• The Journal of the Korean life insurance medical association
• /
• v.28 no.1_2
• /
• pp.31-35
• /
• 2009

Background : Many of internists have been working for insurance industry. Insurance medicine is use of medical knowledge for insurance industry. There is social role of insurance medicine in terms of soundness of insurance administration. Recently social role of internists also have been being watched. Although theme of insurance medicine is medical risk selection, insurance claims administration also needs medical experts'opinion. There are not any corroborative study of medical consulting for insurance claims. Among insurance industry, someone called this medical review of insurance claims as 'medical claims review'. Aim : To investigate usefulness of medical review of insurance claims. Design : Questionnaire survey with claim staffs in one of insurance claim adjustment company in Korea. Methods : 265 claim staffs were divided into 4 groups and conducted survey using a questionnaire of 20 questions. Utility score, job satisfaction score, and difficult factors of claims administration were measured. Results : Utility score and job satisfaction score are highest in medical claims review group. The most difficult in claim administration to claim staffs was demonstrated to medical knowledge. Conclusion : Medical review of insurance claims is proved to be worthy. Document-based consulting method, namely medical claims review, is more useful than telephone-based simple query among claim staffs...Subjects of the medical claims review are medical record and it's principle is independent medical examination with evidence-based approach, it also has role of protecting fraud of insurance claims. Two main question types of medical claims review are verification and advice.

• The Journal of the Korean life insurance medical association
• /
• v.26
• /
• pp.41-53
• /
• 2007

In the course of insurance claim administration, medical experts' opinions are called medical claim reviews. They are classified into two main categories: medical verification and counsel for claim staff. Medical verification compare between product coverage and the insured's physical condition. Medical counsel for claim staff is advice for claim staff when they have a question about medical knowledge to make a claim decision. A common example of medical verification is insurance coding of pituitary apoplexy. Some clinicians have insisted that the ICD coding of pituitary apoplexy is l63 of cerebral infarction, but the exclusion criteria of I code show that neoplasm is coded as C00 to D48. Thus, pituitary apoplexy must be coded as D33. An example of medical counsel for claim staff is interpretation of some medical conditions. It is divided into UCR(usual, customary, and reasonable) assessment, assessment of causality, and so on. Disability evaluation is another subject of medical counsel for claim staff. The final claim decision must be made by claim staff because only the claim staff have the authority of claim decision. Medical claims review is only an expert's opinion.

• Korea Journal of Hospital Management
• /
• v.9 no.3
• /
• pp.71-97
• /
• 2004

This study conducted a comparative analysis of awareness level of review standards, continuing education, and awareness about the need for speciality and educational courses in order to improve quality of Korean health insurance review work and to present directions for policies of personnel development and continuing education to smoothly perform hospital's insurance claim work and Agency's review work. The analysis unit of the study is individuals, and survey was conducted among hospital's claim officers and Agency' review officers by distributing questionnaires. The major results of the study are as follows: First, it is found that hospital's claim officers and Agency's review officers have conflicting awareness about review standards; more Agency's review officers think that current review standards are universal and reasonable, while more hospital's claim officers believe that they need to be revised. Especially, hospital's claim officers replied that it is possible that review results can differ according to government's policies. Second, there is no significant difference between the two groups in the opinion that there are individual differences in awareness level of review standard. In particular, both groups share the opinion that review results can differ according to officer's interpretation of review standards. Third, Both review officer groups feel the need for further training and continuing education. Fourth, there is no difference between the two groups in the opinion that both groups members should be educated in review related educational institutions. However, while 81.5% of Agency's review officers the education should be offered at the Agency, only 45.2% of hospital's claim officers agreed to it. Fifth, both review personnel do not show any difference in awareness of needed experience to successfully perform review work; both groups replied that three to four years experience is necessary to smoothly perform claim work and review work. This study was tried in order to search for directions to improve Korean insurance review work in quality rather than to explore characteristics themselves of individual factors. In this sense, this study presupposed an intention that the educational subjects for further training and continuing education for the two groups should be the same in order to narrow the awareness gap between hospital's claim officers and Agency's review officers. Thus, this study suggests that it is desirable to offer beginner courses at junior colleges or in undergraduate courses and advanced courses in professional graduate school for six to twelve months. In that a comparison of awareness level of hospital's claim officers and Agency's review officers who are actually in practice should precede appropriate presentation of directions for the qualitative improvement of insurance review work in Korea, the significance of this study lies in comparatively analyzing the awareness level of hospital's claim officers and Agency's review officers and in presenting the establishment of future further training and continuing education.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
• /
• v.54 no.1
• /
• pp.8-16
• /
• 2021

This article aims to introduce the inception and operation of the COVID-19 International Collaborative Research Project, the world's first coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) open data project for research, along with its dataset and research method, and to discuss relevant considerations for collaborative research using nationwide real-world data (RWD). COVID-19 has spread across the world since early 2020, becoming a serious global health threat to life, safety, and social and economic activities. However, insufficient RWD from patients was available to help clinicians efficiently diagnose and treat patients with COVID-19, or to provide necessary information to the government for policy-making. Countries that saw a rapid surge of infections had to focus on leveraging medical professionals to treat patients, and the circumstances made it even more difficult to promptly use COVID-19 RWD. Against this backdrop, the Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service (HIRA) of Korea decided to open its COVID-19 RWD collected through Korea's universal health insurance program, under the title of the COVID-19 International Collaborative Research Project. The dataset, consisting of 476 508 claim statements from 234 427 patients (7590 confirmed cases) and 18 691 318 claim statements of the same patients for the previous 3 years, was established and hosted on HIRA's in-house server. Researchers who applied to participate in the project uploaded analysis code on the platform prepared by HIRA, and HIRA conducted the analysis and provided outcome values. As of November 2020, analyses have been completed for 129 research projects, which have been published or are in the process of being published in prestigious journals.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
• /
• v.57 no.1
• /
• pp.1-7
• /
• 2024

Objectives: Adjusting for potential confounders is crucial for producing valuable evidence in outcome studies. Although numerous studies have been published using the Korea National Health Insurance Claim Database, no study has critically reviewed the methods used to adjust for confounders. This study aimed to review these studies and suggest methods and applications to adjust for confounders. Methods: We conducted a literature search of electronic databases, including PubMed and Embase, from January 1, 2021 to December 31, 2022. In total, 278 studies were retrieved. Eligibility criteria were published in English and outcome studies. A literature search and article screening were independently performed by 2 authors and finally, 173 of 278 studies were included. Results: Thirty-nine studies used matching at the study design stage, and 171 adjusted for confounders using regression analysis or propensity scores at the analysis stage. Of these, 125 conducted regression analyses based on the study questions. Propensity score matching was the most common method involving propensity scores. A total of 171 studies included age and/or sex as confounders. Comorbidities and healthcare utilization, including medications and procedures, were used as confounders in 146 and 82 studies, respectively. Conclusions: This is the first review to address the methods and applications used to adjust for confounders in recently published studies. Our results indicate that all studies adjusted for confounders with appropriate study designs and statistical methodologies; however, a thorough understanding and careful application of confounding variables are required to avoid erroneous results.

• The Journal of the Korean life insurance medical association
• /
• v.26
• /
• pp.31-39
• /
• 2007

Background and main issue: In the Korean insurance market, an outstanding issue is the decrease of margin of risk ratio. This affects the solvency and profitability of insurance companies. Insurance medicine, which has been developed in Western countries, is so-called medical risk selection or medical underwriting. Medical risk selection is based on clinical follow-up study and mortality analysis methodology. Unfortunately, there have been few clinical follow-up studies, and no intercompany disease analysis system is available in the Korean insurance market. In practice, we use underwriting guidelines, which were developed by some global reinsurance companies. However, these guidelines were developed under clinical follow-up studies performed abroad. So, we cannot rule out underestimation of excess mortality factors such as mortality ratio, excess death rate, and life expectancy. It is necessary to perform medical assessment in claims administration. Comparing the insured's statement by medical records with products' benefit according to this procedure, we can make sound claim decisions and participate in the role of sound underwriting. We can call this scientific procedure as the verification of medical claims review. Another area of medical claims review is medical counsel for claims staff. Result: There is another insurance medicine in addition to medical risk selection. Independent medical assessment by medical records of insured is medical claims review. Medical claims review is composed of verification and counsel.

• Journal of Oral Medicine and Pain
• /
• v.30 no.2
• /
• pp.215-230
• /
• 2005

The study was intended to investigate how dentists in private dental clinic thought on the present claim and review of dental insurance to reflect it in future establishing dental insurance policies. 1,465 dentists who were running own dental clinic in Pusan Metropolitan City and the south part of Kyungsang province were surveyed in February, 2004. A total of 406 copies of finished questionnaire were finally retrieved and analyzed. The findings are as follows. 1. About insurance claim affairs : Most of the subject of insurance claim was by dentist himself or dental hygienist(nurse). Agency claiming was carried under 20% of total insurance claim. 2. The degree of attendance on insurance lecture : The degree of attendance on insurance lecture was relatively low. 3. Filing a protest against insurance claim : Filing a protest against insurance claim was reavealed about half-and-half for "have been" or "have not been". 4. Private clinic dentist,s opinion about the regulations affecting review of dental insurance : Private clinic dentists opinion about current guide for insurance review of dental fee was“the guidance is difficult and unfair cutback of claim fee may be carried”. 5. The affairs about health insurance review agency : About 70% of private clinic dentists have dissatisfaction on health insurance review agency. 6. Standpoint of private clinic dentists about issuance of receipt for dental fee : About 70% of private clinic dentist have an difficulty in issuance of receipt for dental fee. 7. The affairs about change insurance noncoverage treatment to insurance coverage treatment : Most of private clinic dentists hoped that insurance coverage about full mouth scaling, pit and fissure sealant, fluoride application. But they do not hoped that insurance coverage about geriatric denture, prothodontic treatment except precious metal, photopolymerization resin treatment.

• Korea Journal of Hospital Management
• /
• v.10 no.2
• /
• pp.45-63
• /
• 2005

The purposes of this study are to understand the doctors' attitude and satisfaction about the review system of national health insurance claim in Korea and to suggest the way to improve this system This study conducted a survey of the doctors registered in the medical association in Seoul city. The survey was performed as a form of self-administered questionnaire from January 2004 to February 2004. The contents of questionnaire dealt with doctors' attitude and satisfaction about the review system of medical service claim. Totally, 1,037 members replied to our survey and we analysed 981 doctors' data, excluding incomplete responses. As a result, 89.7% of repliers showed a negative attitude about the influences of the review system on improvement of medical service quality, 98.0% of repliers have had experiences that they have given distorted insufficient medical services in order to evade the curtailment of service claim. Also, 91.6% of repliers stated that they have had experiences of intentional modification or alteration of diagnostic code to shun the curtailment. Most of the doctors showed negative attitude to the curtailment procedure and the review system of service claim originally intended to be one of the quality control methods of medical service in Korea also, the development of both scientific and reasonable parameters and criteria for claim is needed. 'Through the improvement of review system for appropriate medical service, there is a need of a way to increase the satisfaction of medical service providers, and to encourage the motivation for quality control. Also, education is strongly needed to provide doctors with sufficient information about review criteria and curtailment cases.

• THE INTERNATIONAL COMMERCE & LAW REVIEW
• /
• v.53
• /
• pp.207-229
• /
• 2012

In IP 7 and LCCP 201, Law Commission considers the insured's duty of good faith after the formation of the contract. This article intends to review and analyse the legal implications of proposals in IP 7 and LCCP 201. The results of analysis are following. First, Law Commission propose to end the remedy of avoidance under MIA 1906 section 17, because avoidance of past claims is unprincipled, impractical and unnecessarily harsh. Secondly, LC proposes that an insured who makes a fraudulent claim should forfeit the whole claim which the fraud relates, but that the fraud should not invalidate previous and legitimate claims. Thirdly, LC proposes to introduce a statutory right for the insurer to claim damages for the reasonable, foreseeable costs of investigate a fraudulent claim in specific circumstances and that damages would be limited to those cases where the insurer can show an actual, net loss. Finally, LC provisionally propose that an express fraud clause should be upheld in business insurance, whereas in consumer insurance, any term which purports to give the insurer greater rights in relation to fraudulent claims that those set out in statute would be of no effect.

• Health Policy and Management
• /
• v.26 no.1
• /
• pp.63-70
• /
• 2016

Background: Selective health benefit was introduced for decreasing economic burden of patients. Medical devices with economic uncertainty have been covered as selective health benefit by National Health Insurance since December 2013. We aimed to analyze impact of selective health benefit to medical expenditure and provider behavior focused on electrosurgery (ultrasonic shears, electrothermal bipolar vessel sealers) for gastric cancer patients covered since December 2014. Methods: We used the National Health Insurance claims data of 2,698 patients underwent gastric cancer surgery between August 2014 and March 2015. Medical cost and patient sharing per inpatient day were analyzed to verify that covering electrosurgery increased medical expenditure and changed provider behavior from open surgery to endoscopic or laparoscopic surgery. Additionally, we analyzed the claim rate of medical device or goods relating gastric endoscopic and laparoscopic surgery. Results: Medical cost and patient sharing per inpatient day were increased after covering electosurgery as selective health benefit (39,724/1,421 won). However, there were no medical expenditure increases after adjusting claim of electosurgery and patient sharing was decreased 1,057 won especially. The coverage of selective health benefit did not increase the claim rate of medical device or goods related endoscopic or laparoscopic surgery, either. Conclusion: Covering electosurgery decreased patient economic burden and did not change of provider behavior. Expanding selective health benefit is needed to decrease economic burden of severe patients. Further study should evaluate the long term effect with accumulated data.