• Korean Journal of Adult Nursing
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• v.12 no.4
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• pp.641-653
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• 2000

A quantitative descriptive survey was conducted to assess the needs of elderly people in relation to accessibility of medical care. Identifying their functional status was done and accessibility of medical care was ascertained. Using a convenient sampling method, 856 elderly aged 65 and over in Taejon-city participated. A multi-dimensional questionnaire containing sections on health status, Activities of Daily Living(ADLs) and accessibility of medical care in terms of use, time, distance, transport, cost and feeling at ease was developed by the researchers of this study to collect data. Data were collected between October and December, 1999. In general, the result of the self-reports from this study found that approximately 40% of participants had difficulties with their health status and ADLs while about 45% of the population did not access medical care. The majority of respondents stated that they had no difficulties with time distance and transport to access medical care. About two-thirds of the respondents felt that they had many or some difficulties with expenses and strategies for emergency to access medical care. Even though these findings need to be generalized, several recommendations for appropriate medical care delivery for the elderly still can be outlined from the study findings. Recommendations suggested are: To identify impediments to access medical care in emergency in elderly people and to remove those factors preventively are required. Responsible governmental involvement for solving problems of the medical care cost and additional costs in relation to separation of dispensary from medical practice for the elderly is required. More constructive and practical uses of public health community centers are recommended.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.42 no.1
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• pp.35-41
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• 2009

Objectives : The changing population age structure and rapidly increasing medical costs make providing high-quality, effective medical care for the elderly a challenge. This study assessed the satisfaction with medical care in terms of comprehensiveness, general satisfaction, and accessibility among community-dwelling Korean elders. Methods : Data were obtained from a nationwide representative sample of the older adults(aged 65 years old or older) living in the community, who participated in a 2006 telephone survey conducted using random digit dialing(n=881). General satisfaction, comprehensiveness and accessibility were measured using a 10-item satisfaction survey questionnaire. Descriptive analysis was used to assess the distribution of each of three components of subjective satisfaction. Analysis of covariance(ANCOVA) was used to examine the association of each of the three components with socioeconomic variables. Results : Comprehensiveness and general satisfaction were low among older people with a high socioeconomic status. Accessibility was evaluated as low among older people of low socioeconomic status, those living in rural areas and those who were medical aid beneficiaries. Conclusions : Urgent interventions should be considered in order to improve accessibility to medical care for elders of low socioeconomic status and those living in rural communities. Given the rapid aging of the population, we need to develop a monitoring system to improve the quality of geriatric care.

• Korea Journal of Hospital Management
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• v.17 no.3
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• pp.37-56
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• 2012

The purpose of this study is to analyze effects of medical service quality on the customer satisfaction and intention of revisit in long-term care hospitals. To achieve purpose of the research, the data was collected from 321 patients in 8 long-term care hospitals using a standardized questionnaires. Using the structural equation modeling(SEM), this study examines the relationship among medical service quality, customer satisfaction and intention of revisit. The results show that the medical service quality factors such as convenience and accessibility have positive effects on the customer satisfaction which positively relates to intention of revisit. Medical expertise of the service quality factors has positive influence upon intention of revisit in long-term care hospitals. Therefore, the results of this study show that the medical service quality factors which are convenience and accessibility leading to customer satisfaction are important factors to select long-term care hospitals.

• Korean Journal of Clinical Pharmacy
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• v.24 no.4
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• pp.282-287
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• 2014

Objective: Objective of this study was to investigate community pharmacy-based pharmaceutical care accessibility in Korea. Survey on the current pharmaceutical care service provision was performed by PM2000 XE, a real-time pharmacy manager program, operated by Korea Pharmaceutical Information Center beginning November 4, 2013 until December 6, 2013 towards all community pharmacies throughout the nation which use the program. Method: The survey questionnaire consisted of four sections: pharmacy type, time-based accessibility, item-based accessibility, and spatial accessibility for non-prescription drugs. Results: Number of pharmacy responded to the survey was 331, and size of the responding pharmacy was mostly medium-scale (66.47%) with 30-99 prescription fillings a day. Proportion of pharmacy with opening hour of 12 hours or longer was only 53.77% and it was less than 25% during saturdays and holidays. Item-based accessibility was generally acceptable for prescription and non-prescription drugs, medical devices, and health supplements. However, spatial accessibility for non-prescription drugs was problematic because only one quarter of the drugs was displayed over the counter, and most of the drugs were behind the counter so that customers could not reach out. Conclusion: Based on the survey result, current situation for accessibility of pharmaceutical care service in Korea is concluded inadequate and therefore needs multidimensional efforts to improve accessibility of the service at national level such as Korea Pharmaceutical Association and Ministry of Health and Welfare.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.12 no.1
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• pp.99-106
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• 1979

Accessibility to medical facilities and personnels has been known as one of important determinants of medical care utilization. This study attempted to identify the effects of medical accessibility in terms of geographical distance and occupational opportunity to the medical utilizations. Two-year-experiences of Yonsei University Health Insurance Cooperatives were used as the sources of data. Out patient utilization patterns of 713 members sampled from 4,352 members of Health Insurance Cooperatives were analyzed in order to identify the effects of medical accessibilities. Findings: 1 Average clinic visit rate of Yonsei Health Insurance is 1.66 per person per year. 2. The utilization rates of geographically more accessible group were 33% higher than that of less accessible group. 3. No marked difference in clinic visit rate were observed between medical and non-medical personnel and their family members. 4. Clinic visit rates among occupationally accessible group were slightly higher than those of less accessible. The utilization rate was more sensitively changed by the insurance policy changes in occupationally accessible group.

• The Journal of Industrial Distribution & Business
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• v.12 no.12
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• pp.11-24
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• 2021

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to provide comprehensive measures for the development of public health care through a survey on consumers' awareness of health care use from the point of view of local residents. Research design, data and methodology: For about one week from January 07 to January 14, 2021, questionnaires were distributed to 800 local residents and analyzed. For statistical analysis of collected data, frequency analysis and cross-analysis were performed. Results: Regarding public health service, 'providing medical services that can be used by all citizens and protect and promote health' had the highest response rate of 95.2% of total respondents. Regarding health care system satisfaction, 'Accessibility to general treatment' had the highest score with an average of 3.31 points. Regarding comprehensive measures for the development of public health care, 'Establishment of an infection and patient safety system' had the highest score with an average of 3.91 points. Conclusions: The direction of public health care and services should include management of infectious diseases during national disasters, reduction of gaps in medical use by region and class, improvement of access to emergency medical care, and quality improvement of specialized medical care.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.21 no.2 s.24
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• pp.419-430
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• 1988

This study was performed in a rural community, Kanghwa county which was introduced to a regional medical insurance pilot program in 1982. The purposes of this study were, firstly, to observe the changes in ambulatory care utilization in the three years 1982, 1983 and 1987 : secondly, to analyse factors which convert perceived medical care needs to effective medical care demand. During the three periods, a serial interview survey was performed to determine the changes in medical utilization before and after the regional medical insurance program implementation. The number of subjects was 3,356 persons in the year 1982, 3,705 in 1983 and 2,745 in 1987. The results of the study were as follows : 1. Total ambulatory care utilization rates per 100 persons during a 2-week period were 23.6 in the year 1982, 21.8 in 1983, and 29.3 in 1987; and physician visit rates were 6.1 in 1982, 11.7 in 1983, and 14.9 in 1987. Thus, compared to the total utilization rate there was a definite increase in physician visit, and during the study periods there was a decrease in drug store visits whereas an increase in hospital or clinic visits was noticed. 2. The rates of effective demand for medical care need were 70.7% in 1982, 70.5% in 1983 and 75.9% in 1987 : and the rates of patients who visited physicians were 20.2% in 1982, 42.8% in 1983 and 35.6% in 1987. Thus, physician visits increased sharply by introducing the medical insurance program, but after the latent medical care demands were fulfilled, there was a slight decrease in the physician visits. 3. The number of acute symptoms and the number of chronic symptoms were common determinants of total ambulatory care utilization and physician visits. Besides the medical care need factors, age in 1982, sex and accessibility in 1983, and accessibility in 1987 were statistically significant determinants of the total utilization ; sex and accessibility in 1983, and education in 1987 were also statistically significant determinants of the physician visit. 4. For persons with perceived acute symptoms during the 2-week periods, accessibility in total utilization and age in physician visits were common discriminating factors of ambulatory care utilization in the three years, and education and income were also statistically significant variables. For persons with perceived chronic symptoms, occupation and income were statistically significant discriminating variables commonly observed in total utilization and physician visits.

• Korea Journal of Hospital Management
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• v.29 no.3
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• pp.54-69
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• 2024

Purposes: This study aims to analyze the location patterns, concentration, and accessibility of clinics in Seoul with the grids of a geographic information system(GIS) and provide useful indicators for research on hospital and clinic management and policies based on the results. The study especially sets out to identify areas falling behind in the service of the essential medical care departments based on an analysis with 250m×250m grids and contribute to efficient medical business management and public healthcare policies based on the results. Methodology: The study analyzed clinics in Seoul in terms of concentration, distribution and clustering patterns, accessibility, and hot spots by dividing the entire city into 500m×500m cells and generating grids. The accessibility analysis for the essential medical care departments was especially in detail based on grids in a 250m×250m cell size. Findings: The Herfindahl results show that plastic surgery and rehabilitation medicine recorded the highest concentration level. General medicine and dermatology recorded the highest Moran's I value, and internal medicine was the highest in hot spots. Obstetrics and gynecology capable of child delivery showed considerably lower accessibility in the grids corresponding to Gangseo-gu, Yangcheon-gu, and Gwanak-gu. Surgery had low accessibility in the grids corresponding to the northern parts of Gangseo-gu for the total population. Practical Implication: Unlike previous studies whose analyses covered wide areas, the present study examined minute spatial patterns, concentration, and accessibility based on an analysis with 500m×500m or 250m×250m grids. Based on its findings, the study expects a more minute analysis for future research on medical business management and policies.

• Health Policy and Management
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• v.31 no.1
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• pp.125-139
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• 2021

Background: In Korea, the health gap widens due to the number of medical resources and access to medical services between metropolitan and rural. The purpose of this study is to identify the impact of residential migration on medical utilization and accessibility. Methods: This study extracted 528,516 claimed cases in the National Health Insurance Service-Cohort Sample Database from 2006 to 2015. Subjects were classified into two groups by the magnitude of the region, the metropolitan and the rural. The inversed probability weights were calculated for each group. And coefficients of the two-part model were estimated by generalized estimation equation. Results: Those who moved region from metropolitan to rural tend to increase the length of stay and inpatients with ambulatory care sensitive conditions (ACSC) disease. Contrariwise, those who moved areas from rural to metropolitan tend to decrease the total medical cost, the adjusted patient days, the number of outpatients and the number of outpatients and inpatients with ACSC disease. Conclusion: This study identified that between the residents who continued to reside in the region and the migrants, there were significant differences in the medical accessibility, quality of primary care, and unmet medical need.

• Korea Journal of Hospital Management
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• v.20 no.4
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• pp.50-61
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• 2015

Advances in healthcare technology and rapid economic growth lead to the increased life expectancy and consequently the size of elderly population. Korea is one of the countries that are rapidly aging. Thus, it is particularly important to prepare for the aging society. Recently, the number of healthcare institutions for the elderly citizens has increased. The purpose of selecting a hospital for the elderly is, in general, maintenance of health rather than improvement of health receiving proper treatment. Unlike choosing a hospital for treatment, customers of a long term care hospital have a different set of factors to consider. Especially, when choosing a long term care hospital, the influence of patient's family is greater than the patient. This study examines the factors they consider for long term care hospital. A total of 198 questionnaires were collected from the families of actual patients of long term care hospitals. Twelve questionnaires were found to be non-usable because of missing and unsatisfactory responses. Consequently, 186 questionnaires were used for the analyses. Findings of this study are as follows. First, seven factors have been identified to consider when choosing a long term care hospital for the elderly. They include convenience of facilities, costs variety of facility programs, service hours, reputation, accessibility, quality of medical staff, medical facilities, and facility size. Second, This study measured both importance and satisfaction with these attributes and analyzed the difference between them. Satisfaction was lower than importance in the categories of convenience of facilities, costs, and programs, and accessibility. On the other hand, satisfaction was higher in terms of service hours, reputation, and quality of medical staff. Finally, the current study found positive impact of accessibility and quality of medical staff on reuse intention of a long term care hospital.