• Journal of agricultural medicine and community health
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• v.44 no.4
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• pp.195-208
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• 2019

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to analyze whether there are differences in medical expenses according to medical security type in the use of medical services with high disease burden such as coronary intervention. Methods: Chi-square test and covariance analysis(ANCOVA) were conducted to identify the differences in the characteristics and costs according to medical security type of 1,904 patients who underwent coronary intervention in a university hospital from 2011 to 2012. Hierarchical regression analysis was conducted to determine whether the cost affects medical expenses. Results: In the medical aid group, the proportion of women, those without a job, those without a spouse, and those who received hemodialysis was high, length of stay was high, patients using the emergency room and those who died was high. The medical aid patients were significantly higher in the non-benefit medical expenses, optional medical expenses, physician and admission, meals, medications and injections. National health insurance patients were significantly higher in procedure. The medical security type was found to be significant as a variable affecting the medical expenses. Conclusions: Provision of medical expenses should be managed in advance by providing prevention and education services for the vulnerable, and care services in the region should be provided to suppress the occurrence of medical expenses due to the increase in the number of days spent. In addition, it is necessary to support medical expenses to prevent unsatisfactory medical services from occurring for non-benefit and optional care.

• Journal of the Korea Convergence Society
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• v.9 no.6
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• pp.163-173
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• 2018

This study aims to diagnose and analyze the business model of domestic e-sports industry and draw its implications. In-depth interviews with business executives of the e-sports teams, the e-sports media, the e-sports stadium and the game companies was had to identify the cost and revenue of each e-sports industry. The results was that the revenue of the e-sports team, stadium and game company mainly consisted of the sponsorship of the parent company. And main revenue of e-sports media was advertising, subscription fees and copyright income, whereas their expenses was the production costs. Especially the purpose of sponsorship of the game companies was not the profit of e-sports, but the promotion of the parent company game. Result implies the necessity of the development of revenue sources, executing the admission ticket charge in stadium and the development of new sponsorship. This study is expected to contribute to opening the new area of the business model of the e-sports industry that was not nearly so far treated, and consequently the development of the e-sports industry in Korea.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.29 no.2 s.53
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• pp.311-329
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• 1996

This study was designed to compare the level of medical utilization between the urban and rural areas of Korea and to explain the differences between the two regions. Data from the National Health Interview Survey performed by the Korean Institute of Health & Social Affairs in 1992 were used for this study utilizing a sample size of 21,841 people. The level of medical utilization such as the number of physician visits and the number of hospital admissions was compared between the regions with ANOVA. Various determinants for medical use were also compared by univariate analysis. Statistical models which included enabling factors, predisposing factors, need factors and region were constructed for bivariate analysis in order to further elucidate the level of medical utilization. The results were as follows: 1. There was greater medical use, both in terms of physician visits and inpatient care in the rural areas in spite of insufficient health resources. The particular reasons for higher medical utilization in rural areas were attributed to a higher number of initial physician visits as well as a longer the length of stay per hospital admission. Therefore, indicators representing the degree of met need (utilization/need) showed no significant difference between rural and urban areas in spite of the fact that the medical need is larger in rural areas. 2. Use of public health facilities received a significant portion of physician visits in the rural area. The government's effort to enhance primary health care through health centers, health subcenters and the nurse practitioner's post in rural areas has contributed to the increase of access to medical care in the rural areas. 3. There were some differences in the socio-demographic characteristics between two regions ; There were more elderly people over the age of 65: unstable marital status, less education and lower incomes also characterized the rural areas. Therefore, among rural people, there were more predisposing factors for medical use. Additionaly, need factors such as poor self-reported health status and high morbidity level were also high in the rural area. 4. In contrast it was learned that, the supply of health resources was mostly concentrated in the urban areas except for public health facilities. Therefore, geographical access to medical care was lower in the rural area both in terms travel time and travel cost. 5. The coefficient of the region variable was insignificant in the regression model which controlled the supply factor only. However, utilization was significantly higher in urban areas if the model included predisposing factors and need factors in addition to the supply factor. The results were interpreted as rural people have greater medical needs.

• The Journal of the Korea Contents Association
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• v.17 no.5
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• pp.366-375
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• 2017

The purpose of this study is to analyze the use of hospital, hospitalization, medical service, discharge and power of medical care patients who are concerned about moral hazard. We conducted focus group interview with 3 medical care patients and their families and 5 workers who had worked for more than 4 years in a nursing hospital. The main results and implications are as follows. First, admission to nursing hospitals was mostly based on the linkage between the medical institutions and the competition to attract the patients rather than the choice of the patients. Second, the main cause of the long-term hospitalization of medical assistance patients was the lack of social protection measures such as absences of residence and care giver, although there are factors that cause moral hazard such as low self-pay. Third, most of the patients were in need of treatment, but they were admitted to the hospital even though their needs were not higher than those of the health insurance patients. Fourth, the rehabilitation service is the mainstay of the medical service of the nursing hospital, and the roles of nursing staff and care givers are important. Fifth, medical care patients are paying medical expenses for nursing hospitals due to cost of living and family support, but they are exempted from the hospital expenses or the burden of their own expenses in the hospital. Sixth, public institutions and social welfare institutions have not managed continuously since commissioning patients to nursing hospitals and have neglected the connection with community services after discharge.

• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
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• v.48 no.4
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• pp.401-405
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• 2005

Purpose : The use of mechanically-assisted ventilators at home reduces morbidity and improves the quality of life in children with chronic respiratory failure. But in Korea there is no clinical data of children with home mechanical ventilation. We investigated ventilator types, duration, the causes of failure or death, and the cost needed for care. Methods : We retrospectively analyzed the medical records of 21 children who were admitted and who applied for home mechanical ventilation at the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit in Asan Medical Center. Phone interviews took place after discharge. and interviewed by phone after discharge. Results : The median age was 31 months; the median duration with ventilator was 25 months. Underlying diseases were 16 neuromuscular diseases, one metabolic disease and four chronic respiratory diseases. The types of ventilator were pressure and volume type(16 and five patients, respectively). The frequency of ventilation failure was once per 19 months. Weaning could be performed in three cases. Frequencies of admission after receiving ventilators were 1.7 times per year; the most common cause was pneumonia. Nine patients(43%) died; four of them died because of endotracheal tube obstruction. The costs for medical care were about 1,110,000 won per month. Conclusion : There is an increment in the numbers of individuals who need mechanical ventilation support. The most common cause of death was endotracheal tube obstruction. The most important problem for the patients was medical cost. There needs to be more interest in patients with ventilator and social welfare systems to support their families need to be prepared.

• Neonatal Medicine
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• v.16 no.1
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• pp.25-35
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• 2009

Purpose: The characteristics of hospitalized patients in neonatal intensive care units (NICUs), including hospitalization costs (HC) and National Health Insurance (NHI) status were studied. Methods: We gathered the following data from 7 hospitals in Korea during 2006: the distribution of patients according to birth weight (BW), and the duration of the hospital stay according to BW and He. Results: The patients who were admitted to the NICU consisted of high-risk neonates, including low birth weight or premature neonates, which comprised 50% of all neonates admitted to the NICU. The duration of hospitalization was 75-90 days for neonates with BW <1,000 g, 45-60 days for neonates with BW between 1,000 and 1,499 g, and approximately 15 days for neonates with BW between 2,000 and 2,499 g. The portion of the HC covered by the NHI was 77.1%, 22.9% of the total HC was not covered by the NHI (19.5% was included in the list, but not covered by the NHI and 3.4% was not listed, but covered by the NHI). The average total HC per person was 4,360,000 won, and the HC covered and not covered by the NHI were 3,677,000 won and 1,007,000 won, respectively. The mean HC were as follows; 35,000,000 won for a BW <500 g, 18,000,000 won for a BW between 500 and 999 g, 16,000,000 won for a BW between 1,000 and 1,499 g, and 4,200,000 won for a BW between 1,500 and 1,999 g. Conclusion: Not only premature, but also ill neonates were under the care of the NICU. The HC increased as the BW decreased and the hospitalization period increased. The proportion of the patient's financial burden is >25% of the total He. For this matter, additional NHI is needed.

• KDI Journal of Economic Policy
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• v.30 no.2
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• pp.99-128
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• 2008

Nearly all Koreans are insured through National Health Insurance(NHI). While NHI coverage is nearly universal, it is not complete. Coverage is largely limited to minimal level of hospital and physician expenses, and copayments are required in each case. As a result, Korea's public insurance system covers roughly 50% of overall individual health expenditures, and the remaining 50% consists of copayments for basic services, spending on services that are either not covered or poorly covered by the public system. In response to these gaps in the public system, 64% of the Korean population has supplemental private health insurance. Expansion of private health insurance raises negative externality issue. Like public financing schemes in other countries, the Korean system imposes cost-sharing on patients as a strategy for controlling utilization. Because most insurance policies reimburse patients for their out-of-pocket payments, supplemental insurance is likely to negate the impact of the policy, raising both total and public sector health spending. So far, most empirical analysis of supplemental health insurance to date has focused on the US Medigap programme. It is found that those with supplements apparently consume more health care. Two reasons for higher health care consumption by those with supplements suggest themselves. One is the moral hazard effect: by eliminating copayments and deductibles, supplements reduce the marginal price of care and induce additional consumption. The other explanation is that supplements are purchased by those who anticipate high health expenditures - adverse effect. The main issue addressed has been the separation of the moral hazard effect from the adverse selection one. The general conclusion is that the evidence on adverse selection based on observable variables is mixed. This article investigates the extent to which private supplementary insurance affect use of health care services by public health insurance enrollees, using Korean administrative data and private supplements related data collected through all relevant private insurance companies. I applied a multivariate two-part model to analyze the effects of various types of supplements on the likelihood and level of public health insurance spending and estimated marginal effects of supplements. Separate models were estimated for inpatients and outpatients in public insurance spending. The first part of the model estimated the likelihood of positive spending using probit regression, and the second part estimated the log of spending for those with positive spending. Use of a detailed information of individuals' public health insurance from administration data and of private insurance status from insurance companies made it possible to control for health status, the types of supplemental insurance owned by theses individuals, and other factors that explain spending variations across supplemental insurance categories in isolating the effects of supplemental insurance. Data from 2004 to 2006 were used, and this study found that private insurance increased the probability of a physician visit by less than 1 percent and a hospital admission by about 1 percent. However, supplemental insurance was not found to be associated with a bigger health care service utilization. Two-part models of health care utilization and expenditures showed that those without supplemental insurance had higher inpatient and outpatient expenditures than those with supplements, even after controlling for observable differences.

• Journal of Yeungnam Medical Science
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• v.16 no.2
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• pp.283-295
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• 1999

Background: Patients with acute non-traumatic chest pain are among the most challenging patients for care by emergency physicians, so the correct diagnosis and triage of patients with chest pain in the emergency department(ED) becomes important. To avoid discharging patients with acute myocardial infarction(AMI) without medical care, most emergency physicians attempt to admit almost all patients with acute chest pain and order many laboratory tests for the patients. But in practice, many patients with non-cardiac pain can be discharged with simple tests and treatment. These patients occupy expensive intensive care beds, substantially increasing financial cost and time of stay at ED for the diagnosis and treatment of myocardial ischemia and AMI. Despite vigorous efforts to identify patients with ischemic heart disease, approximately 2% to 5% of patients presented to the ED with AMI and chest pain are inadvertently discharged. If the cause for the chest pain is known, rapid and accurate diagnosis can be implemented, preventing wastes in time and money and inadvertent discharge. Methods and Results: The medical records of 488 patients from Jan. 1 to Dec. 31, 1997 were reviewed. There were 320(angina pectoris 140, AMI 128) cases of cardiac diseases, and 168(atypical chest pain 56, pneumothorax 47) cases of non-cardiac diseases. The number of associated symptoms were $1.1{\pm}0.9$ in non-cardiac diseases, $1.4{\pm}1.1$ in cardiac diseases and $1.7{\pm}1.1$ in AMI(p<0.05). In laboratory finding the sensitivity of electrocardiography(EKG) was 96.1%, while the sensitivity of myoglobin test ranked 45.1%. Admission rate was 71.6% in for cardiac diseases and 50.6% for non-cardiac diseases(p<0.01). Mortality rate was 8.8% in all cases, 13.8% in cardiac diseases, 0.6% in non-cardiac diseases, and 28.1% especially in AMI. Conclusion: In conclusion, all emergency physicians should have thorough knowledge of the clinical characteristics of the diseases which cause non-traumatic chest pain, because a patient with any of these life-threatening diseases would require immediate treatment. Detailed history on the patient should be taken and physical examination performed. Then, the most simple diagnostic approach should be used to make an early diagnosis and to provide treatment.