• Title/Summary/Keyword: Healthcare costs

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Factors Influencing Use of Smartphone Applications for Healthcare Self-Management: An Extended Technology Acceptance Model

  • Jo, Heui-Sug;Jung, Su-Mi
    • Korean Journal of Health Education and Promotion
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    • v.31 no.4
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    • pp.25-36
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    • 2014
  • Objectives: The self-management of chronic diseases is currently receiving much attention. This study applied an extended technology acceptance model (ETAM) to analyze the factors influencing acceptance of a healthcare smartphone application. Methods: Three hundred people living in Seoul and Gyeonggi who used smartphones were quota sampled. A telephone survey was conducted using a structured questionnaire based on ETAM. A path analysis was carried out using the AMOS 17.0 program, and the model was verified. Results: The analysis revealed significant factors of perceived usefulness (.374, p < .001), enjoyment (.210, p < .001), subjective norms (.168, p < .001), perceived costs (.146, p < .001), and innovativeness (.138, p < .001). Cost directly influenced intention to use health applications; self-efficacy and perceived ease of use indirectly affected intention through innovation and perceived usefulness. Conclusions: This study helped to identify the main factors that influence usage intention of smartphone applications. These findings could contribute to promoting the self-management of chronic disease through future health applications using smartphones.

Economies of Scale and Scope in Hospitals (병원의 규모와 범위의 경제)

  • Ham, U-Sang
    • Health Policy and Management
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    • v.18 no.1
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    • pp.21-42
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    • 2008
  • This study investigates economies of scale, cost complementarity and economies of scope for healthcare organizations using econometric approaches. The economies of scale appear to exist in each service provided by a hospital such as inpatient treatment services, outpatient treatment services, and other patient treatment services, respectively. When we test all services in aggregate level, it also indicates that the healthcare industry on average exhibits the economies of scale of 6 percent, which implies that scaling up hospital sizes will bring substantial cost savings to them Evidence shows that cost complementarity exists between outpatient services and other services for patients and, i.e., these other services for patients experience the reduction in marginal costs as the outputs of the outpatient services increase. For the economies of scope, they are present in most service areas; aggregate level services, outpatient services, and other services for patients, respectively. Inpatient treatment services, however, do not show any evidence of the economies of scope. Results show that the economies of scope are achieved by the general hospital type that provides all service areas such as inpatient treatments, outpatient treatments, and other services for patients. The existence of the economies of scope provides the rationale for extending the existing line of business in a hospital into more diverse areas of services where its benefit comes in the form of cost savings. In sum, it overall provides evidence that the M&As in this industry are encouraged to achieve cost reductions from the economies of scale and scope by changing the size and the output mix.

The influence of selecting dental hospital by hospital marketing : Focus on patient satisfaction (병원마케팅이 치과 의료기관 선택에 미치는 영향 : 의료소비자 만족도를 중심으로)

  • Noh, Han-Na;Kwon, Cho-Long;Hwang, Sun Hee
    • Journal of the Korean Academy of Esthetic Dentistry
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    • v.23 no.2
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    • pp.95-104
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    • 2014
  • This study is about the basis of satisfactions by patients : One is 'what factors of the marketing by dental medical service have an effect on consumers dental clinic' The other is 'what is the most important part when consumers choose the dental medical ser Seoul and Gyeonggi area unintentionally. Finally 446 people were analyzed. 6 general questions, 5 selective form questions when consumers choose the dental service, 11 satisfactions questions after treating and thought of reuse the dental service 6 (Likert scale) questions. Whether the choice of hospital dental marketing by dental analysis, both male and female hospital medical marketing and use of selected highly suggests that it does not respond. The resulting satisfaction analysis using the Hospital Dental Marketing consumer access to medical care, and then, a full explanation, comfort, quality and level, health care costs, treatment management, and symptom improvement were higher satisfaction with the item, select the dental healthcare after the analysis of the marketing of recycled doctors are otherwise subject the person selected from all entries equal to or higher than the average consumer satisfaction showed a higher medical doctor also higher reuse. Consequently, Through the use of marketing to choose the best dental healthcare need to providing quality care.

Formal versus Informal Credit: Which is Better in Helping Rural Areas in Vietnam?

  • TRUONG, Thi Hoai Linh;LE, Thi Nhu Quynh;PHAN, Hong Mai
    • The Journal of Asian Finance, Economics and Business
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    • v.7 no.5
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    • pp.119-130
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    • 2020
  • The study seeks to evaluate the impacts of three types of credit - formal, semi-formal, and informal credits - on the well-being of households in Vietnam's rural areas. Based on data from the Vietnam Household Living Standard Surveys in 2014 and 2016, the research uses the instrumental variable fixed-effect models to estimate the effects of three kinds of credit on household's per capita income and expenditure. There are some significant findings. First, in rural areas, formal credit is the most popular source with stable and cheap borrowing costs. Informal credit is a complement to formal credit to meet urgent needs. Funding agriculture activities is the most commonly cited purpose of borrowing, followed by purchasing assets. The highest misuse rate belongs to the group of loans for agriculture production. Second, the results show that credit helps smoothen consumption rather than generate income for rural households. Three types of credit have insignificant or negative effects on household's per capita income. Formal loans significantly improve total expenditure and spending on healthcare and education. Informal and semi-formal credits show a little influence on consumption. Informal loans have a significantly positive effect on healthcare expenditure. In contrast, having semi-formal loans tends to decrease spending on foods.

Moon Jae-in Government's Plan for Benefit Expansion in National Health Insurance (문재인 정부의 건강보험 보장성 강화대책)

  • Park, Eun-Cheol
    • Health Policy and Management
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    • v.27 no.3
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    • pp.191-198
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    • 2017
  • Moon Jae-in Government announced the Government's 5-Year Plan on July 19, 2017, President Moon directly announced the Government's Plan for Benefit Expansion in National Health Insurance on August 7, 2017. The main contents of the announced expansion include benefit coverage for all medically necessary services with control over non-covered service occurrence, a decrease in the cost-sharing upper limit, and monetary support for catastrophic medical costs. Although past governments have been continuously striving for benefit expansion in the last 15 years, this plan has its breakthrough aspect in that all medical services will be covered by the National Health Insurance. In alignment, there are important tasks to solve: attaining a proper fee schedule, reforming the healthcare delivery system, and improving healthcare quality. This plan is a symptom oriented action in that it is limited in reducing patients' out-of-pocket money, unlike the systematic approach of the National Health Insurance. The sustainability of the National Health Insurance is being threatened due to South Korea's low birth rate, rapidly aging society, and low economic growth, in addition to the unification issue of the Korean Peninsula, medical utilization of the elderly, management of non-communicable diseases, and so on. Therefore, the Government needs to plan the National Health Insurance system reformation including actions addressed toward medical consumers.

Clinical Specimen Printing System using RFID (RFID를 이용한 검체 프린팅 시스템)

  • Kim, Yong-Phil;Choi, Kwang-Il;Jung, Hoe-Kyung
    • Journal of the Korea Institute of Information and Communication Engineering
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    • v.18 no.2
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    • pp.351-356
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    • 2014
  • Although the demand for histopathological examinations has been increasing, medical accidents in management of specimens also have been increasing because most of the examinations are processed manually which can cause careless handing, confusing information and mismatching during the procedure. In the future, histopatological examination will be used frequently for handing incurable diseases and verification of new drug. Thus, efficient and error-free management system for handling personalized medical history and test results is infallibly necessary. In this paper, I have proposed an integrated printing system for informatization of histopathological examination that support the u-Healthcare environment based on RFID in near future. The proposed system supports systematization of whole examination process and information of pathological samples. This system will contribute to reduction of costs, improvement of operational efficiency, and mostly fundamental prevention of medical accidents.

A Study on the Regional Gap Analysis and Management of the Elderly Health in an Aging Society

  • YOO, Chae-Hyun;SHIN, Seung-Jung
    • International journal of advanced smart convergence
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    • v.10 no.2
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    • pp.168-174
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    • 2021
  • Korea is ranked as the world's No. 1 country in its aging rate. While the interest and demand for health is rapidly increasing, the health status of the elderly is in the lowest among OECD members. Increased chronic diseases, the burden of medical costs and digital/untact changes of societies after COVID-19 have caused the direction of healthcare to be changed from treatment oriented to health care and prevention oriented, along with increased income levels and a desire for a healthy life. Amid this paradigm of change, the gap in health standards and health inequality for the elderly according to local structure and social conditions affects not only socio-economic but also the quality of life for individual senior citizen. Utilizing prior data of Aging Research Panel Survey, this study aims to compare and analyze health conditions and regional gaps which are significant influences on the satisfaction of the life of the elderly, and to suggest direction of studies for health care to provide solutions for health inequalities. The findings are intended to be a basic data for researching models of the New Normal Smart Healthcare System that bridge the health gap between the elderly and enhance life satisfaction with health care models suitable for regional characteristics in aging society.

Surveying the preferences of new generation of seniors for retirement housing and exploring future directions (신노년세대의 시니어 주거에 대한 선호조사와 미래 방향 고찰)

  • Kwon, Soonjung;Park, Hwa-Ok;Lim, Jung-won;Yun, Geukhan
    • Journal of The Korea Institute of Healthcare Architecture
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    • v.29 no.4
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    • pp.21-28
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    • 2023
  • Purpose: This study is to analyze the preferences for future senior housing that reflects the characteristics of the new generation of seniors and to consider the direction of future senior housing. Methods: Data from an online survey of a new generation of older adults and group interviews with professionals and baby boomers were analyzed. The data collected from the survey and interview have been using quantitative analysed method. Literature surveys also have been carried out. Results: The results show that future senior housing requires a change in perception through conceptual expansion from the Aging in Place (AIP) to the Aging in Community (AIC) paradigm. The preferences of the new generation of seniors for future senior housing were examined to determine their preferences for location, facility size and type, unit floor plans and services, and living costs. Implications: The direction of senior housing services and architectual plans for seniors aged 55 to 65 years old were discussed.

The United States CHES Program: The Role and Development of the Modern Health Educator (미국의 CHES 프로그램: 현대 보건교육사의 역할과 제도의 발전)

  • Sohn, Ae-Ree;Burzo, Jamie
    • Korean Journal of Health Education and Promotion
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    • v.27 no.5
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    • pp.63-71
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    • 2010
  • Objectives: The field of health education is still relatively new and is therefore evolving and developing rapidly throughout the world. Many countries' certification programs are still being created. This paper will discuss on the US CHES system of regulation, accreditation, and implementation for the future development of international health education programs. Methods: This article focuses on the United States CHES credentialing program, specifically on its historical development and the roles, employment settings and socioeconomic demographics of current CHES professionals through literature review. Results: The roles and skills required vary by employment setting, with seven universally recognized responsibilities of health educators. There are also 35 key competencies which are crucial to the role of the health educator, with 163 sub-competencies performed by all health educators. The employment of health educators will increase from 62,000 in 2006 to 78,000 in 2016. As the costs of healthcare increase, employers are projected to hire more health educators to decrease healthcare costs through prevention and early detection of chronic illnesses. Community health non-profit agencies, academia, healthcare (hospital/clinic), schools, government/government contracting, and businesses are some of the most widespread employment settings for health educators in the United States. Conclusion: Better understanding of this longstanding and successful program will benefit countries developing their own certification system. The variety and specificity of the information on the US CHES program may be of value as South Korea continues to develop its Korean CHES program.

Overview of Risk-Sharing Schemes: Focusing on Anticancer Drugs (위험분담제도에 대한 고찰: 항암제 사례를 중심으로)

  • Sohn, Hyun Soon;Shin, Hyun Taek
    • Korean Journal of Clinical Pharmacy
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    • v.23 no.2
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    • pp.89-96
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    • 2013
  • This article aimed to introduce 'risk sharing' schemes for pharmaceuticals between drug manufacturers and healthcare payer. Published literature review was undertaken to summarize risk sharing concepts and collect information on existing scheme examples in other countries focusing on new anticancer drugs. Risk sharing schemes could be categorized into health outcomes-based and non-outcomes (financial) based ones. Outcome-based schemes could be broken down into performance-linked reimbursement and conditional coverage. Performance-linked reimbursement can be further broken into outcomes guarantee and pattern or process of care and conditional coverage included coverage with evidence development and conditional treatment continuation schemes. Non-outcome based schemes included market share and price volume at population level, and utilization caps and manufacturer funded treatment initiation at patient level. We reviewed the fifteen examples for anticancer drugs that risk sharing agreements in response to the inherent uncertainties and increased costs of eleven anticancer drugs. Of them, eight cases were coverage with evidence development schemes. The anticancer drugs except bevacizumab and cetuximab were all listed on the national health insurance formulary in Korea, with reimbursement criteria defined on the basis of approved indications and administrations. Risk sharing approach may be a useful tool to ensure values for drug expenditure, but there are a number of concerns such as high administration costs, lack of transparency and conflicts of interest, especially for performance-based health outcomes reimbursement schemes.