• Journal of Korean Academy of Nursing
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• v.44 no.4
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• pp.418-427
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• 2014

Purpose: Objectives of this study were to investigate the association between efficiency and quality of health care in Long-term Care Hospitals (LTCH) and determine related factors that would enable achievement of both high efficiency and high quality at the same time. Methods: Major data sources were the "2012 Korean Assessment of Propriety by Long-term Care Hospitals" obtained from the Health Insurance Review & Assessment Service. Cost variables were supplemented by a National Tax Service accounting document. First, data envelopment analysis was performed by generating efficiency scores for each LTCH. Second, matrix analysis was conducted to ascertain association between efficiency and quality. Lastly, kruskal-wallis and mann-whitney tests were conducted to identify related factors. Results: First, efficiency and quality of care are not in a relationship of trade-offs; thus, LTCH can be confident that high efficiency-high quality can be achieved. Second, LTCH with a large number of beds, longer tenure of medical personnel, and adequate levels of investment were more likely to have improved quality as well as efficiency. Conclusion: It is essential to enforce legal standards appropriate to the facilities, reduce turnover of nursing staff, and invest properly in human resources. These consequences will help LTCH to maintain the balance of high efficiency-high quality in the long-run.

• Health Policy and Management
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• v.17 no.3
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• pp.106-128
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• 2007

The Korean health care system is under great controversy. Over the last 30 years, main goal of health policies was to pursue equal access of health care services. However, another goal of health policies laid on efficiency and Quality of care, it had lower priorities. Superficially, controversy stems from priority setting among goals of health care system, equity, efficiency and quality. At a deeper level, arguments arise from disagreement and confusion about the values of Korean health care system. One of the value spectrums believes that health care is the basic right of human beings, therefore it should be produced and distributed on need approach, and needs are known to be decided by professionals. If we accept need approach, health care is a pubic good. Another value of spectrums considers that health care should be distributed on demand approach. Demand approach means that health care is a consumption good on the positive economics, while normative judgement believes that health care is a public good. In equity aspect, health care is considered as a public good. Over the last several years, some of scholars proposed health care reform based on the principle of competition which is based on demand approach. Others argue that the competition principle based on demand approach is not appropriate for the reform proposal, because health care has to be approached on need base. If we do not make explicit values we should adopt, consensus building for reform is nearly impossible. From this perspective, this article will review an ideology and reality in health policies in Korea.

• Health Policy and Management
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• v.11 no.4
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• pp.38-53
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• 2001

The price of the hospitals' services is regulated by the governmental health insurance reimbursement schedule in Korea. On the other hand, the emphasis on the quality of care of hospitals service is ever increasing. Under the environment, hospitals have to understand the effects of the activities to improve quality of care on efficiency and on financial performance so that they develop a management strategy that allows quality of care, operational efficiency, and financial achievement simultaneously. This study investigates the relationship among the concepts. The sample for the study includes 23 hospitals that have more than 300 beds. The concept of quality of care is measured by the score reported by the Hospital Standardization Survey (HSS) instituted by Korean Hospital Association. Efficiency is measured by the ratio of number of employee to the number of patients served. Financial performance is measured by the financial ratios indicating the profitability of a hospital. An analysis is performed using the multiple regression. The results show significant positive relationships between the HSS score and efficiency indicators, md between the HSS score and profit measures. However, the significant positive relationship between the HSS score and profit measures disappeared when efficiency indicators were introduced to the model. This study concludes that the structural quality of a hospital has a positive effect on efficiency of the hospital and that the structural qualify indirectly affects the financial performance of a hospital through the improvement of efficiency. Based on the findings, the implications on hospital management and health policy are discussed.

• Korea Journal of Hospital Management
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• v.15 no.4
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• pp.1-26
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• 2010

We achieved both industrialization and democratization during the shortest period in the world. We also achieved good performance in national health insurance: universal coverage, solidarity in financing, equitable access of health care. However, national health insurance system has faced the problem of sustainability: various expenditure and financing problems. The problem of sustainablity has two facets of economic sustainability and fiscal sustainability. Economic sustainability refers to growth in health spending as a proportion of gross domestic product(GDP). Rapid increasing rate of health spending exceeds the growth rate of domestic product. Growth in health spending is more likely to threaten other areas of economic activity. Concern on fiscal sustainability relates to revenue and expenditure on health care. Health care financing face demographic and technical obstacles. Democratic obstacle is aging problem. Technical obstacle is collection of contribution. Expenditure of health care has various problems in benefit structure and efficiency of health care system. In this article, I suggest several policy reforms to enhance sustainability: generating additional revenue from value added tax, changing method of levying contribution, increasing efficiency of health care system by introducing the competition principle. restructuring of benefit scheme of health insurance. contracting with health care institutions to provide health care services.

• Korean Journal of Health Education and Promotion
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• v.15 no.2
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• pp.217-233
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• 1998

This paper analyzed four different perspectives on health care reform in Korea in terms of the basic values, formulated problems and reform plans, implementation methods, and supporting groups. The medical security plan was insisted by social security specialists and social activists focusing on the integration of medical insurance coops in order to enhancing equity and right of the people. However, its perspective was limited to promoting security instead of reforming health care system. The government proposed the health care reform plans in 1994 and in 1997, focusing on promoting efficiency by remedying many problems in health care delivery system. However, its implementation was not successful due to the lack of organizational and financial supporters. Recently, two opposite proposals were issued. The market reform plan paid attention to revitalizing the market function to promoting efficiency by allowing hospitals to treat private patients instead of applying the medical insurance regulation. The government reform plan focused on intensifying governmental planning and intervention in the health care sector in order to removing inefficiency and promoting equity with the supports of social activists and labor unions. Finally, this paper proposed an alternative plan to promote harmonious social relationship between actors in the health care system.

• Korean Journal of Occupational Health Nursing
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• v.4
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• pp.5-29
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• 1995

Occupational health services in Korea have been operated as dual types : one is operated by occupational health care manager and the other is health care agency without their own personnel. The performance of occupational health service should be different due to the variety of characteristics of health care manager and workplace, qualification of health care manager. This study is to analyze performance of occupational health care services with a particular consideration of job performance shape and efficiency, based on comparing those two types of health care management to show on the basic data for the settlement of more qualitative health care management system at workplace. For this study, total 391 places in Seoul and Inchon city area ; 154 places (39.4%) managed by designated health care manager and 237 places (60.6%) by the agency with their commission are selected as research samples. Tools for data collection are questionnares that have been investigated during the period of 20 September 1993-20 December 1993. Those data are compared with percentiles, mean, standard deviation and B/C ratio using SPSS PC program. Conclusions observed from the tests and each comparison could be summerized as follows : 1. Occupational health care have been accomplished at workplaces with designated people than with agencies people, and coverage rate of the occupational health care services has differences, due to management types. The reason of these results is due to visit only one or two times monthly by the agencies, while their own health care manager obsess, at the workplaces all the times. 2. Most of the expense for environmental control of all health care services expenditures shows that there is almost no fundamental improvement because more expenses are needed for procuring personal protective equipment and measuring work environment instead of environmental improvement. 3. It is investigated how much the cost of occupational health care services needs per worker, and calculated how much the cost needs per service hour per worker. The results from this show that the cost of occupational health services at workplaces with their own managers used less than the cost of health care agencies, eventually the former gives better services with less cost than the latter. 4. Benefit/Cost ratio is also produced by total benefit/total cost. The result from the above way reads 4.57 as a whole, while their own manager having workplaces reads 4.82 and the agencies do l.56. Even if their own manager performing workplaces spent more cost, this system produces more benefit than the agencies management. 5. The B/C ratio for medical organization such as local clinic, health care center and pharmacy shows more than or equal to at the workplaces controlled by the agencies. It is inferred that benefit would be much less than the cost used, with so being inefficient. 6. It is assumed that the efficiency ratio of health education is equal to reduction rate of workers medical organization visit. Estimated reduction rate 5%, 10%, 15%, show that the efficiency ratio of health education have an effect on producing benefits. It is estimated that more benefit can be produced if more qualitative education will be provided for enhancing health care efficiency. 7. Results of this study cannot be generalized because there are large scale of deviation in case of workplaces with less than 300 full time workers, but B/C ratio reads 2.69 as a whole and 3.25 at workplaces with their own health care manager are higher than 1.63 at the workplaces manged by the agencies. Finally, all the benefit concerning health care services could not be quantified, measured and shown on the value of money. This is a reason that a considerable part of benefits are so underestimated. This is also thought that measurement tools should be developed for measuring benefits of health care services with a comprehensive quantification. in the future. It is also expected that efficiency of occupational health care services should be investigated using cost-effectiveness analysis.

• Quality Improvement in Health Care
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• v.24 no.1
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• pp.30-39
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• 2018

Objectives: In Korea, there are many kinds of evaluations for medical institutions. However, evaluations are increasingly burdensome for medical institutions because evaluation agencies, evaluation timing, and evaluation methods are different. The purpose of this study is to improve the efficiency of evaluation for medical institutions and ultimately to provide quality medical services to patients. Methods: In this study, 2,310 indicators of 19 kinds of evaluation for medical institutions were analyzed. Results: 1,424 indicators were available for on-site surveys and 886 indicators were not available for on-site surveys. There were 4 kinds of evaluation that can be integrated in total, 12 kinds of evaluation that can be integrated partially, and 3 kinds of evaluation that need to maintain the current evaluation system. Conclusion: In order to provide patient-centered quality medical services through reduction of burden due to the evaluation for medical institutions, it is necessary to deeply discuss the efficiency of evaluation integration and result utilization.

• Health Policy and Management
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• v.26 no.1
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• pp.4-11
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• 2016

Background: Hospital admissions for ambulatory care sensitive conditions (ACSCs), which are widely used as an indicator of poor access to primary care, can be used as an efficiency indicator of healthcare use in countries providing good access to health care. Korea, which has a national health insurance (NHI) system and a good supply of health care resources, is one such country. To quantify admission rates of ACSC and identify characteristics influencing variation in Korean health care institutions. Methods: By using NHI claims data, we computed the mean ACSC admission rate for all institutions with ACSC admissions. Results: The average ACSC admission rate for 4,461 institutions was 1.45%. Hospitals and clinics with inpatient beds showed larger variations in the ACSC admission rate (0%-87.9% and 0%-99.6%, respectively) and a higher coefficient of variation (7.96 and 2.29) than general/tertiary care hospitals (0%-19.1%, 0.85). The regression analysis results indicate that the ACSC admission rate was significantly higher for hospitals than for clinics (${\beta}=0.986$, p<0.05), and for private corporate institutions than public institutions (${\beta}=0.271$, p<0.05). Conclusion: Substantial variations in ACSC admission rates could suggest the potential problem of inefficient use of healthcare resources. Since hospitals and private corporate institutions tend to increase ACSC admission rates, future health policy should focus on these types of institutions.

• 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.

• Journal of Home Health Care Nursing
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• v.27 no.1
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• pp.16-28
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• 2020

Purpose: The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficiency of long-term care visiting nursing centers in communities using data envelopment analysis (DEA). Methods: Data were collected using a self-reported questionnaire. The average number of staff per 6 months and total space of center were used as input variables. The average number of clients per 6 months and the average profits per 6 months were used as output variables. EMS Window version 3.1 was used to measure the efficiency scores. Descriptive statistics and tobit regression were applied to analyze the general characteristics of the variables and the factors affecting efficiency scores. Results: The average efficiency of 30 long-term care visiting nursing centers in communities was approximately 66.9% on technical efficiency analysis, and 79.1% on scale efficiency analysis. Eight nursing centers on technical efficiency analysis and 12 centers on scale efficiency analysis had 100.0% efficiency. Conclusion: Our findings reveal that long-term care visiting nursing centers in communities have low operational efficiency. Therefore, it is essential to institute policies and regulations to improve the efficiency of visiting nursing centers and to strengthen the business competencies of center officers.