• Research in Community and Public Health Nursing
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• v.32 no.3
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• pp.356-367
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• 2021

Purpose: This study conducted an economic evaluation of hospital-based home care services for the patients who had undergone breast cancer surgery. Methods: A total of 12,483 patients over 18 years of age who had received breast cancer surgery in 26 tertiary hospitals in 2018 were analyzed with the claim data from the Health Insurance Review & Assessment Service using cost-minimization analysis and societal perspectives. Results: There were 156 patients who utilized hospital-based home care services within 30 days after breast cancer surgery, and they received 2.17 (SD=1.17) hospital-based home care service on average. The average total cost was 5,250,028 KRW (SD=1,905,428) for the group receiving continuous hospital-based home care and 6,113,402 KRW (SD=2,033,739) for the group not receiving continuous hospital-based home care (p<.001). The results of the economic evaluation of continuous hospital-based home care services in patients who had undergone breast cancer surgery indicated a total benefit of 953,691,000 KRW, a total cost of 819,004,000 KRW, and a benefit-cost ratio of 1.16 in 2018. Conclusion: Continuous hospital-based home care was considered economically feasible as the total costs for the group receiving continuous hospital-based home care were lower than those of the group not receiving continuous hospital-based home care. Therefore, policy modification and financial incentives are recommended to increase the utilization of hospital-based home care services for patients who had undergone breast cancer surgery.

• Research in Community and Public Health Nursing
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• v.21 no.3
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• pp.362-373
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• 2010

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to evaluate the costs and benefits of individual home visiting health care using secondary data and literature review. Methods: The total number of subjects was 1,008,837. A specific program was classified into disease management, care of infant, child and women, or elderly care. The costs and effects of a program were identified from a societal perspective, and the effects were converted into monetary terms or benefits. The total cost was calculated in the way that medical expenses, travel costs and productivity losses were offset by the decrease in benefits and thus only the program budget was included in the total cost. Results: The total program cost was 47.6 billion won per year and the total annual benefit was estimated at 435.6 billion won. The benefits of arthritis management were the biggest among disease management programs. The net benefit was 388.0 billion won per year and the benefit/cost ratio was 9.16. Conclusion: Home visiting health care was validated to be economically effective. It made a positive contribution to improving the health status of vulnerable populations and reducing medical expenses. These results suggest that home visiting care should be extended more broadly to vulnerable populations.

• Journal of Home Health Care Nursing
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• v.21 no.2
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• pp.127-138
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• 2014

Purpose: The objectives of this study were to analyze the state of hospital-based home care (HC) services annually and to provide basic information for research and policy regarding home care. Methods: This study is a secondary analysis of the yearly state of HC services from the Health Insurance Review & Assessment Services from 2007 to 2012. Results: The decreased by 34.6%, from 214 agencies in 2007 to 140 in 2012. The annual average number of active home care nurses was 440, which included 6.7% of the licensed home care nurses until 2012. The annual average number of HC patients were 32,000, and this number decreased by 21% in 2012, compared to that of 2008. Of the HC patients, about 70% were over 60 years of age. The chronic diseases among HC patients have been decreasing steadily since 2007. Seventy to eighty percent of the home visits were made in general hospitals or higher level hospitals. The total medical cost for HC services was 21 billion won in 2007, which consisted of 0.06% of the national medical costs, and it was 22 billion won and 0.03% in 2012. Conclusion: Based on the results of this study, further research on HC services is necessary to frame policies for the expansion of HC agencies.

• Journal of East-West Nursing Research
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• v.25 no.2
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• pp.157-165
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• 2019

Purpose: This study aims to provide basic data for the development of measures and promoting home health nursing by examining the current status and trends in home health nursing for long-term care (LTC) insurance beneficiaries. Methods: Secondary data, including annual LTC insurance statistics reports for 2010-2017 and LTC manpower data, were used to compute current status and trends in the provision of home health nursing. Results: Beneficiaries of home health nursing under LTC insurance, insurance-covered costs for home health nursing, home health nursing provider, and home health nursing providing institution only accounted for 3% of all insurance-covered home care services, and were on a consistent decline since 2010. In particular, vulnerable rural regions with high proportion of individuals had poor infrastructure in terms of home health nursing institutions and manpower, but had a higher home health nursing utilization rate compared to urban regions. Conclusion: In addition to measures to support home health nursing service beneficiaries, policy measures are needed to support home health nursing service personnel and institutions. Furthermore, programs to cultivate the expertise of home health nurses and improve quality of home health nursing services should be developed in order to promote home health nursing utilization in vulnerable rural regions.

• Women's Health Nursing
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• v.2 no.1
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• pp.25-39
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• 1996

The Korean government has a new system for charging patient care for patients in hospital, on hold for the present(9 / 1995) but to start implementation in certain areas of patient care next year. From the latter half of next year the Ministry of Health and Welfare would like to start demonstration projects for hospitals who want to start using DRGs for frequently seen medical diagnosis and for patients with a course that is predictable and for whom non-insurance costs are minimal : such as the patient who has a delivery, cesarean deliveries, cataract surgery, tonsillectomy or an appendectomy, and apply the DRG system of payment for hospital care for these patients. The purpose of this study was to establish a recording system to give effective home health care to postpartum women and their newborns. Recently the government announced a DRG system to apply to postpartum women for pilot purposes starting next year. This gives impetus to the need to develop home care records that will allow for systematic recording and provide continuity and consistency in care across all health professionals and with in-depth communication between the professions to assure high quality care. There has been a rise in medical costs and a shortage of patient bed space in hospitals, particularly since the introduction of national medical insurance. The study focused on developing client selection criteria, a primary assessment tool, progress notes and nursing diagnoses applicable to postpartum and newborn clients. Selection criteria for home health care, assessment tool content, nurses progress notes and diagnoses were developed through a review of the literature, advice from professionals who are expert in home health care and actual practice in the use of recording tools through workshops. The recommendations based on the research results are as follows : 1) Replication and application of these tools is needed to test the validity of the tools 2) In order to have systematic nursing records standardization of records has to be done after nurses have had experience using them. 3) Reliability and validity of the tools has to be established through applicability to actual care situation.

• Journal of Korean Academy of Nursing
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• v.34 no.3
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• pp.449-457
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• 2004

Purpose: The aim of this study was to analyze economical efficiency of home care service by comparing a cost-utility ratio(CUR) between home care and hospitalization. Method: The analytic framework of this study was constructed in 5 stages: Identifying the analytic perspectives, measurement of costs, measurement of utility, analysis of CUR, and sensitivity test. Data was collected by reviewing medical records, home care service records, medical fee claims, and other related research. Result: The mean of the annual total cost was 23,317,636 Won in home care and 73,739,352 Won in hospital care. QALY was 0.389 in home care and 0.474 in hospital care, so CUR was 299,712,545 QALY in home care and 777,841,266 QALY in hospital care. Conclusion: The findings affirmed that home care had an economical efficiency in the aspect of utility compared to hospitalization. Therefore, the findings of this study can be used to develop a governmental health policy or to expand the home care system. In addition, the cost-utility analysis framework and process of this study will be an example model for cost-utility analysis in nursing research. Therefore, it will be used as a guideline for future research related to cost-utility analysis in nursing.

• The Journal of the Korea Contents Association
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• v.12 no.12
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• pp.282-290
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• 2012

Today, home health care services needs a linkage plan of the customized home visiting health service in public health center, the medical institute home health care service, and home visiting nursing service based on long term care insurance for the elderly program which acknowledges the independence and professionalism of the home health care services while minimizing overlap through linking the projects. So, this study was performed by applying the Delphi technique, which draws agreement from professional opinion, to determine a method to link home health care services in Korea. The results of this study are as follows. Specialists agreed on 24 important items within the two domains of institutional linkage and medical linkage. And the significance of this study is as follows. The 24 items deduced for the approved nursing service linkage plan are expected to improve the home health care service business system, enhance the quality of home health care service, and bring increased satisfaction for service recipients. Also, seeking ways to minimize overlap in service can increase the effectiveness of health care and public health management at a national level. In addition, it is considered that this will ultimately reduce public medical costs as well as improve home health care service.

• Journal of Korean Public Health Nursing
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• v.30 no.3
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• pp.512-525
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• 2016

Purpose: Ageing in place may improve the quality of life of frail elderly and decrease their costs of services. The purpose of this study was to examine the factors that influence the institutionalization of elderly using home care services in a Korean long-term care insurance system. Methods: This study used the data of '2009 Satisfaction survey of Korean long-term care system'. The survey proceeded to use a sampling data based on region, level of long-term care need, and insurance type among the beneficiaries between August and September 2009. The onset dates of institutionalization of 1,095 participants were ascertained from long-term care insurance claim data. This study calculated the hazard ratio through the Cox Proportional Hazard Model. Results: A total of 176 subjects who were institutionalized in nursing homes were included. There were higher risks in the group that included those who were 85 years and over, had dementia or fracture, used home-visit nursing service, and were not supported by direct family. Conclusion: The results of this study have policy implications to supplement the home care service system and postpone nursing home institutionalization of elderly.

• Journal of Home Health Care Nursing
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• v.2
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• pp.5-18
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• 1995

While the socioeonomic status of Koreas has been dramatically increasing in recent years, chronic and geriatric diseases have also been on the rise, bringing about many changes in our health care system. The basic goals of the home health care are to reduce health care costs, to increase the attrition rate in general hospitals, and to care for patients effectively and conveniontly at home. The purpose of this paper is to review and examine the current status of the home health care in Korea throughout the reports, surveys, other informations and education system of home health nurse. We identified the various types of home health care services programs, such as hospital-based home health care operated in public sector(demonstration project) and community-based home health care in health centers or in private sector, that is, Korean Nurse Association. Hospital based home heatlh care model was established as an alternative to traditional in-patiet services. Quality assurance and client satisfaction is an important measure of care received and establishment of payment and reimbursement for home health care services is important in promotng the home health care. We found out a fee-per-visit system composed of three kinds of fees : a basic service fee(16,000 Won), a travel fee(5,000 Won), and per-service fees (variables). Like fees paid for in-patient care, insureds pay 20% and insurers pay 80% of the basic and per-service fee. The travel fee is borne totally by the insured. Home health care continues to be viewed as not only the most preferred way to provide care to clients, but also the most cost effective. Home health care is that component of a continuum of comprehensive health care whereby health services are provided to individuals and families in their places of residence for the purpose of promoting, maintaining, or restoring health, or of maximizing the level of independence, while minimizing illness. Services appropriate to the needs of the individual patient and family should be planned and provided, nursing is to be a force for positive change and enhanced the nursing professionalism. Whatever type of involvement of home health care, it is essential to remember that home health care is highly service-oriented and highly touch health car deilvery system.

• Journal of Korean Academy of Nursing
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• v.30 no.4
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• pp.1045-1054
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• 2000

As cost pressures have escalated, policy makers, politicians, health care providers and families have tried to devise ways to reduce health care costs. While originally developed to enhance patient control and to provide better care at the end of life, hospice care has recently received significant attention as a mean of reducing health care costs. As a program providing care for patients who are dying at their homes, hospice has expanded slowly since the opening of the first hospice in Korea in 1963. Therefore, a variety of services that responds to the needs and concerns of many dying people and their families is limited The purpose of this study was to determine the potential cost savings at the end of life among patients who used home hospice compared with the patients who received institutional care in Korea. This study used a retrospective, descriptive design. The sample for this study included 46 patients who died of lung cancer: 25 patients who received home hospice care and 21 patients who received institutional care. Data on patient characteristics, kinds and frequencies of provided treatment and nursing services, and hospice and hospital charges during the last month before death were collected. Cost of care was measured by the average cost per patient per day in the last month of life. The results of the study indicated that there were significant differences in average cost of care between home hospice sample and institutional care sample (t=9.956, p<.001; home hospice sample: M=18,102 won, institutional care sample: M=317,578 won). The cost of the home hospice sample was approximately 6% of the cost of institutional care. The majority of the home hospice nursing services were education (35.7%) and supportive counseling (25.2%), followed by medication management (13.6%), assessment (12.1%), basic nursing (7.2%), treatment (5.5%) and others. In institutional care sample, basic nursing and treatment were more emphasized than education or supportive counseling among the nursing services provided. The results of this study showed the potential for hospice to reduce costs and implications for policymakers and clinicians to incorporate hospice program into the formal health care delivery system in Korea.