• The Journal of the Korean dental association
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• v.48 no.2
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• pp.91-94
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• 2010

Regarding the improvement of the dental specialist program, two related issues were reviewed extensively: (a) bill amending portions of the Medical Service Act as proposed by national assemblywomen Choi Yeong-hui (Democratic Party) and Chung Mi-gyeong (Grand National Party), and; (b) Plans to supplement the submitted bill. Although the existing bill's prospects in the assembly are unclear at this point, both the existing and planned supplementary bills zero in on two points: (a) specialists must focus on providing care only in their respective expertise, and; (b) a distinction between the roles played by the primary, secondary, and tertiary medical institutions must be made to help establish clearly the country's overall health care system. In addition, proposals were made for medical license renewal among specialists so that professionals can offer better health care to customers.

• Journal of Korean Physical Therapy Science
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• v.22 no.1
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• pp.19-27
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• 2015

Purpose : The purpose of this study is to check the current status of accessability to rehabilitation therapy in local areas and to review how to improve the accessability. In fact, first, it is very hard for patients to find out a local medical center with rehabilitation therapy capability. Moreover they needs to wait long time to get a treatment they need, because of lack of nearby rehabilitation centers. The best way to enhance the accessability to the rehabilitation therapy service is to allow therapists to set up rehabilitation centers in local areas on their own, physically independent from medical doctors. Basically, the current law does not prohibit therapists' own sole practice. However, it needs to be amended by inserting an explicit legal basis on the setting-up process. If it is legally permissible for the therapists to set up rehabilitation centers to perform a rehabilitation treatment with referrals from of medical doctors (though physically independent from the doctors), it would result in the increase of profits for the doctors and at the same time raise therapists' freedom of occupation, a constitutional right. Furthermore, with their own places to practice, therapists will have to compete with other therapists, that would raise the quality of their treatments, which will in turn benefit patients ultimately. A proposed bill of amendments to the Act on Medical Technicians and etc. is pending for review at the National Assembly. I look forward to vigorous discussion on the bill based on this article, and resulting in revision of the law for the benefits of patients.

• The Korean Society of Law and Medicine
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• v.20 no.3
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• pp.211-233
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• 2019

The 「Health Care Workforce Support Act」 was came into effect on 29 October 2019. Health care workforce is the most important national health resource, and the quantity and quality of them is also related to the level of national health care. This study examined the background and major contents of this Act and suggested future improvement by analyzing main issues. Th e Act was enacted to support the health care workforce for their recruitment and better working environment. By stipulating the establishment of the master plan, management of the supply and demand, improvement of working environment for health care workforce, the act contributed to raise the quality of health service and health promotion. Given that the act was developed in consideration to support of health care workers, it has many meanings. However, it is necessary to reexamine the above-mentioned five issues in order to develop the effective law while utilizing the significance of the law for health care workforce support and has to revise as soon as possible.

• The Korean Society of Law and Medicine
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• v.23 no.2
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• pp.141-169
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• 2022

Article 34 of 'Medical Service Act' of Korea provides telemedicine service between medical personnel. Telemedicine between medical personnel and patients, therefor, in principle, is not recongnized. Increasing demand for telemedicine fueled by COVID-19 pandemic and accumulation of telemedicine experience lead a change in stubborn opposition of the medical community, tenuous though it may be. This article focuses on the telemedicine legislation in France, which can be used as a reference for the telemedicine legislation premised on telemedicine between medical personnel and patients. The legislation stipulates the concept, types, and conditions of telemedicine performance through 'Code de la santé publique'. The principle that telemedicine shall be performed alternately with direct medical treatment to a patient and details relating to such telemedicine performance as telemedicine costs, medical fees, and telemedicine equipment support are stipulated through an agreement between the medical community and health insurance organizations. From this point, the implications for our legal system were presented.

• Korea Journal of Hospital Management
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• v.14 no.1
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• pp.123-144
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• 2009

Recently, a long strike by hospital labor union emerged as a serious social issue. During the Worldcup Games in June, 2002, labor strikes broke up at 'C', 'K' and other hospitals, and in 2007, 'Y' hospital suffered much from a strike. Such series of extreme labor disputes have awakened people of importance of a more stable labor-management relationship for the medical institutions responsible for people's health than any other business organization. The purpose of this study was to examine the labor-management disputes at 'Y' hospital in 2007 and 'C' and 'K' hospitals in 2002. The results of this study can be summarized as follows; First, requests of the labor union such as pay raise, reemployment of the irregular workers as regular employees and participation of the labor union in personnel affairs are the long-held or core issues suffered by the medical institutions. Such issues are not independent from each other but complicated with each other surrounding the pay raise. Accordingly, it is not easy to determine the genuine bone of issue for labor-management disputes. Second, the model type of disputes between labor and management at medical institutions may be strike. However, it is conceived that the type of disputes would be subject to change as the essential medical service area system began to be operated since 2008. Third, the common characteristic of the labor strike among the 3 sample hospitals was occupation of the hospital lobby for a sit-in strike to maximize the negative effects of strike. Article 42 (Prohibition of Violence) of Labor Union and Labor Relation Coordination Act prohibits occupation of production or other important business facilities. In addition, since Ministry of Labor interprets that the hospital lobby belongs to the important business facilities enumerated by Article 42 of the above act, occupation of the hospital lobby for a sit-in strike may be too controversial to be admitted as a fair act of labor dispute when its legitimacy should be judged. Fourth, the counter-measures taken by the hospitals against the strike were observance of the principle 'no labor no pay,' closure, legal action, accusation, claim for recovery of damage, provisional seizure, disciplinary punishment, etc., but the principle of 'no labor, no pay' was not applied in a fair manner by 'C' and 'K' hospitals. However, 'Y' hospital applied this principle thoroughly to the strike; the hospital conduced to correction of the wrong labor-management relationship by refusing inclusion in the labor collective agreement of a provision about payment of wage during the period of strike or labor union's request to that effect during a strike. In addition, 'Y' hospital took an effective measure to end the strike earlier by notifying the labor union of cancellation of the collective agreement and banning the unionists from entering the hospital.

• The Journal of the Korea Contents Association
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• v.21 no.1
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• pp.92-104
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• 2021

This study aims to analyze online news articles to identify social issues related to patient safety and compare the changes in these issues before and after the implementation of the Patient Safety Act. This study performed text mining through the R program, wherein 7,600 online news articles were collected from January 1, 2010, to March 5, 2020, and examined using keyword analysis, topic modeling, and word co-occurrence network analysis. A total of 2,609 keywords were categorized into 8 topics: "medical practice", "medical personnel", "infection and facilities", "comprehensive nursing service", "medicine and medical supplies", "system development and establishment for improvement", "Patient Safety Act" and "healthcare accreditation". The study revealed that keywords such as "patient safety awareness", "infection control" and "healthcare accreditation" appeared before the implementation of the Patient Safety Act. Meanwhile, keywords such as "patient safety culture". and "administration and injection" appeared after the act's implementation with improved ranking of importance pertaining to nursing-related terminology. Interest in patient safety has increased in the medical community as well as among the public. In particular, nursing plays an important role in improving patient safety. Therefore, the recognition of patient safety as a core competency of nursing and the persistent education of the public are vital and inevitable.

• Journal of Families and Better Life
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• v.35 no.2
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• pp.93-112
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• 2017

The adolescent birth rate has doubled in the recent decade. As a result, the Korean government has implemented support for adolescent single-parent families by expanding the scope of coverage of the Single-parent Family Support Act in 2010. In order to understand whether experiences of facility entry programs and the Single-parent Family Support Act for adolescent single-parents were helpful or not, this study verified the relationship to mental health. This study utilized a part of the National Youth Policy Institute's 'Research on the Actual Condition of the Adolescent Pregnancy, Birth and Rearing Children.' Participants of the study were 218 adolescent single-parents at the age of 24 and younger. This study used the research methods of descriptive statistical analysis, ${\chi}^2$test, t-test, and one-way analysis of variance. The findings and discussion of this study are as below: Firstly, the depression level of adolescent single-parents who had been raised by grandparents was higher than other family types to a meaningful standard and adolescent single-parent's cognition of the original family's economic level was related to self-esteem and parenting efficacy. Secondly, the practical single-parent family support policy for adolescent single-parent's pregnancy, birth and rearing children has shown a higher reception rate, and medical service of facility entry programs has a higher satisfaction level. However, some of the facility entry programs and the Single-parent Family Support Act have a low reception rate and it should be considered whether to maintain them or not.Lastly, parts of facility entry programs and the Single-parent Family Support Act for adolescent single-parents have increased self-esteem and parenting efficacy and reduced parenting stress and depression's levels.

• The Journal of Korean Physical Therapy
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• v.34 no.2
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• pp.80-89
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• 2022

Purpose: In Japan, the long-term care insurance and health insurance acts have stipulated the visiting rehabilitation system to provide support at the national level. The prior case of Japan would provide guidelines for seeking a suitable policy direction in South Korea. This study aims to examine the historical transition process of the visiting rehabilitation system in Japan, and the issues that emerged in the process of the institutionalization of this system. Methods: To examine the historical transition process of the system, the regulations announced by the government and their reports were reviewed. The relevant issues were qualitatively analyzed based on the opinions of scholars, therapists, and interested organizations that were reported in published papers on the topic. Result: The visiting rehabilitation system has been implemented in the following chronological order: The Health and Medical Service Act for the aged (1982-2006), the Health Insurance Act (1988-), and the Long-term Care Insurance Act (2000-). Currently, visiting rehabilitation is provided through hospitals, clinics, visiting nursing stations, etc. The following issues came to the fore in the process of the institutionalization of the system: (1) the complexity of the system, (2) the necessity of changing perceptions into a life model approach, (3) insufficient service provision by therapists, (4) the lack of human resources and an education system, (5) the lack of awareness of care managers and doctors about visiting rehabilitation, and (6) the necessity of quality enhancement through a team approach. Conclusion: It is deemed worthwhile to refer to the visiting rehabilitation system in Japan and the issues that emerged in the process of institutionalizing the system while seeking a policy direction for a similar system in South Korea.

• The Korean Society of Law and Medicine
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• v.12 no.1
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• pp.11-39
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• 2011

[ ${\S}27$ ]Abs. 3 das Gesuntheitsdienstgesetz (the Medical Service Act) in Korea lautet: Niemand in der Absicht, sich oder einem Dritten einen $Verm{\ddot{o}}gensvorteil$ zu verschaffen, der Medizininstitut bzw. dem Mediziner (die Medizinerin) den Patienten vorstellen, ${\ddot{u}}bweweisen$, verleiten oder einen anderen zu dieser Handlung anstiften darf, wie z.B. die Selbstbeteiligung des Patienten nach dem Krankenkassengesetz (the National Health Insurance Act) oder dem Gesetz ${\ddot{u}}ber$ Beistand der ${\ddot{a}}rztlicher$ Betreuung (the Medical Care Assistance Act) skontieren oder befreien, Geld offerieren oder dem Allgemeinheit das Verkehrswesen anbieten usw. Nach dem Wortlaut ist jedoch unklar, ob unter diese Vorschriften der Fall subsumiert werden kann, wenn eine Medizininstitut bzw. ein(e) Mediziner(in) in der Absicht, sich einen $Verm{\ddot{o}}gensvorteil$ zu verschaffen, sich den Patienten verleitet. Nach dem Korean Supreme Court ist eine Medizininstitut bzw. ein(e) Mediziner(in) nur dann das Subjekt der Verleitungshandlung, wenn sie bzw. er ein Mittel gegen fairen oder $ordungsm{\ddot{a}}{\beta}ien$ Medizinmarkt verwendet oder dem Patienten eine ${\ddot{a}}rztlich$ rechtswidrige Behandlung (z.B. einen rechtswidrigen Schwangerschaftsabbruch) verspricht. In diesem Beitrag wird dagegen die Auffassung mittels der teleologischen Reduktion vertritt und argumentiert, dass ein ${\ddot{a}}rztlich$ rechtswidriges Behandlung nach dem Rechtsgut und dem Normzweck unter ${\S}27$ Abs. 3 das Gesuntheitsdienstgesetz nicht subsumiert werden, sondern allein nach eigenem Unrecht bestraft werden kann.

• Asia pacific journal of information systems
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• v.21 no.3
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• pp.71-96
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• 2011

Within the traditional medical delivery system, patients residing in medically vulnerable areas, those with body movement difficulties, and nursing facility residents have had limited access to good healthcare services. However, Information and Communication Technology (ICT) provides us with a convenient and useful means of overcoming distance and time constraints. ICT is integrated with biomedical science and technology in a way that offers a new high-quality medical service. As a result, rapid technological advancement is expected to play a pivotal role bringing about innovation in a wide range of medical service areas, such as medical management, testing, diagnosis, and treatment; offering new and improved healthcare services; and effecting dramatic changes in current medical services. The increase in aging population and chronic diseases has caused an increase in medical expenses. In response to the increasing demand for efficient healthcare services, a telehealth service based on ICT is being emphasized on a global level. Telehealth services have been implemented especially in pilot projects and system development and technological research. With the service about to be implemented in earnest, it is necessary to study its overall acceptance by consumers, which is expected to contribute to the development and activation of a variety of services. In this sense, the study aims at positively examining the structural relationship among the acceptance factors for telehealth services based on the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM). Data were collected by showing audiovisual material on telehealth services to online panels and requesting them to respond to a structured questionnaire sheet, which is known as the information acceleration method. Among the 1,165 adult respondents, 608 valid samples were finally chosen, while the remaining were excluded because of incomplete answers or allotted time overrun. In order to test the reliability and validity of the assessment scale items, we carried out reliability and factor analyses, and in order to explore the causal relation among potential variables, we conducted a structural equation modeling analysis using AMOS 7.0 and SPSS 17.0. The research outcomes are as follows. First, service quality, innovativeness of medical technology, and social influence were shown to affect perceived ease of use and perceived usefulness of the telehealth service, which was statistically significant, and the two factors had a positive impact on willingness to accept the telehealth service. In addition, social influence had a direct, significant effect on intention to use, which is paralleled by the TAM used in previous research on technology acceptance. This shows that the research model proposed in the study effectively explains the acceptance of the telehealth service. Second, the research model reveals that information privacy concerns had a insignificant impact on perceived ease of use of the telehealth service. From this, it can be gathered that the concerns over information protection and security are reduced further due to advancements in information technology compared to the initial period in the information technology industry, and thus the improvement in quality of medical services appeared to ensure that information privacy concerns did not act as a prohibiting factor in the acceptance of the telehealth service. Thus, if other factors have an enormous impact on ease of use and usefulness, concerns over these results in the initial period of technology acceptance may become irrelevant. However, it is clear that users' information privacy concerns, as other studies have revealed, is a major factor affecting technology acceptance. Thus, caution must be exercised while interpreting the result, and further study is required on the issue. Numerous information technologies with outstanding performance and innovativeness often attract few consumers. A revised bill for those urgently in need of telehealth services is about to be approved in the national assembly. As telemedicine is implemented between doctors and patients, a wide range of systems that will improve the quality of healthcare services will be designed. In this sense, the study on the consumer acceptance of telehealth services is meaningful and offers strong academic evidence. Based on the implications, it can be expected to contribute to the activation of telehealth services. Further study is needed to assess the acceptance factors for telehealth services, such as motivation to remain healthy, health care involvement, knowledge on health, and control of health-related behavior, in order to develop unique services according to the categorization of customers based on health factors. In addition, further study may focus on various theoretical cognitive behavior models other than the TAM, such as the health belief model.