In hospital was to diminish the length of stay in hospital before operation. The term of hospitalization before operation shall be reduced by grasping the factors that affected that length before operation and by conducting examination as many as possible in the out-patient department. Also, the efforts should be put on that length after operation. The management of hospital seemed to be successfully carried out if those factors affected that length were effectively controlled.

• The Korean Society of Law and Medicine
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• v.10 no.2
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• pp.343-405
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• 2009

This paper is to discuss essential business of hospital business. While the labor world and ILO made continuous recommendation for improvements towards the compulsory arbitration system along with the controversy over unconstitutionality of the system, the Constitutional Court ruled that the system is constitutional on December 23, 1996(90hunba19) and on May 15, 2003 (2001hunga31). Despite this decision from the Constitutional Court, there has been much controversy over whether the compulsory arbitration system infringes the rights of collective action against the principle of trade union & labor relations adjustment which allows Commissioner of the Labor Relations Commission to decide on submission of arbitration by virtue of his/her authority in case where industrial disputes take place in the essential public-service businesses. The revision on the above provision was closely examined from the year 2003 and an agreement was made on the abolition of the compulsory arbitration system and the introduction of essential business with a grand compromise among labor unions, employers and the government on September 11, 2006 followed by revision(Essential business system enacted on January 1, 2008) of the Trade Union & Labor Relations Adjustment Act on December 30 in the same year. Accordingly, in order to perform the essential business, parties to labor relations must have an agreement or obtain a decision by the Labor Relations Commission before taking industrial actions. This paper firstly examined the concept of essential public-service businesses and essential business, legal meaning of essential business, procedures for making agreement and decision and legal effects. Secondly it intensively explored a theory against the principle of the legality which was raised from some part of society. In other words, it is claimed that a theory against the principle of the legality is not consistent with the rule of legislation and some abstract wording is against void for vagueness doctrine because part of crime constitution requirements is delegated to the Presidential Decree or to consultation among parties to labor relations. But analysis on the rule of legislation and void for vagueness doctrine reflected in the decision by the Constitutional Court led that argument for a theory against the principle of the legality is not reasonable. Close examination was done on a formal act of essential business agreement and necessity of prior agreement before submission of decision to the Labor Relations Commission which might have difficulties in performing work. In addition, an example agreement on hospital essential business is attached to help you understand this paper better.

• Korean Journal of Hospice Care
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• v.2 no.1
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• pp.87-111
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• 2002

The hospice activities in Korea have still stood in the premature stage, although the contemporary hospice program, which professionally accommodates terminally ill patients, appeared in the history 35 years ago. Especially, the availability of the facility hospice is not only poor in number, but also lack of a guideline for the conduct of the facility. Saemmul Hospice has keenly felt the necessity of more facility hospices and has interchanged experiences and informations with people interested in hospice. However, the number of facilities has fallen short of one's expectations, and many problems have been revealed in order to maintain the operation. This paper was written in order to improve these atmospheres and to help more terminally ill cancer patients properly. This paper clarifies in detail the principle of management, the method of practice in each departments of Saemmul Hospice, expected effects and supplemental items. We try to provide concrete and practical informations and to help extensively for all peoples who are to begin or currently working. 1.Facility: It secures, maintain, and manage the hospice environment for all around care of patients effectively. 2.Education and Volunteer: It trains and manages hospice volunteers devoted to hospice. 3.Financial: It manages donation by healthy soul with an effective method. 4.Administration and Organization: It executes the administration efficiently and constitutes the organization to operate. 5.Medical and Nursing: It offers the maximum professional supports to a hospital. 6.Medicine and alternative medicine: It improves the quality of life of patients by medical and pharmaceutical approach and by other possible methods available. 7.Nutrition: It helps patients to have diets in accord with the order of the creation. 8.Belief: It offers spiritual care which allows the profound relationship with God. 9. Funeral ceremonies: Funeral ceremonies may heal grieves of families faced with their deaths. 10. Bereaved families: It supports the families after the deaths of patients. 11.Reception and consultation: It seeks to help the patients who meet the purposes for which Saemmul Hospice is established. 12.Publication: It allows publicity activities for Saemmul Hospice. Facility hospice programs are able to overcome the disadvantages that the other type of the hospice possess, like as the economic burdens of the families, and the patients' losses of comforts of home after being transferred to a hospital. Facility hospice can provide home atmosphere with professional manpower and facilities like hospital to the patients. Therefore, it can also improve patients' qualities of life and make them comfortable death. We anticipate that the hospice program in Korea would be more active to let more people be indebted to maintain the nobel human dignity and to cross beautifully in the most painful process of dying in the journey of their lives.

• Korean Journal of Psychosomatic Medicine
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• v.27 no.2
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• pp.111-118
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• 2019

Objectives : The purpose of this study was to investigate the clinical characteristics of antipsychotic medication prescription for the symptom control in patients with delirium. Methods : One hundred and eighty-five patients referred to consultation-liaison psychiatric services for delirium due to general medical condition were included in this study. All subjects were divided into two groups (antipsychotics users vs. antipsychotics nonusers), and comparison analyses on their clinical characteristics were performed. Results : One hundred and twenty nine patients (66.5%) used antipsychotics for their delirium, and 56 patients (30.3%) did not use antipsychotics. The history of psychotropic medication was more frequently observed in antipsychotic users (5.4% vs. 18.6%, χ²=5.498, p=0.022). Especially, the history of benzodiazepine use was significantly high in antipsychotics users. The total score and sub-items of delirium rating scale-severity items except for the psychomotor retardation item showed higher scores in antipsychotic users than in nonusers (all p<0.05). The total score of the delirium rating scale-diagnosis items was higher in antipsychotic users than in the nonusers (p=0.010). Conclusions : Delirium patients with more severe delirium symptoms and with more history of benzodiazepine use were treated with antipsychotics more frequently than those without. These findings imply that benzodiazepine may not only exacerbate delirium but be associated with aggression or psychomotor agitation that need immediate intervention. Clinicians may need to pay attention not only these external symptoms but also to hypoactive symptoms that may lead to misdiagnosis and undertreatment.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.17 no.1
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• pp.259-268
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• 1984

The Korean government launched the medicaid program for the poor people as a wing of the social development and welfare programs beginning in 1977 when the fourth 5-year national economic development program started. The charts of the medicaid recipients who visited Jonglo-Gu Health Center for the period from 1981 to 1983 were reviewed and analysed. Major findings from the analysis are as follows. 1. The medicaid recipients occupied 5.19% in 1981, 2.90% in 1982 and 2.00% among the total residents of Jonglo district in 1983, respectively. 2. The mean number of physician visits per person year of medicaid recipients who visited the Jonglo-Gu Health Center was 4.73 in 1981, 4.90 in 1982 and 4.41 in 1983, respectively. 3. The consultation/referral rate at the Jonglo-Gu Health Center was 2.65% in 1981, 1.77% in 1982 and 2.18% in 1983 while the rate at the department of family practice, Seoul National University Hospital was 3.18% in 1983. 4. Classifying into 17 major categories, the pattern of diseases of the poor outpatients who visited the Hallym College Medical Center both in 1981 and 1982 showed a statistically similar pattern of the 5,169 medicaid patients who visited the Jonglo-Gu Health Center in 1981 and 401 patients in 1983. 5. Classifying into 17 major categories, the disease of outpatient visits at the department of family practice, Seoul National University Hospital from 1st May, 1983 to 31s1 Oct., 1983 revealed statistically significant similarity with both the 5,169 medicaid patients in 1981 and the 401 patients sampled in 1983. 6. Classifying into 17 major categories, the diseases of community diagnosis at the Ihwa Dong, Jonglo-Gu also showed a statistically significant similarity with the 5,169 medicaid patients who visited the Jonglo-Gu Health Center in 1981. 7. Classifying into 17 major categories, the diseases of 5,169 medicaid patients at Jonglo-Gu Health Center in 1981 showed a statistically significant similar distribution with that of the 401 sampled medicaid patients at this center in 1983. 8. Among the medicaid patients who utilized the Jonglo-Gu Health Center in 1983, 401 sampled patients who are practicable routine urinalysis composed of 131 indigent group and 270 low-income group. The sample composed of 127 males and 274 females. There were more old patients than the young ones among the 401 sampled patients. 9. Age-adjusted prevalence rate of the hypertension computed by the direct method using estimated of midyear population of 1980 year as the standard is the highest in the Yonsei area and the lowest in the Shindongmyun. Furthermore age-adjusted prevalence rate was higher for males than that of females. 10. The group of hypertension patients using routine urinalysis profile composed of pyuria, hematuria, proteinuria and glycosuria is the most statistical significant, the pyuria alone is very significant, hematuria is significant and proteinuria is also significant.