• Journal of Korean Academy of Nursing Administration
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• v.18 no.2
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• pp.137-145
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• 2012

Purpose: This study was performed to identify the key elements for the improvement of healthcare services for foreigners in Korea. Method: Delphi technique was used for this study. As the members of an expert panel for this study, 32 healthcare professionals, who were physicians, nurses, administrators, and care coordinators, with at least 6 months of experiences in international clinics and healthcare services in five metropolitan areas in Korea participated. Data collections were conducted three times from August to October, 2009. The priority and the importance were analyzed using descriptive statistics in SPSS Win 15.0. Result: The key element selected most frequently by the experts was the 'Healthcare providers' abilities for foreign languages' followed by 'Guidelines for facing medical accidences and disputes', 'Information and guide for healthcare services written in English', 'Informed consent preventing medical disputes', 'System of healthcare service fees for foreigners'. Conclusions: The key elements for the improvement of healthcare services for foreigners in Korea were mostly the requirements for effective communication with the foreign clients and the systemic support. The key elements identified in this study can be applied usefully for the development of strategies to improve the quality of healthcare services for foreigners.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.80 no.3
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• pp.230-240
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• 2017

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) results in high morbidity and mortality among patients both domestically and globally. The Korean clinical practice guideline for COPD was revised in 2014. It was drafted by the members of the Korean Academy of Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases, as well as participating members of the Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service, Korean Physicians' Association, and Korea Respiration Trouble Association. This revised guideline covers a wide range of topics, including the epidemiology, diagnosis, assessment, monitoring, management, exacerbation, and comorbidities of COPD in Korea. We drafted a guideline on COPD management by performing systematic reviews on the topic of management with the help of a meta-analysis expert. We expect this guideline will be helpful medical doctors treating patients with respiratory conditions, other health care professionals, and government personnel in South Korea.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.67 no.6
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• pp.574-576
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• 2009

An intramedullary spinal cord metastasis (ISCM) rarely develops in systemic cancer but is indicative of a poor prognosis. A 56-year-old man was admitted due to weakness of the lower extremities. He had received radiotherapy 3 months prior for a brain metastasis that had developed 1 year after achieving a complete response from chemotherapy for extended stage small cell lung cancer. Although the brain lesion had improved partially, ISCM from the cervical to lumbar-sacral spinal cords, which was accompanied by a leptomeningeal dissemination, was diagnosed based on magnetic resonance imaging of the spine and cerebrospinal fluid cytology. Finally, he died of sudden cardiac arrest during treatment. This is the first case of ISCM involving the whole spinal segments. Physicians should be aware of the subsequent development of ISCM in lung cancer patients with a previously known brain metastasis who present with new neurological symptoms.

• Korea Journal of Hospital Management
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• v.2 no.1
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• pp.183-202
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• 1997

Health care organizations have been faced with financial difficulties under turbulent health care environment. This situation led hospitals to concentrate their efforts to improve their managerial efficiency in various ways. This study aims to evaluate technical efficiency of 31 tertiary hospitals in Korea and find determinants which are closely related with hospital efficiency. Data envelopment analysis(DEA) and Tobit Model were adopted for study. For the analysis, human resource factors such as number of physicians, nurses, and administrative staffs are used as input variables and the number of inpatients and outpatients) are used as output variables. Among 31 hospitals, in CCR model, 8 hositals showed efficiency score 1 which means they have been operated in very efficient ways and BCC model showed 13 of 31 hospitals as efficient organizations. Next, we analyzed determinants which are closely related with hospital efficiency. By using Tobit model, the study showed hospital size, Quality of care, value added per capita, and revenue per patient were closely related with hospital efficiency, However, it appeared that financial status of hospitals(i.e : making profit or not) was not related with hospital efficiency.

• The Korean Journal of Pain
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• v.30 no.4
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• pp.287-295
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• 2017

Background: Recently, the use of ultrasound (US) techniques in regional anesthesia and pain medicine has increased significantly. However, the current extent of training in the use of US-guided pain management procedures in Korea remains unknown. The purpose of the present study was to assess the current state of US training provided during Korean Pain Society (KPS) pain fellowship programs through the comparative analysis between training hospitals. Methods: We conducted an anonymous survey of 51 pain physicians who had completed KPS fellowships in 2017. Items pertained to current US practices and education, as well as the types of techniques and amount of experience with US-guided pain management procedures. Responses were compared based on the tier of the training hospital. Results: Among the 51 respondents, 14 received training at first- and second-tier hospitals (Group A), while 37 received training at third-tier hospitals (Group B). The mean total duration of pain training during the 1-year fellowship was 7.4 months in Group A and 8.4 months in Group B. Our analysis revealed that 36% and 40% of respondents in Groups A and B received dedicated US training, respectively. Most respondents underwent US training in patient-care settings under the supervision of attending physicians. Cervical root, stellate ganglion, piriformis, and lumbar plexus blocks were more commonly performed by Group B than by Group A (P < 0.05). Conclusions: Instruction regarding US-guided pain management interventions varied among fellowship training hospitals, highlighting the need for the development of educational standards that mandate a minimum number of US-guided nerve blocks or injections during fellowships in interventional pain management.

• Korean Medical Education Review
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• v.22 no.1
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• pp.32-45
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• 2020

This narrative review introduces global trends in pharmacovigilance (PV) education for healthcare professionals and the status of PV education in Korea. Proactive participation of healthcare professionals, including physicians, pharmacists, and nurses in reporting suspected adverse events is the main driving force for effective operation of the spontaneous adverse event reporting system database, which in turn facilitates early safety signal detection of otherwise unknown suspected adverse events. The World Health Organization recognizes PV education curriculum as a key aspect in promoting awareness of PV and adverse event reporting among healthcare professionals, and multiple studies have demonstrated that PV educational interventions for healthcare professionals have increased overall adverse event reporting. Considering the global trends in PV education, the curriculum in Korean universities still has room for improvement in promoting PV obligation among future healthcare professionals. Further research is needed to develop PV education curriculum. We suggest a three-step project for innovating PV education in Korea to meet the global PV educational standards: a survey to gauge current PV competencies among healthcare professionals, reform of current PV academic curriculum, and evaluation and fine-tuning of the reformed curriculum.

• Journal of the Economic Geographical Society of Korea
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• v.16 no.2
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• pp.198-217
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• 2013

This research aims to examine the behavior changes of telemedicine participants with regard to time-space reconfiguration and to address the implications of telemedicine in terms of extensibility and restrictions (ambilaterality). According to the results of this research, telemedicine can lead to behavior changes in telemedicine participants, particularly patients. However, it is difficult to anticipate the time-space reconfiguration of telemedicine participants drastically. In other words, although telemedicine minimizes patients' burden of accessibility to and utilization of medical institutions, it requires the patients to visit medical institutions at least once due to the restricted application of telemedicine related to technological problems, the characteristics of medical practice and mutual stakes among the medical institutions involved in telemedicine. And physicians (telemedicine providers as mediators between medical specialists and patients) and medical specialists (as the ultimate telemedicine providers) do not evidence considerable changes in their behaviors, except for offline meetings for information sharing and medical training. Because the present telemedicine system does not require simultaneity between physicians, patients and medical specialists. Furthermore, present telemedicine operation is absorbed into existing medical activities as a health care delivery method. These phenomena are due to 1) the interests among medical institutions and the limitation or generalization of telemedicine technologies to stimulate regional-based telemedicine operation and 2) the goal of face-to-face interactions between patients and doctors, which is to avoid misdiagnosis and side effects. Finally, medical activities related to telemedicine do not differ from general medical activities. The ambilaterality of telemedicine in terms of extensibility and the restriction of time-space reconfiguration is an unsettled problem in the ICT technologies of medical services.

• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
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• v.66 no.6
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• pp.618-631
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• 2023

The brain houses vital hormonal regulatory structures such as the hypothalamus and pituitary gland, which may confer unique susceptibilities to critical illness-related corticosteroid insufficiency (CIRCI) in patients with neurological disorders. In addition, the frequent use of steroids for therapeutic purposes in various neurological conditions may lead to the development of steroid insufficiency. This abstract aims to highlight the significance of understanding these relationships in the context of patient care and management for physicians. Neurological disorders may predispose patients to CIRCI due to the role of the brain in hormonal regulation. Early recognition of CIRCI in the context of neurological diseases is essential to ensure prompt and appropriate intervention. Moreover, the frequent use of steroids for treating neurological conditions can contribute to the development of steroid insufficiency, further complicating the clinical picture. Physicians must be aware of these unique interactions and be prepared to evaluate and manage patients with CIRCI and steroid insufficiency in the context of neurological disorders. This includes timely diagnosis, appropriate steroid administration, and careful monitoring for potential adverse effects. A comprehensive understanding of the interplay between neurological disease, CIRCI, and steroid insufficiency is critical for optimizing patient care and outcomes in this complex patient population.

• Journal of Electrodiagnosis and Neuromuscular Diseases
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• v.20 no.2
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• pp.144-147
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• 2018

Although dysgeusia can occur as a consequence of stroke attacks, many physicians and patients tend to overlook it. A 50-year old woman complained of a 2-week history of abnormal sense of taste on the anterior two-thirds of right tongue. Blink reflex test demonstrated prolonged ipsilateral and contralateral R2 responses with the right supraorbital nerve stimulations, which suggest the lesion on the descending pathway. Brainstem magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) demonstrated abnormal findings in the right lower dorsal pons, anterior to 4th ventricle, lateral to inferior colliculus, and at the level of the pontomedullary junction, which was compatible with solitary tract nucleus and spinal trigeminal nucleus. Brainstem infarction should be considered in patients who have abnormal sense of taste. Additionally, blink reflex test may be helpful for the detection of central origin dysgeusia.

• The Journal of the Korean dental association
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• v.52 no.8
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• pp.456-463
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• 2014

Caries Management by Risk Assessment (CAMBRA), published by California Dental Association in 2003, is a customized caries care system that classifies individuals' caries risk into 4 risk groups based on objective evidences and provides chemical treatments targeted for each caries risk level. However, this system was not only developed but also optimized for situation in the United States, resulting into many limitations to be used in Korea, and thus Korean CAMBRA (K-CAMBRA) that considers the clinical situation in Korea needs to be developed. K-CAMBRA includes various techniques that are newly developed in order to overcome the limitations. First, Q-ray, a new optical technology, is utilized in order to avoid the subjectivity of visual inspection during assessment of disease indicators and risk factors. Moreover, Cariview? that reflects the paradigm shift in cariology as a new form of caries assessment kit is used. In addition, considering the situation in Korea, where it is impossible to use high concentration fluoride product, Oral pack with a customized tray is added to increase the contact time of chemical substance. CAMBRA is believed to be the key clinical tool that overcomes the limitations of the paradigm of the conventional restoration-based surgical model of dentistry. Furthermore, it can be expected that Korean dentists can act as oral physicians who are able to control and care individuals' caries risk rather than operative experts who only care about the outcome of caries.