• Health Policy and Management
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• v.14 no.1
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• pp.44-64
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• 2004

As of 1 July 2000 a big reform was introduced into the Korean health care system: the separation between prescribing and dispensing of drugs (SPD reform). There was, however, a big financial stake associated with pharmaceuticals, particularly before the reform, because physicians as well as pharmacists were allowed to purchase drugs at much lower costs than the insurance reimbursement. In this respect, this study focuses on the change in income and profit of both doctor's clinics and pharmacies after the reform. Data from National Health and Nutritional Survey by the ministry of health and welfare were used to estimate the income or expenditure that are financed by out-of-pocket payment of the patients, while national health insurance data etc. were used for the estimation of the income or expenditure that is financed by insurers. Average annual income per doctor's clinic increased from 299 million won to 338 million won for the three years between 1998 and 2001, whereas average annual income per pharmacy increased enormously from 60 million won to 305 million won for the same period. Average annual 'profit' increase per each doctor's clinic caused by the reform itself was estimated to range from 50 to 83 million won, while that per each pharmacy, from 23 to 87 million won. In sum, while both doctor's clinics and pharmacies are beneficiaries of the SPD reform, its positive impact is particularly prominent on the latter.

• Korean Journal of Clinical Pharmacy
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• v.18 no.1
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• pp.18-27
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• 2008

This study investigated social relief schemes for serious adverse drug reactions in foreign countries and deduced lessons and implications for Korea to implement the scheme. A social relief scheme for serious adverse drug reactions provides reliefs for diseases and such health effects as disabilities or deaths that were caused by adverse reactions to pharmaceuticals prescribed at hospitals and clinics as well as those purchased at pharmacies notwithstanding their proper use. The US and the UK do not have specific relief schemes for adverse drug reactions but apply rules of strict liability or negligence. New Zealand and Nordic countries provide no-fault compensation schemes for health effects or injuries caused by medical treatments or medicinal products. Japan and Taiwan have operated the schemes since 1980 and 2000, respectively. In designing the scheme in Korea, we suggested that cases eligible for relief be confined to serious adverse reactions such as death or disability and then extended to diseases. It is desirable to encourage the reporting system of adverse drug reactions and quality use of medicines for the relief scheme to work efficiently.

• STI Policy Review
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• v.3 no.1
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• pp.96-116
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• 2012

The establishment of Institut Pasteur Korea (IP-K) has been an intercultural experiment, which transplanted a French research organization with many foreign researchers into Korea to grow a new institution as a long-term collaboration. The Mission of the newly founded institute has been to develop more effective ways of generating value with basic life science research in the face of a world-wide Pharma crisis. The challenges have been i.) to invent new technologies and approaches in drug discovery, ii.) to convince the Korean stakeholders of their inherent value, iii.) to induce Pharma industry to adopt the new technologies and iv.) to create a context in the Korean R&D landscape where the new institute could contribute tangible benefits. If Institut Pasteur Korea has succeeded in all counts, then due to a somewhat skewed and unlikely set of cultural complementarities between Korea and France. The abstract and conceptual French approach was matched by Korean pragmatism, linearity and relentless improvement towards the defined development goal. IP-K has become an example for innovation made in Korea, which is now re-imported into Europe. As the project could arguably not have succeeded in either partner county alone, it highlights the benefits of longterm, in depth international collaborations.

• Asian Journal of Innovation and Policy
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• v.12 no.1
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• pp.054-074
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• 2023

With the advent of the '4th Industrial Revolution', digitalization using AI (Artificial Intelligence), big data, IoT (Internet of Things), cloud computing and mobile is accelerating across all industries and global companies have fundamentally reorganized customer experiences, business models, and operations centering on digital transformation. Business innovation drives productivity improvement, process simplification, price, competitiveness and sustainable expansion. Whether digital transformation will be necessary for the current industrial environment is no longer important, and how quickly companies achieve digitalization has emerged as the utmost crucial element in industrial continuity. As non-face-to-face and remote technologies have begun in earnest, and accelerated in the pharmaceutical industry. They are looking for ways to provide value, generate profits, improve efficiency, and sustain the future. Compared to other industries, the pharmaceutical-related sectors have shown high interest in digital transformation especially to reduce costs and meet the challenge of delivering products during the pandemic environment.

• YAKHAK HOEJI
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• v.51 no.6
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• pp.424-429
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• 2007

The demand for pharmaco-economic data has increased since the introduction of positive list system for drug insurance. A survey was conducted for pharmaceutical companies, universities and hospitals to find the current states and barriers for pharmaco-economic studies in Korea. The results showed that even those who are in charge of pharmaco-economic studies at companies/universities had a limited technical expertise. Government should pay more attention to the education of the relevant manpower, and the production of national statistics needed for economic evaluation.

• Health Policy and Management
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• v.18 no.4
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• pp.23-48
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• 2008

Although the universal health insurance, National Health Insurance (NHI), have improved access to health care and financial burden of health care costs for Koreans, limited coverage of the NHI leads to high out-of-pocket payment for health care. This study examines financial burden of household health expenditures by income level. Data from the Urban Household Expenditure Survey from 1985 through 2005 is analyzed and household expenditure is used as a proxy measure for income. Health expenditures include spending for inpatient care, ambulatory care and pharmaceuticals. If a household spends health expenditure above 40% of household consumption except for foods, that is defined as catastrophic health expenditure. Access to health care for the lowest income group had been improved for two decades relative to other income groups as well as in absolute term. However, both financial burden of health expenditures and the proportion of households that experienced catastrophic health expenditure had been increased in the lowest income group. Study findings have several policy implications. First, in terms of financial burden of health expenditures. the differences among income groups decreased until 2000 but it was worsen in 2005. This suggests that recent policies for extending NHI coverage are not enough to improve the disparity by income level. Second, a differential catastrophic coverage by income level would be an effective strategy that relieves financial burden for low income group. Third, since the catastrophic coverage is applied to only covered services by the NHI, additional strategy for uncovered services should be considered.

• YAKHAK HOEJI
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• v.53 no.4
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• pp.173-178
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• 2009

This study aimed to analyze the master's and doctoral theses in social pharmacy field over the past 10 years in Korea. Theses were searched based on the Korean National Assembly Digital Library System, and descriptive analyses were conducted using SAS. Among 669 theses, pharmacy/pharmacist accounted for 24.8%, followed by drug misuse with 16.9%, and pharmaceuticals industry related theses with 16.6%. Graduate school of pharmacy was responsible for a share of 27.2%, suggesting that approximately a quarter of the entire social pharmacy related theses are studies at the school of pharmacy.

• International Commerce and Information Review
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• v.18 no.4
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• pp.165-193
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• 2016

This paper conducts a comparative analysis of the KORUS FTA and the TPP Agreement to assess the current state of affairs in international trade rules for the pharmaceutical industry. Intellectual property rights as well as public health related regulations have evolved to strengthen the position of innovator drug companies. In particular, the TPP Agreement which adopted data exclusivity for biologics for the first time, will set the standard for the future. Apart from this however, the TPP Agreement has not gone further than the KORUS FTA and in some respects, even contains greater policy flexibilities and provisions for market access than the KORUS FTA. Korea should take advantage of such differences when and if she must engage in negotiations to join the TPP Agreement or a renegotiation of the KORUS FTA.

• Journal of the Korean Academic Society of Industrial Cluster
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• v.1 no.1
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• pp.16-28
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• 2007

This paper analyzes the effects of networking and competition on individual companies' R&D investment, focusing on pharmaceuticals, PCB (Printed Circuit Board), and auto parts sectors. Data were obtained through a survey on firms operating in Seoul, Incheon, and Gyung-gi metropolitan area. The estimation results suggest the networking with other actors in the clusters tends to increase R&D investments of individual firm's. But competition in a cluster tend to reduce individual firm's R&D investment. These results suggest the public policy promoting networking in a cluster could induce private firms' R&D investments and, therefore, should be maintained.

• Journal of the Korean Regional Science Association
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• v.39 no.2
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• pp.19-30
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• 2023

This study analyzed intra-regional disparities by using the concentration index of industrial organization theory. And the range of study is 11 cities in Chungcheongbuk-do province. This study aims to clarify the characteristics of the intra-regional disparities by using concentration ratio(CR) and Herfindahl-Hirschman Index. After the review of previous studies, we intend to study the intra-regional disparities using these two indexes. Target is the bio-health industry that all povinces in South Korea want to develop competitively. In addition the analysis was conducted by dividing the bio-health industry into four detailed fields(pharmaceuticals, medical devices, health functional foods, and cosmetics). These fields are based on the results of the city and county competitiveness-enhancing industry. The research results derived the intra-regional disparities index based on sales, the number of workers, and R&D expenses by detailed field. As a result it was confirmed that the strengths according to the detailed fields differed by region. It can be used as basic data in establishing differentiated industrial development strategies for each region in the future.