• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
• /
• v.23 no.2 s.30
• /
• pp.185-193
• /
• 1990

The purpose of this study is to observe the pattern of change in medical care utilization over time in early years of insurance coverage. The source of data is the benefit records file of a voluntary medical insurance society for covering the four-year period, from 1982 to 1985. The measure of medical care utilization used in this study is the age-sex standardized percentage of the enrollee who have visited a physician over total analytical population during a three-month period. For six cohorts by the year of enrollment ($1979{\sim}1984$), the relationship between the utilization and duration of insurance coverage was examined controlling for the calender year and season. In the analysis, logistic multiple regression and residual analysis were employed. It was observed that medical care utilization rapidly increased during the early stage of insurance coverage, and after then increased at a slower rate over time to become almost stable in about twenty months.

• The Journal of Korean Academy of Prosthodontics
• /
• v.60 no.3
• /
• pp.239-245
• /
• 2022

Purpose. The purpose of this study was to analyze the frequency and duration of adjustments after delivery of complete denture according to age, sex, arch with complete denture, insurance coverage of a denture, type of antagonist, the experience of wearing denture, the period of edentulism, and the type of denture base. Materials and methods. For 5 years, medical records of patients aged 65 or older who had treated full dentures were assessed for the frequency and duration of follow-up visits after complete denture delivery. Statistical analysis was performed at the 5% level of significance to analyze the correlation between the frequency and duration of follow-up according to sex, insurance coverage, arch with the complete denture, type of denture base, type of antagonist, experience of wearing a denture, age, and healing period. Results. 247 complete dentures were included in this study. The median frequency of follow-up visits was 3, and the median duration of follow-up was 36 days. Lower dentures had significantly higher frequency of follow-up visits than upper dentures (P = .036). According to the type of antagonist, dentures opposing a complete denture had a significantly higher frequency of follow-up visits than dentures opposing a removable partial denture (P = .016). There was no statistically significant difference in the frequency and duration of adjustments after delivery of complete denture by age, sex, insurance coverage, healing period, the experience of wearing a denture, and type of denture base. Conclusion. Within the limitations of the present study, lower complete dentures or dentures opposing a complete denture had an increased frequency of follow-up visits.

• Journal of Pharmacopuncture
• /
• v.24 no.3
• /
• pp.122-137
• /
• 2021

Objectives: In South Korea, traffic accident victims can be treated under automobile insurance coverage. Korean medicine (KM) clinics have reported the largest number of automobile insurance fee claims among medical institutions. This study investigated the status of the KM automobile insurance system in a single KM clinic. Methods: We retrospectively surveyed the medical charts of 342 traffic accident patients treated at the Jisung KM clinic between January 2009 and June 2017. Results: Most of the patients were men and in their 30s. The most common method of locating the clinic was an internet search. The most common traffic accident type was collision between vehicles (83.63%), with 70.76% of patients visiting during the most acute phase. The major disease codes included S434, M4836, F072, S0600, and S3350. The most frequent treatment period was within 1 month of the accident, and most patients received 10 or fewer treatments. The mean treatment duration and number of treatments were 37.68 ± 45.11 days and 11.68 ± 10.63 treatments, respectively. The initial pain numerical rating scale (NRS), 7.32 ± 0.96, decreased to 3.57 ± 1.40 at the end of treatment, with a symptom improvement score of 1.87 ± 0.60. Regarding sex, age, disease duration, location at the time of the accident, presence of additional and psychological symptoms, and chuna, there were statistically significant differences in treatment duration and number of treatments. A higher number of treatments and the longer treatment duration was associated with a higher initial NRS, lower post-treatment NRS, and better improvement score. Since the introduction of traffic accident (TA) pharmacopuncture, the rate of use of a single type of pharmacopuncture increased; however, no significant differences in treatment duration and number, NRS before and after treatment, and improvement score were observed between treatment groups before and after TA pharmacopuncture. No adverse reactions were observed for any treatment. Conclusion: This study confirmed the previous findings of a high treatment effect of KM under automobile insurance. We also observed significant correlations based on a detailed medical status, which may explain the increasing use of KM in the automobile insurance system. Additional multi-center studies in different regions are needed.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
• /
• v.49 no.2
• /
• pp.85-91
• /
• 2016

Background: This study was conducted to determine the efficacy of staple line coverage using a polyglycolic acid patch and fibrin glue without pleural abrasion to prevent recurrent postoperative pneumothorax. Methods: A retrospective analysis was carried out of 116 operations performed between January 2011 and April 2013. During this period, staple lines were covered with a polyglycolic acid patch and fibrin glue in 58 cases (group A), while 58 cases underwent thoracoscopic bullectomy only (group B). Results: The median follow-up period was 33 months (range, 22 to 55 months). The duration of chest tube drainage was shorter in group A (group A $2.7{\pm}1.2day$ vs. group B $3.9{\pm}2.3day$, p=0.001). Prolonged postoperative air leakage occurred more frequently in group B than in group A (43% vs. 19%, p=0.005). The postoperative recurrence rate of pneumothorax was significantly lower in group A (8.6%) than in group B (24.1%) (p=0.043). The total cost of treatment during the follow-up period, including the cost for the treatment of postoperative recurrent pneumothorax, was not significantly different between the two groups (p=0.43). Conclusion: Without pleural abrasion, staple line coverage with a medium-sized polyglycolic acid patch and fibrin glue after thoracoscopic bullectomy for primary spontaneous pneumothorax is a useful technique that can reduce the duration of postoperative pleural drainage and the postoperative recurrence rate of pneumothorax.

• The Korean Journal of Emergency Medical Services
• /
• v.24 no.1
• /
• pp.25-36
• /
• 2020

Purpose: We analyzed the characteristics and differences in patients' medical benefits and health insurance based on disease severity classification. Methods: We examined 29,139 patients who visited the emergency medical center of K Hospital from January 1,2016 to December 31, 2016. Survey items included the Korean Triage and Acuity Scale (KTAS) classification of emergency and non-emergency situations ratio and type of insurance. Results: According to KTAS classification, 76.2% of patients exhibited an emergency condition and 23.8% exhibited a non-emergency condition. Emergency patients exhibited more trauma than non-emergency patients. According to the type of insurance coverage, the duration of stay in the emergency room was longer for patients with medical care than for patients with health insurance. Additionally, 119 ambulances use was significantly higher among patients with medical care. Conclusion: Policy discussions should address alternative ways to replace the 119 ambulances used by patients in this study. Additionally, health care administrators should identify alternative care agencies as potential alternatives to emergency room visits.

• Health Policy and Management
• /
• v.24 no.2
• /
• pp.109-119
• /
• 2014

In accordance with the government's plan to expand the national health insurance (NHI) coverage for severe diseases such as cancer, heart disease, cerebrovascular disease, and rare and incurable disease, the diagnostic ultrasound services have been covered by NHI from October 1, 2013. The quality is very important factor in providing diagnostic services because they influence on the diagnosis, treatment, and outcome of diseases. In particular, equipments and health care providers plays an important role in providing qualitative services. The purpose of this paper is to examine the major feature of ultrasound services covered by health security system and to review quality assurance policies in other countries such as Australia, Japan, the USA, and Canada. In addition, we assessed the implication of those policies. We especially put emphasis on the types and qualifications of healthcare professionals and measures to manage equipments. All countries have reviewed on policies to promote the quality such as educational requirements of professionals or restrictions on the duration of equipment usage. Various measures should be implemented to assure the qualitative ultrasound service.

• Korean Journal of Clinical Pharmacy
• /
• v.22 no.3
• /
• pp.239-250
• /
• 2012

In recent years, national health insurance(NHI) coverage had been expanded gradually for cancer as a severe disease requiring high level of medical expenditure, to reduce patient's financial burden. But, subjective burdens level for out-of-pocket(OOP) money expense are still considerable owing to high medical cost and decent numbers of services not covered by benefit plan. This study aimed to investigate OOP medical expenditures and identify factors influencing subjective financial burden in cancer patients. A 28-items questionnaire for self-reporting by responders was designed to satisfy study goal and finalized following by one pilot study and experts' verification process. Subjects were enrolled during July to October 2010 through regular meetings organized by five patient or patient-advocacy groups had acknowledged the study purpose. Subjects who aged 20 or more, have histories of cancer diagnosis and anticancer drug use, and voluntarily agreed to participate in this study were recruited. Total 107 subjects included in the analysis have cancer lesions in breast, colon, kidney, liver or stomach at the stages from I to IV. Approximately 73% of them has passed less than 5 years since cancer diagnosis. For the OOP medical expenditure regarding cancer, less 6 million won was in 31%, 6-15 million won in 35% and more than 15 million won in 28% of responders, and more than half responders(58%) felt financial burden subjectively. 63% of responders had subscribed commercial insurances, resulting in money receipts of more than 10 million won since cancer diagnoses in 76% of responders. Logistic regression results showed significant differences in subjective OOP financial burden level depending on gender, household income level, benefit type, commercial insurance money receipt degree, year cancer diagnosed, cancer lesion, therapy type, duration of anticancer drug use, drug listing in national formulary, total OOP medical expenditure and total OOP anticancer drug expense. They had mixed feelings both wishes to expand NHI coverage to reduce financial burden(70%) and no willingness to increase premium(59%). This result suggested that NHI might direct future strategies to reduce absolute total OOP medical cost and expand benefit plan coverage in higher burden groups in particular.

• Health Policy and Management
• /
• v.6 no.1
• /
• pp.110-143
• /
• 1996

The purpose of this study is to assess the extent of inequality in health outcomes and the distribution of health services according to health need under National Health Insurance System in Korea. For the empirical analysis, data were collected through an interview survey during one month of October, 1994. Interview were conducted with a total of 10, 875 of the employees and the self-employed selected through cluster, systematic sampling. The major findings of this research are as follows: 1. The analysis of the differentials in morbidity rates by socio-economic group showed that health inequality in the pro-higher groups existed in all self-reported morbidity indicators. 2. The findings of the conventional use measures showed that the lower socio-economic groups had more ambulatory and inpatient services than the higher groups. In contrast to the level of the medical care utilization, however, the higher socio-economic groups were more likely to use the high-quality source of care in terms of their treatment place compared to the lower groups. 3. By using the need-based use measures, the results were different from each use-disability ration indicator. Using the use-disability ration measured by physician visits per 100 restricted-activity days in the population, it was found that there was no evidence favoring the higher socio-economic groups. In contrast, the use-disability ration based on physician visits per a chronic patient in one year displayed that there was remarkable relative difference by income group as well as the evidence of the pro-higher income groups. 4. The results of logistic regression analysis and two-stage estimation method indicated that although the utilization is significantly affected by type and duration of insurance coverage, the use or nonuse of service and the volume of physician care consumed is determined by health need and demographic characteristics rater than economic status. In sum, these findings suggest that physician service is equitably distributed according to health need under national health insurance system in Korea. As there were some evidences of inequality including the differential in physician visits of chronic patients by income group, however, the government should strengthen the activities to guarantee the equity of health services utilization.

• Korean Journal of Clinical Pharmacy
• /
• v.20 no.3
• /
• pp.183-192
• /
• 2010

While Self-monitoring of blood glucose (SMBG) has been recommended in some diabetes mellitus (DM) patients population according to the 2010 American Diabetes Association (ADA), 2007 Korean Diabetes Association (KDA), 2005 International Diabetes Federation guideline, it is excluded from a routine insurance coverage for outpatients in Korea. The objective of this study is to meta-analyze the impact of SMBG on HbA1c in non insulin-treated diabetes mellitus (NIT) DM patients. Published clinical literatures were identified through electronic database searches from inception and until May 2010. Studies were selected if they met the following inclusion criteria: 1) randomized controlled trials (RCTs), 2) comparing SMBG with non-SMBG in NIT type 2 diabetes, 3) measuring HbA1c as an outcome. Literature qualities were assessed by the Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network Checklist. The mean difference of HbA1c between the 2 groups was pooled from non-heterogeneous 6 RCTs by meta-analysis using Review Manger (RevMan) Version 5.0 program. Pooled results demonstrated that SMBG is associated with a statistically significant improvement in glycemic control (mean HbA1c difference -0.23, 95%CI -0.32, -0.13). Sensitivity analysis showed that glycemic controls were significantly improved in patients with shorter study duration, more frequent self-monitoring, higher baseline HbA1c value, and without prior SMBG experiences. Conclusively SMBG is effective in improving glycemic control in NIT DM patients, but additional evidences from further researches in Korean patients and cost-effectiveness analysis would be necessary to make a suggestion for coverage expansion.

• The Journal of Korean Medicine Ophthalmology and Otolaryngology and Dermatology
• /
• v.30 no.4
• /
• pp.75-96
• /
• 2017

Objectives : The purpose of this study was to investigate the treatment trend for allergic rhinitis in Korean Medicine. Methods : We conducted an online survey for Korean Medicine Doctors who were registered in the association of Korean Medicine. The questionnaire was consisted of patient characteristics, diagnosis status, treatment status, and future research needs. Results : Data from total of 396 respondents were analyzed. More than 70% of the patient came to the Korean Medicine Clinic after visiting the Western Medicine Clinic in 43.9% of the respondents. 55.6% of the respondents performed combination therapy. History taking, nasal examination, x-ray, and Korean Medicine diagnostic test were used for diagnosis. The mean duration of treatment ranged from $4.9{\pm}2.91$ to $15.2{\pm}8.45$ for pediatric and early childhood patients and from $17.5{\pm}16.15$ to $5.3{\pm}3.85$ weeks for adolescents and adult patients. The mean number of treatment times was from $9.8{\pm}7.00$ to $33.5{\pm}24.45$ for pediatric and early childhood patients and from $10.8{\pm}11.55$ to $40.4{\pm}48.18$ times for adolescents and adult patients. 64.5%, 48.0%, and 91.2% of the respondents used herbal medication in national health insurance coverage, herbal medication uninsured in health insurance and herbal prescription filled at each medical institution, respectively for pediatric and early childhood patients and 67.6%, 42.8% and 86.1% for adolescents and adult patients. 36.9% and 36.4% of respondents answered that the study of acupuncture and herbal medicine are needed preferentially. Conclusions : The results of this survey will be used to develop clinical practice guideline that reflect actual clinical practice.