• Health Policy and Management
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• v.33 no.2
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• pp.166-172
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• 2023

Background: To improve the support low-income individuals' medical expenses, it is necessary to think about ways to enhance the Catastrophic Health Expenditure Support Program. This study proposes expanding support criteria and changing the income standard. Methods: This study conducted simulations using national data from the National Health Insurance Service. Simulations performed for people who have used health services (n=172,764) in 2022 to confirm the Catastrophic Health Expenditure Support Program's size based on changes to the subject selection criteria. Results: As a result of the simulation with expanded criteria, the expected budget was estimated to increase between Korean won (KRW) 13.2 (11.5%) and 138.6 billion (37.4%), and the number of recipients increased between 41,979 (48.9%) and 150,317 (76.1%). The results of the simulation for the change in income criteria (applied to health insurance levels below the 50th percentile) estimated the expected budget to increase between KRW -8.9 (-7.8%) and 55.6 billion (15.0%) and the number of recipients to increase between -8,704 (-10.1%) and 41,693 (21.1%) compared to the current standard. Conclusion: The 2023 Catastrophic Health Expenditure Support Program's criteria were expanded as per the 20th Presidential Office's national agenda to alleviate the burden of medical expenses on the low-income class. In addition, The Catastrophic Health Expenditure Support Program needs to be integrated with other medical expense support policies in the mid- to long-term, and a foundation must be prepared to ensure the consistency of each system.

• Korea Journal of Hospital Management
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• v.28 no.1
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• pp.24-36
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• 2023

Purposes: The purpose of this study was to analyze the factors associated with current smoking status in Wonju-si and Chuncheon-si, and to study the cause of difference in smoking rates between these two regions. Methodology: Data was from the National Health Insurance Service database from 2019 to 2020. Current smoking status was based on the response to the health examination questionnaire. Logistic regression analysis was conducted to identify factors associated with current smoking status. The study included 207,307 individuals from Wonju-si and 173,698 individuals from Chuncheon-si. Findings: The smoking rate of Wonju-si was 19.83%, and Chuncheon-si was 18.20%, showing a difference in the smoking rates between the two regions. Logistic regression analysis found that men, those aged 40-49, being a self-employed insured, a medical-aid beneficiary, having a lower income, working in construction, transport, storage, communication, or manufacturing industries, having a high-risk drinking level and being underweight were significantly associated with a higher likelihood of smoking(p<0.05). Additionally, having a chronic disease was associated with a lower likelihood of smoking in the case of Chuncheon-si(p<0.05). Practical Implication: This study found the differences of factors associated with smoking rates between the two regions and could provide implications for establishing intervention programs or policies that could contribute to lowering the smoking rate in areas with high smoking rates.

• Journal of Periodontal and Implant Science
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• v.48 no.5
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• pp.317-325
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• 2018

Purpose: We investigated correlations between the findings of oral examinations and panoramic radiography in order to determine the efficacy of using panoramic radiographs in screening examinations. Methods: This study included patients who visited dental clinics at National Health Insurance Service (NHIS) Ilsan Hospital for checkups during 2009-2015 and underwent panoramic radiographic examinations within 1 year prior to the oral examinations. Among the 48,006 patients who received checkups, 1,091 were included in this study. The data were evaluated using the Cohen kappa and interrater agreement coefficients. Accuracy, sensitivity, and specificity were calculated using data from the panoramic radiographs as true positive diagnoses. Results: The interrater agreement coefficient for occlusal caries was 28.8%, and the Cohen kappa coefficient was 0.043 between the oral and panoramic radiographic examinations. Root caries and subgingival calculus were only found on the radiographs, while gingival inflammation was found only by the oral examinations. The oral examinations had a specificity for detecting occlusal dental caries of 100%, while their sensitivity for proximal dental caries and supragingival calculus was extremely low (14.0% and 18.3%, respectively) compared to the panoramic radiographic examinations. The oral examinations showed a relatively low sensitivity of 66.2% and a specificity of 43.7% in detecting tooth loss compared with panoramic radiography. Conclusions: Panoramic radiography can provide information that is difficult to obtain in oral examinations, such as root caries, furcation involvement, and subgingival calculus, which are factors that can directly affect the survival rate of teeth. It therefore seems reasonable and necessary to add panoramic radiography to large-scale health checkup programs such as that provided by the NHIS.

• Health Policy and Management
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• v.21 no.4
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• pp.585-598
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• 2011

This study was conducted to examine the trend of national health insurance service use with relation to pregnancy, childbirth, and the puerperium among pregnant and postpartum women older than 35 over the last decade. A descriptive analysis was conducted, using the data which were drawn from the "nationwide claim database of Korean National Health Insurance Corporation(NHIC)". Data were composed of the total cases related to pregnancy, childbirth, and the puerperium (International Classification of Disease, $10^{th}$revision [ICD-10] codes O00-O99) from 2001 to 2008. During 2001-2008, the number of pregnant and postpartum women older than 35 had continuously increased and the percentage of them also had increased in both hospital and ambulatory care. There are similar trends in their total use of national health insurance service and total expenditure. According to demographic characteristics, there was the biggest increase of the percentage in residents in large cities, self-employed workers, ones in the highest income level. According to ICD-10 codes, there was the biggest increase of the percentage in O10-O16 (oedema, proteinuria and hypertensive disorders in pregnancy, childbirth and the puerperium). According to the major prevalent disease, there was the biggest increase of the percentage in O60 (preterm labor and delivery). Throughout the past decade, the necessity has been emphasized of supporting pregnant and postpartum women older than 35. But in maternal and child health care, they are in an early stage of development. The findings of this study would be helpful in developing the support programs for the aged pregnant and postpartum women.

• Research in Community and Public Health Nursing
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• v.25 no.3
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• pp.159-169
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• 2014

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of case management for patients with hypertension on their health status and medical service utilization. Methods: This study was a secondary analysis of data collected for a larger study of chronic disease management in 2008 using the National Health Insurance Corporation database. A total of 12,944 patients who received case management for hypertension were included in this analysis. The subjects of case management were classified into subgroups, namely, over-use, under-use, and non-use groups according to the amount of medical service utilization. To compare the medical service utilization, a control group was selected randomly. The data were analyzed through descriptive statistics, McNemar test, and ANOVA. Results: All the subgroups displayed significant differences in blood pressure, self-management, social support, and their characteristics of medical service utilization. The total medical expense of the under-use and non-use groups increased after case management. However, there was no decrease in the medical expense of the over-use group. Conclusion: This finding suggests that there is a need to re-examine why patients overuse medical services and to supplement specific strategies for encouraging appropriate medical service utilization, and enhancing case management efforts for the over-use group.

• Journal of agricultural medicine and community health
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• v.23 no.2
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• pp.175-192
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• 1998

This study was performed investigate the opinion of civil servants in Health center about Rural Health Service Improvement Project The survey by mail was carried out for 447 servants of 25 health centers in Kyungsangbuk-do and the data were collected through self-administered questionnaires to servants about need, participation, concern, and comprehension for the project and satisfied with current facility and equipment of health center. The results were as follows. Generally considered, 48.2% of the improved health center servants was satisfied with health center building and 14.0% or 24.1% of the improving or unimproved center was. About the location of health center, 37.7% of the improved health center servants was satisfied, 25.9% of the unimproved center was. Of the improved health center servants, 43% was satisfied with the medical equipment but in unimproved place, the dissatisfaction was appeared higher than any other place. 49.7% of respondents was participated in making out the Rural Health Service Improvement Project. 50.6% was interested in this project. In the improved area. 65.5% of health center servants replied that the mayor's or county executive's concern about this project was high and 46.5% in councilors but in the unimproved area. their concern was low. About the contents of the project. 24,6% of the servants in the improved center, only 15.2% in unimproved center replied that they had known well. After making out the plan, 13.6% of respondents was unsatisfied with this plan and 17.1% replied that the estimating method of selecting the project area was not good. After the improvement of institution and equipment, 86.1% of health center servants answered that the medical service provided by health center would increase but 59.2% replied that the residents' utilization rate of private medical facility would decrease. The servants of the improved health center replied that the recognition about the developing will of health service(91.2%), the efficiency(91.2%), the quality of health and medical service(93.0%), the amount of health project(91.2%) were improved. In health center which had already improved the institution and equipment, 88.5% of servants replied that the residents' utilization for health center was increased. So, this project should be continuously carried out for health center and health center must develope new project to fit region condition.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.52 no.4
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• pp.234-241
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• 2019

Objectives: To identify simultaneous behavioral changes in alcohol consumption, smoking, and weight using a fixed-effect model and to characterize their associations with disease status. Methods: This study included 7 000 529 individuals who participated in the national biennial health-screening program every 2 years from 2009 to 2016 and were aged 40 or more. We reconstructed the data into an individual-level panel dataset with 4 waves. We used a fixed-effect model for smoking, heavy alcohol drinking, and overweight. The independent variables were sex, age, lifestyle factors, insurance contribution, employment status, and disease status. Results: Becoming a high-risk drinker and losing weight were associated with initiation or resumption of smoking. Initiation or resumption of smoking and weight gain were associated with non-high-risk drinkers becoming high-risk drinkers. Smoking cessation and becoming a high-risk drinker were associated with normal-weight participants becoming overweight. Participants with newly acquired diabetes mellitus, ischemic heart disease, stroke, and cancer tended to stop smoking, discontinue high-risk drinking, and return to a normal weight. Conclusions: These results obtained using a large-scale population-based database documented interactions among lifestyle factors over time.

• The Korean Society of Law and Medicine
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• v.8 no.2
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• pp.69-118
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• 2007

In providing general medical treatments, the medical service contract between the patient and the doctor is the mutually responsible onerous contract. However, the nature of the mutually assumed contract standings of the patient and the doctor has been changing since the implementation of the national health insurance program. For instance, besides the cases of beyond excessive medical charges and medical negligence, if the doctor charged for his/her medical treatments violating the post-treatment/nursing cover criteria, the overpaid medical charge, regardless of being collected with the patient's consent, has to be refunded back to the patient. Medically needed aspects, treatment results, and unfair benefits favoring the patient are not at all taken into consideration in the health insurance scheme. This makes it easier for patients to get refunds for their share of the medical payments by involving the Health Insurance Review & Assessment Service or the National Health Insurance Corporation, without engaging in civil law suits (for reimbursement claim) against doctors. In other words, the doctor's responsibility to provide medical treatments and the patient's responsibility to pay for the medical treatment provided within the contractual realm are being demolished by the administrational arbitration of the National Health Insurance system. The basic rights of medical service providers, and the patient's right to choose are as important constitutional rights, as the National Health Insurance program, which is essential in the social welfare system. Furthermore, the development of the medical fields should not be prevented by the National Health Insurance system. If the medical treatment services can be divided into necessary treatments, general treatments, and high quality treatments, the National Health Insurance is supposed to guarantee the necessary and general treatments to provide medical treatments equally to all the insured with limited financial resources. However, for the high quality treatments, it is recommended that they should not be interfered by the National Health Insurance system, and that they should be left to the private contract between the patient and the doctor.

• The korean journal of orthodontics
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• v.44 no.6
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• pp.330-341
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• 2014

A 19-year-old woman presented to our dental clinic with anterior crossbite and mandibular prognathism. She had a concave profile, long face, and Angle Class III molar relationship. She showed disharmony in the crowding of the maxillomandibular dentition and midline deviation. The diagnosis and treatment plan were established by a three-dimensional (3D) virtual setup and 3D surgical simulation, and a surgical wafer was produced using the stereolithography technique. No presurgical orthodontic treatment was performed. Using the surgery-first approach, Le Fort I maxillary osteotomy and mandibular bilateral intraoral vertical ramus osteotomy setback were carried out. Treatment was completed with postorthodontic treatment. Thus, symmetrical and balanced facial soft tissue and facial form as well as stabilized and well-balanced occlusion were achieved.

• Journal of Korean Foot and Ankle Society
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• v.22 no.3
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• pp.116-119
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• 2018

Gout occurs mainly in monoarthritis and is found in more than 50% of cases in hallux of the foot. In addition, symptoms sometimes begin in the hand, wrist, and elbow, but they are rarely observed in the spine. The patient was referred for tuberculous polyarthritis due to antituberculosis drug failure. Inflammatory findings were observed in the lumbar, elbow, wrist, hand and foot areas. Surgery was performed on the foot area and a pathology diagnosis revealed gouty arthritis. We report this case with a review of the relevant literature.