• Health Policy and Management
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• v.5 no.2
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• pp.1-17
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• 1995

This paper porports to explicate the factors determining the scope of public health in advanced capitalist countries. A few studies have veen conducted for such a purpose, yet even these studies show the deficiency of failing to consider a very important factor : the influence of medical profession. Since medical profession has played a significant role in the health policymaking, it is necessary to incorporate the hypothesis that assumes the causal links between the differing medical professional power and the vrying scope of public health. Following this view, this paper examined the various hypothese, including the power of medical profession, and found that the variables related to medical professional power as well as social democratic perspectives are its significant factors. In particular, our result shows that the power of medical profesion is the most important determinant, thereby supporting the hypothesis developed in this paper.

• Journal of Society of Preventive Korean Medicine
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• v.18 no.3
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• pp.91-104
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• 2014

Objective : This study aims to compare the scope of practice of Korean Medicine doctors and western medicine doctors based on laws related to medical practice Method : We searched for laws related to medical practice using terminologies such as "Korean Medical practice", "Korean Medicine", "Principles of Korean Medicine", "western medicine", "Korean Medicine doctor", "western medicine doctor" at the national law information center(http://law.go.kr/main.html). Results : We categorized the laws we found into four categories: diagnosis, treatment, prescription, and all the other areas including public health. In diagnosis, both Korean Medicine doctors and western medicine doctors have a right to issue medical certificates including birth and death. However, diagnosis of a few specific diseases is allowed only to western medicine doctors. In treatment, laws related to emergency medicine and nursing at home were searched. Korean Medicine doctors and western medicine doctors are emergency care providers; however, most of emergency medicine can be done by western medicine doctors. In prescription, the scope of practice is divided by herbal medicine and western medicine. Finally, as public health professionals, both of them need to do lots of public health works. However, in some area such as vaccination, maternal and child health care, and industrial health, only western medicine doctors can practice. Conclusion : This study suggests that, in diagnosis, treatment, prescription, and all the other areas including public health, the scope of practice of Korean Medicine doctors and western medicine doctors has huge difference. There is also lack of consistency in current law, and some laws do not reflect current health care system and health care services.

• Health Policy and Management
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• v.32 no.2
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• pp.137-153
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• 2022

In the process of promoting policies to strengthen health insurance coverage, the relationship between public health insurance and private health insurance, along with the management of non-benefit, is also emphasized as a policy issue. First, the concept and scope of non-benefit were comparatively analyzed by country. Second, the interaction between the public and private health insurance was classified as 'large or small,' and the government's regulation and management policy on private health insurance was classified as 'strong or weak.' Korea has relatively smaller benefits covered by public health insurance, higher copayment expenses, and more areas and scope of non-benefits. In countries where the interaction between public and private health insurance is small, private health insurance-related policies are weak. And in countries with large interactions had public-private partnerships and the government's management policies were also strong. On the other hand, Korea has a large interaction, but the actual structure of cooperation between public and private insurance and management policies were weak. Because the non-benefit sector in Korea is relatively wide, it is difficult to manage compared to other countries where the concept of non-benefit is limited. In addition, the health authorities rarely perform the role of supervision over private health insurance, and they have so few linkages and cooperation for public-private insurance. Therefore, practical policy enforcement is necessary to achieve the easing of the burden of national medical expenses through linkage and cooperation of public-private health insurance with reference to relevant other countries' cases.

• Journal of Society of Preventive Korean Medicine
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• v.27 no.3
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• pp.13-24
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• 2023

Objective : This study was aimed to reassess the scope of practice for medical personnel based on laws. Method : The law specifying the scope of practice for medical personnel has been selected searching Korean Law Information Center(https://www.law.gov.kr). The result was categorized as 'examination, diagnosis, treatment, procedure, prescription, and others'. Results : The laws related to medical procedures were divided into three categories: diagnosis, treatments, and public health and others. In the field of diagnosis, traditional Korean medicine practitioners are generally allowed to play a role. However, some laws specify that only medical doctors can be the primary authorities for diagnosing infectious diseases. In the area of treatments, particularly in emergency medical situations, only medical doctors or nurses are typically mentioned. There are debates in the field of public health and other areas concerning issues such as vaccination, disability diagnosis, and the qualifications for health center directors. A reevaluation is also needed for the Occupational Safety and Health Act, where only medical doctors are set as the personnel standard for workers' health examinations. Conclusion : To safeguard and promote the health of the citizens, there is a need for a clear definition of the licensure and scope of practice for healthcare professionals. Consistent interpretation of conflicting provisions among various laws and clear criteria for the term 'physician' in legal contexts are essential.

• 대한예방의학회:학술대회논문집
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• 1994.02b
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• pp.40-42
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• 1994

• Health Policy and Management
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• v.32 no.3
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• pp.317-322
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• 2022

Background: Limited access to medical services causes problems in patients' health and life. Also, hospital closures cause concentration towards general hospitals, which leads to worsening National Health Insurance finance. Therefore, hospital closure is an important topic to be analyzed. Methods: This paper analyzed the factors that affect hospital closures using survival analysis with the data of 970 hospitals opened between 2010 and 2019 in Korea. The number of medical personnel, hospital rooms, sickbeds, and medical departments were used as explanatory variables. Results: The number of medical personnel and hospital rooms increased the survival probability while the number of sickbeds and medical departments decrease the survival probability. Conclusion: The results suggest that hospitals have economies of scale and diseconomies of scope in management.

• Toxicological Research
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• v.31 no.3
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• pp.227-240
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• 2015

Recent amendment on the Food Sanitation Act in Korea mandated the Minister of Food & Drug Safety to secure the scientific basis for management and reevaluation of standards and specifications of foods. Especially because the current food safety control is limited within the scope of 'Farm to Market' covering from production to retail in Korea, safety control at the plane of true 'Farm to Fork' scope is urgently needed and should include 'total diet' of population instead of individual food items. Therefore, 'Total Diet Study (TDS)' which provides 'closer-to-real' estimates of exposure to hazardous materials through analysis on table-ready (cooked) samples of foods would be the solution to more comprehensive food safety management, as suggested by World Health Organization and Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Although the protection of diets from hazards must be considered as one of the most essential public health functions of any country, we may need to revisit the value of foods which has been too much underrated by the meaningless amount of some hazardous materials in Korea. Considering the primary value of foods lies on sustaining life, growth, development, and health promotion of human being, food safety control should be handled not only by the presence or absence of hazardous materials but also by maximizing the value of foods via balancing with the preservation of beneficial components in foods embracing total diet. In this regard, this article aims to provide an overview on TDS by describing procedures involved except chemical analysis which is beyond our scope. Also, details on the ongoing TDS in Korea are provided as an example. Although TDS itself might not be of keen interest for most readers, it is the main user of the safety reference values resulted from toxicological research in the public health perspective.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.13 no.12
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• pp.6333-6336
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• 2012

The burden of cancer is growing globally and is one of the top leading causes of death. Information on cancer patterns are essential for effective planning of cancer control interventions. There is limited published information available on pattern of cancer for the state of Odisha, India. The present study was an attempt to explore the pattern and trend of cancer in Odisha. To fulfill the objectives retrospective data available from 2001-2011 at Acharya Harihar Regional Cancer Center (AHRCC), Cuttack, Odisha, were analyzed. Medical records of cancer patients were reviewed and relevant information on diagnosis, primary site and demographic data were retrieved. Data were entered and analyzed using SPSS 16.0 (SPSS Inc.). A total of 74,861 cancer inpatients were registered at AHRCC for the years 2001-2011. The proportion of females outnumbered males with female:male ratio 1.1:1. The number of female cases increased four folds and that of males three fold over the period studied. Malignancies such as oral cancer (16.93%), acute lymphocytic leukemia/non Hodgkins lymphoma (14.09%) and cancer of gastrointestinal tract (21.07%) are leading cancers among males and carcinomas of breast (28.94%), cervix (23.66%) and ovary (16.11%) were leading among females. Findings from this study indicate an overall increase in cancer reporting which could be regarded as proxy measure for overall cancer situation in Odisha. There is scope and need for integrating other government hospitals, existing private health service providers and research institutions across the state for better planning of cancer control program.

• Korean Journal of Health Education and Promotion
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• v.33 no.4
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• pp.89-100
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• 2016

Objectives: Life style modification leads to decrease health risk and change of health status for person at health risk. This study aimed to suggest essential components and effective strategies for customized health management service to provide individual and risk group in public and private health care organizations. Methods: To systematic review the essential component of health management service, I performed to collect political legislation, research papers, reports, publication and public release for heath management service from 2008 to 2016. Essential components of heath management service were service scope, service design, organizations and applied technology. Results: Service cope was composed of health risk factors, such as smoking, drinking, nutrition, physical activity and weight control. Main strategies were customized health management services, personalized behavior modification programs, evidence-based service protocol, utilization of information and communications technology (ICT), multi-dimension and multi-level approach, and public and private organizations partnership through health policies and health care system. Conclusions: To make the most of the limited resources, it should require a systematic approach that focuses on continuous monitoring and partnership of health management service.

• Journal of Korean society of Dental Hygiene
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• v.16 no.5
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• pp.677-685
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• 2016

Objectives: The purpose of the study was to investigate the basic materials required for law revision regarding dental hygienists through perceptions and opinions of legislation amendments. Methods: The study was conducted from April 23, 2016. A self-reported questionnaire was completed by 797 dental hygienists in Seoul and Gyeonggido after receiving informed consent from institutional review board (IRB No. PO1-201602-23-001). Results: Necessity for dental hygienist-related medical law revision accounted for 92.4% and 85.4% of dental hygienists replied that specialized dental hygienist system must be established. The reasons for medical law revision were as follows; roles and education of medical technicians (60.6%), settlement of medical legal problems (48.0%), cooperation with other organizations (29.0%), political negotiations (17.4%), and national consensus (9.5%). The score for 'possible to get legal protection by the system establishment of roles and work scope of dental hygienists' was 4.11 of 5 points. Conclusions: It is important to establish the job scope of dental hygienist. The revision of dental hygienist-related law will help to enhance the status of dental hygienists as professional medical technicians in the future.