• Quality Improvement in Health Care
• /
• v.23 no.1
• /
• pp.69-90
• /
• 2017

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to analyze the impact of healthcare accreditation and to provide empirical evidence to validate positive effectiveness. Methods:Six electronic databases (KERIS, KoreaMed, NDSL, Ovid-medline, Embase, Cochrane library) were accessed in May 2016. Keywords used were 'accreditation' and 'Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organization (JCAHO)'. Of the initially identified 3,008 articles, 60 studies on healthcare accreditation were selected based on inclusion criteria that are hospital accreditation, accreditation by disease and clinical center accreditation. These were retrieved and analyzed. Result: The 60 study results were on the impact of healthcare accreditation. Results were classified into four perspectives of Balanced Score Card (Financial, Customer, Internal Process, Learning & Growth). In internal process perspective, results revealed that healthcare accreditation has made a positive impact on "care process and procedure". In learning & growth perspective, healthcare accreditation has made a positive influence on "leadership", "organizational cultures" and "change mechanisms". However, it revealed that healthcare accreditation does not directly affect financial performance. It is also difficult to reach a definitive conclusion that healthcare accreditation programs affect patient satisfaction of customer and clinical outcome of the internal process. Conclusion: Healthcare accreditation programs provide positive impact on change of care process and building communication-oriented hospital culture. However, more rigorous and diverse research is needed on financial effects and clinical outcomes of healthcare accreditation.

• Korean Journal of Adult Nursing
• /
• v.29 no.1
• /
• pp.22-31
• /
• 2017

Purpose: The purposes of this secondary analysis study was to examine prevalence, risk factors and unmet healthcare needs among adults with hypertension. Methods: A sample of 3,386 adults over the age of 40 with hypertension were drawn from the Korea Health Panel Study (2013). Using SPSS 22.0 version, descriptive statistics including frequency, percentage, chi-square and logistic regression were performed. Results: Results showed that 18.9% of the sample reported unmet healthcare needs with the most frequently cited one was financial burdens (43.2%). The reported experiences of unmet healthcare needs differed by gender, marital status, vision or hearing impairment, memory problem, impaired mobility, subjective health status, total family income, depressive episode and the difficulty in making decisions. The sample participants were more likely to report unmet healthcare if they had vision impairment, low income and perception that their health status as moderate to poor. Those without vision impairment were less likely to report unmet healthcare needs. Conclusion: The identified risk factors of unmet healthcare needs should be addressed which would enhance access both to health care and to resolution of unmet healthcare needs. Since visual ability seems to impact perception of unmet healthcare needs, it may be useful to find ways to address this factor.

• Journal of Family Resource Management and Policy Review
• /
• v.23 no.1
• /
• pp.17-34
• /
• 2019

Older women who live alone are among society's most vulnerable people, since they experience increased risk of multiple chronic diseases and have limited financial protection. This can lead older women living alone to catastrophic health expenditure(CHE), which is defined as a healthcare expenditure that exceeds a certain portion of a household's ability to pay. Using the Korean Longitudinal Study of Ageing(KLoSA), this study investigated the incidence of CHE among older women living alone and identified the factors related to this incidence. Applying health expenditure thresholds of 10%, 20%, 30% and 40% of ability to pay, the proportions of those with CHE were 41.3%, 22.9%, 14.6%, and 9.4%, respectively. Logistic regression models were used to identify factors related to CHE incidence, which include demographics, income, the number of chronic diseases, perceived health status, and health insurance type. The results show that the health care safety net in South Korea is insufficient for older women living alone. The findings can guide policymakers in improving healthcare and welfare policies to protect people from catastrophic payments. Particularly, welfare policies should be established for poor non-recipients who are not included within the benefits scope of the National Basic Livelihood Security System due to the unrealistic criteria of income recognition and family support obligation.

• Journal of the Ergonomics Society of Korea
• /
• v.33 no.5
• /
• pp.387-394
• /
• 2014

Objective: The purpose of this study is to survey trend and the real state of ageing population in UK, and its charge organizations, relevant policies and studies. Background: As in other countries, UK population is ageing and people aged 65 or over account for about 17% of population in UK. Considering this ageing population, there are varying basic studies and policies for older people in UK. Method: First, the author consulted ageing and its policies in UK with some faculties in an UK university. Next, based on the results of consultation, wide literature survey was conducted, which includes papers in relevant academic journals, publications and website surfing. Results: A number of basic studies for surveying status and characteristics of older people as well as simple population trend for them have been conducted in UK. Healthcare services are free for all UK residents, and varying social care services including equipment, home and residential cares, financial support, etc., are provided by local governments. Cost of social cares is means-tested and is not free for everyone. There are a number of governmental or non-profit organizations dedicated to help older people access social care services or to financially fund research projects older people. Conclusion: There are more basic studies, and healthcare and social care services for older people in UK, compared to Korea. Application: It would be useful as basic data for establishing effective polices for old people in Korea.

• Journal of Digital Convergence
• /
• v.15 no.7
• /
• pp.259-269
• /
• 2017

This study analyzed medical aid case management effects based on the number of access by visits, phone calls, letters, internal investigation, resource links, and requests, in medical aid case management business that is carried out to improve the quality of life of medical care beneficiaries and reduce financial cost. Secondary analysis study using data of 564 high-risk group in the medical aid case management and their healthcare utilization data. Letters had positive correlations with the scores of all case management domains. The higher visits was, the lower the score of self-health care ability was, and the higher the number of phone calls was, the higher the score for reasonable medical use was. While there was no significant difference in medical cost according to aid management by interventions, the higher visits and resource links were, the lower the subjects' total number of payment days was. There is a difference in the various areas of the quality of health -related life and medical use depending on case management by intervention method and its number. It is necessary to carry out the efficient number of access to case management by intervention method.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
• /
• v.14 no.4
• /
• pp.2159-2165
• /
• 2013

Cancer registries help to establish and maintain cancer incidence reporting system, serve as a resource for investigation of cancer and its causes, and provide information for planning and evaluation of preventive and control programs. However, their wider role in directly enhancing oncology drug access has not been fully explored. We examined the value of cancer registries in oncology drug access in the Asia-Pacific region on three levels: (1) specific registry variable types; (2) macroscopic strategies on the national level; and (3) a regional cancer registry network. Using literature search and proceedings from an expert forum, this paper covers recent cancer registry developments in eight economies in the Asia-Pacific region - Australia, China, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, and Thailand - and the ways they can contribute to oncology drug access. Specific registry variables relating to demographics, tumor characteristics, initial treatment plans, prognostic markers, risk factors, and mortality help to anticipate drug needs, identify high-priority research area and design access programs. On a national level, linking registry data with clinical, drug safety, financial, or drug utilization databases allows analyses of associations between utilization and outcomes. Concurrent efforts should also be channeled into developing and implementing data integrity and stewardship policies, and providing clear avenues to make data available. Less mature registry systems can employ modeling techniques and ad-hoc surveys while increasing coverage. Beyond local settings, a cancer registry network for the Asia-Pacific region would offer cross-learning and research opportunities that can exert leverage through the experiences and capabilities of a highly diverse region.

• Information Systems Review
• /
• v.15 no.2
• /
• pp.59-73
• /
• 2013

Healthcare costs are continuously increasing due to longer life expectancy and providing global healthcare services through medical tourism is new service growth engine for Korea. Several countries have well established programs and infrastructure dedicated to medical tourism. South Korea is attempting to become a major player in this domain by undertaking broad initiatives. The success of medical tourism is greatly impacted by easy access to two types of information, namely, medical and travel information. The National Health Insurance System in Korea collects huge amount of clinical and financial information from all hospitals. However, this information does not get used effectively in health and travel information systems to support medical tourism. This paper provide clear process map of medical tourism to understand how the patient and information process both medical and tourism fields also describe the need of customer and service provider. In this paper, we develop a medical tourism service system that will promote information exchange and service delivery.

• Korea Journal of Hospital Management
• /
• v.28 no.1
• /
• pp.37-51
• /
• 2023

Purposes: There exist many non-covered services that the National Health Insurance does not cover, and thus, their prices are set by individual health care providers. However, little study has been done to investigate how hospitals set prices for those services. The purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between ownership, profitability, and prices of those services for a sample of general hospitals. Methodology/Approach: Data regarding the prices of major non-covered services (e.g., upper-level hospital room fees, MRI, Da 7inci robot surgery, and LASIK) were obtained from the Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service and the financial information, as well as other characteristics, were derived from the financial reports from the Korea Health Industry Development Institute. Descriptive statistics, t-tests, and multiple linear regression analyses were used to test the relationship between the independent variables and the dependent variables. Findings: Hospitals owned by private universities appeared to have higher prices for non-covered services while regional public hospitals tend to have lower prices. Profitability, measured by operating margin, was not significantly related to the prices. Hospitals that charge higher prices were more likely to be located in the capital area (Seoul, Incheon, and Gyeonggi), and to employ larger number of personnel. Practical Implications: Public hospitals tend to charge lower prices for non-covered services. Relative market power appears to be related to pricing. Further research is needed to investigate whether such a relationship varies over time and its effects on the quality and access.

• Journal of Information Technology Services
• /
• v.16 no.3
• /
• pp.17-45
• /
• 2017

Health Information Exchange (HIE) is expected to improve the quality and efficiency of care by allowing providers online access to healthcare information generated by other providers at the point of care. However, the adoption of the technology in Korea has been slow since its pilot program in 2007~2010 at Seoul National University Bundang Hospital. The objective of this study was to survey stakeholders on the incentive program for the facilitation of HIE adoption. We surveyed 39 experts representing 6 categories of stakeholders-provider, insurer, government, information service firms, customers, and medical informatics experts for the interviews. Interview questions included program objectives, program participation requirements, incentive payment method, and administrative burden for program participation. Experts indicated that the quality of care was the most important value the program should aim to achieve through the HIE adoption. They suggested that the requirements and administrative burden for participation should be kept at minimum to recruit a large number of providers to the program, which is an indicator of program success. Experts were divided on the payment method whether the incentive should be paid as a part of the fee payment scheme operated by the National Health Insurance (NHI) or should be a payment made independent of the NHI. The source of the divide was conflict of interest among stakeholders as to who pays for the program, and the insurer and consumer groups were against the NHI taking the financial burden. It appeared to be the most significant factor for the successful program launching to resolve the gap in perceptions about benefits of the technology among stakeholders and to win the willingness to pay for the program.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
• /
• v.53 no.4
• /
• pp.266-274
• /
• 2020

Objectives: Describe out-of-pocket payment (OOP) and the proportion of Peruvian households with catastrophic health expenditure (CHE) and evaluate changes in socioeconomic inequalities in CHE between 2008 and 2017. Methods: We used data from the 2008 and 2017 National Household Surveys on Living and Poverty Conditions (ENAHO in Spanish), which are based on probabilistic stratified, multistage and independent sampling of areas. OOP was converted into constant dollars of 2017. A household with CHE was assumed when the proportion between OOP and payment capacity was ≥0.40. OOP was described by median and interquartile range while CHE was described by weighted proportions and 95% confidence intervals (CIs). To estimate the socioeconomic inequality in CHE we computed the Erreygers concentration index. Results: The median OOP reduced from 205.8 US dollars to 158.7 US dollars between 2008 and 2017. The proportion of CHE decreased from 4.9% (95% CI, 4.5 to 5.2) in 2008 to 3.7% (95% CI, 3.4 to 4.0) in 2017. Comparison of socioeconomic inequality of CHE showed no differences between 2008 and 2017, except for rural households in which CHE was less concentrated in richer households (p<0.05) and in households located on the rest of the coast, showing an increase in the concentration of CHE in richer households (p<0.05). Conclusions: Although OOP and CHE reduced between 2008 and 2017, there is still socioeconomic inequality in the burden of CHE across different subpopulations. To reverse this situation, access to health resources and health services should be promoted and guaranteed to all populations.