• Title/Summary/Keyword: medical costs

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Observational Study of the Treatment of 116 Cases of High Risk Group for Dementia and Depression in Multiple Korean Medicine Clinic (치매 및 우울증 고위험군 116례의 한의 치료에 대한 관찰 연구)

  • Ahn, Young Sung;Chang, Kun;Kim, Myunsoo;Park, Joon-young;Kim, Yong Gi;Ha, Hyun-yee;Choi, Junggil;Lee, Jae Yeul;Lee, Dong-suk;Hwang, Ji Hye
    • Journal of Physiology & Pathology in Korean Medicine
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    • v.35 no.3
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    • pp.104-116
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    • 2021
  • In order to reduce the social and economic costs due to the increase in dementia patients, which is a representative senile disease in an aging society, it will be important to prevent dementia and to detect and treat early in high-risk groups. This study reported the results of treatment for the elderly with high risk of dementia and depression who received Korean medicine (KM) treatment in 9 KM clinics. Medical charts were surveyed on 116 patients with high risk of dementia and depression who received KM treatment at 9 KM clinics in Gangseo-gu from September 1, 2020 to December 31, 2020. The majority of the patients were female(76.72%), the average age was 71.66±7.18 years old, and the average education level was 8.96±3.91 years. The average treatment period was 61.47±10.30 days, the average number of treatments was 15.38±1.06 times, and both acupuncture and herbal medicine were administered. After receiving KM treatment, cognitive assessment scores such as MMSE-DS and MoCA-K, depression-related GDSSF-K score, dementia knowledge, attitude, and preventive behavior, blood debilitation scale, and GQOL-D score were improved compared to before. There was no specific adverse reaction except that one patient with elevated AST and ALT levels was observed. This study showed improvement in cognitive function, depression, dementia-related scale, and quality of life in high-risk groups for dementia and depression over 60 years old who received KM treatment. More systematic and large-scale planned clinical studies will be needed.

Analysis of Health Care Service Trends for The Older Adults Based on ICT (국내외 ICT기반 노인 건강관리 서비스 동향분석)

  • Lee, Sung-Hyun;Hong, Sung Jung;Kim, Kyung Mi
    • Journal of the Korea Convergence Society
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    • v.12 no.5
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    • pp.373-383
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    • 2021
  • Our society is aging rapidly. In this super-aged society, the increase in healthcare costs are considered a national problem that undermines the sustainability of social security. Various services for healthcare for the elderly have been promoted to address this. However, most of them have focused on healthcare after the outbreak of chronic diseases and lack preventive healthcare. Most of the preventive healthcare projects are only pilots. In this paper, the current status of health care services for senior citizens at home and abroad was analyzed and based on this, the limitations and improvements were analyzed to propose the establishment of IoT-based Total Silver Care Center. IoT-based Total Silver Care Center may be conveniently monitored the health status of the elderly through various sensors, medical devices, and smart bands. And based on this, it can improve the quality of nursing services through time-saving and work efficiency of nursing providers. In addition, health care interventions may be provided in a timely manner if there is a change in the health status of users. And real-time imaging systems can help overcome mental difficulties.

Increased Readmission Risk and Healthcare Cost for Delirium Patients without Immediate Hospitalization in the Emergency Department

  • Ma, I Chun;Chen, Kao Chin;Chen, Wei Tseng;Tsai, Hsin Chun;Su, Chien-Chou;Lu, Ru-Band;Chen, Po See;Chang, Wei Hung;Yang, Yen Kuang
    • Clinical Psychopharmacology and Neuroscience
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    • v.16 no.4
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    • pp.398-406
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    • 2018
  • Objective: Hospitalization of patients with delirium after visiting the emergency department (ED) is often required. However, the readmission risk after discharge from the ED should also be considered. This study aimed to explore whether (i) immediate hospitalization influences the readmission risk of patients with delirium; (ii) the readmission risk is affected by various risk factors; and (iii) the healthcare cost differs between groups within 28 days of the first ED visit. Methods: Using the National Health Insurance Research Database, the data of 2,780 subjects presenting with delirium at an ED visit from 2000 to 2008 were examined. The readmission risks of the groups of patients (i.e., patients who were and were not admitted within 24 hours of an ED visit) within 28 days were compared, and the effects of the severities of different comorbidities (using Charlson's comorbidity index, CCI), age, gender, diagnosis and differences in medical healthcare cost were analyzed. Results: Patients without immediate hospitalization had a higher risk of readmission within 3, 7, 14, or 28 days of discharge from the ED, especially subjects with more severe comorbidities ($CCI{\geq}3$) or older patients (${\geq}65years$). Subjects with more severe comorbidities or older subjects who were not admitted immediately also incurred a greater healthcare cost for re-hospitalization within the 28-day follow-up period. Conclusion: Patients with delirium with a higher CCI or of a greater age should be carefully considered for immediate hospitalization from ED for further examination in order to reduce the risk of re-hospitalization and cost of healthcare.

A Study on the Strengthening of the Library's Role via the Provision of Health Information Service (건강정보서비스 제공을 통한 도서관의 역할강화에 관한 연구)

  • Noh, Younghee
    • Journal of the Korean BIBLIA Society for library and Information Science
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    • v.30 no.2
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    • pp.117-144
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    • 2019
  • Today, interest in health information has risen overall due to the aging society, increased public interest in the quality of life, and the increased state's interest in reducing medical costs. Accordingly, efforts have been made across the library and information science in terms of academic research, libraries in terms of providing health specialized services, and the state, yet policies and strategies for providing the health related information in an integrated and systematic manner through the libraries have not been proposed with clarity to date. Thus, this study aimed to propose a method to provide the health information in an integrated manner by the libraries through the previous studies, policy studies, and case studies. Consequently, it proposes to build a system to integrate the health information, build an overall database of the health related information, develop and operate a health specialized library program, operate a general support center for the health information service, and build a cooperative network among the related departments and institutions for the health information service. The details proposed by this study is likely to contribute to developing services for improving the health of the citizens of this country.

Understanding and Prevention of Fall-related Injuries in Older Adults in South Korea: A Systematic Review (한국 노인의 넘어짐과 연계된 인체손상에 대한 이해와 예방: 체계적 문헌 고찰)

  • Lim, Ki-taek;Lee, Ji-eun;Park, Ha-eun;Park, Su-young;Choi, Woochol Joseph
    • Physical Therapy Korea
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    • v.26 no.2
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    • pp.34-48
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    • 2019
  • Background: Fall-related injuries in older adults are a major health problem, and the risks and mechanisms of these injuries should be affected by race, culture, living environment, and/or economic status. Objects: Research articles have been systematically reviewed to understand fall-related injuries in older adults in South Korea. Methods: 128 published research papers have been found through the Korea Citation Index and the Korean Studies Information Service System, and reviewed in various perspectives, including incidents, fall death rates, medical costs, causes, injury sites and types, locations where falls occurred, prevention strategies, scholarly fields interested in fall injuries, and the role of physical therapy. Results: Fall-related injuries were found to be more common in women than in men, and the number of incidents increased with age, with the highest rate found in individuals over 85 years old. Risk of fall injury was associated with education level, comorbidities, and fear of falling. Common places where falls occurred included the bathroom, living room, stairs, and hallway. Common types of injury included bruises, fractures, and sprains in the lower extremities. Intervention strategies included exercise programs, education, and protective clothing. Scholarly fields interested in fall-related injuries in older adults included medicine, nursing, physical therapy, occupational therapy, physical education, pharmacology, oriental medicine, biomedical engineering, design, clothing, and textiles. Physical therapy intervention using proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation has been used to improve one's balance. Conclusion: Any movement during the activities of daily living can lead to a fall. Physical therapists are highly educated to analyze human movements and should be involved in more research and practices to solve fall-related injuries in older adults.

Effects of Medication Reconciliation and Cost Avoidance Analysis by Clinical Pharmacists in a Neurocritical Care Unit (뇌신경계 중환자실 전담 약사의 활동에 따른 약물 조정 효과 및 회피비용 분석)

  • Cho, Ui Sang;Song, Young Joo;Jung, Young Mi;Choi, Kyung Suk;Lee, Eunsook;Lee, Euni;Han, Moon-Ku
    • Journal of Neurocritical Care
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    • v.11 no.2
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    • pp.110-118
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    • 2018
  • Background: The role of clinical pharmacists in medication therapy to improve clinical and economic outcomes has been reported in the literature. This study was conducted to analyze the changes in details of medication interventions before and after the introduction of clinical pharmacists into the care of neurocritical care unit (NCU) patients, and to evaluate the economic effects of clinical pharmacists by calculating the avoidance cost. Methods: A retrospective study was conducted reviewing the electronic medical records from June 2013 to May 2014 (before), and from June 2016 to May 2017 (after). We calculated the number and rates of intervention, the acceptance rates of it, and also reviewed the list of interventions. We calculated avoidance cost if there was no intervention. Results: The monthly mean number of interventions increased from 8.0 (${\pm}5.7$) to 31.7 (${\pm}12.8$) (P<0.001) and the frequency of intervention also increased from 0.8% to 1.6% (P=0.003). The most frequently provided pharmacist intervention was nutritional support before introduction of clinical pharmacists and discussions on the medication plan after. The number of classified interventions was 14 before introduction of clinical pharmacist services and 33 after. The calculated cost avoidance associated with a clinical pharmacists' integration was 77,990,615 won per year. Conclusion: Introduction of clinicals pharmacist into the NCU was associated with increased intervention rates and expanded types of clinical interventions. The cost avoidance achieved by the pharmacists' interventions can be further explored to evaluate if similar expansions of pharmacists' services achieve similar results in other settings.

Effects of Blood Factors on Coronary Artery Calcification Scores (혈액인자가 관상동맥 석회화 수치에 미치는 영향)

  • Park, Mi Jeong;Jang, Hyon Chol;Cho, Pyong Kon
    • Journal of the Korean Society of Radiology
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    • v.15 no.3
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    • pp.337-344
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    • 2021
  • Coronary artery calcification is associated with cardiovascular risk factors and metabolic syndrome, and several studies have already reported that coronary artery calcification score are closely related to the amount of atherosclerotic plaques. This study was conducted on 109 patients who underwent coronary calcium CT who visited the comprehensive health examination center in Daegu city during the period from December 2020 to February 2021. we would like to investigate the relationship between coronary artery calcification score and blood factors. As a result of the study, the abnormal group increased the risk of calcification by 1.113 times compared to the normal group in the waist circumference factor. In the fasting glucose factor, the abnormal group increased the risk of calcification by 1.036 times compared to the normal group, and in the triglyceride factor, the abnormal group was normal. As the risk of calcification increased 1.008 times compared to the group, the waist circumference factor, fasting glucose factor, and triglyceride factor were found to be factors affecting coronary artery calcification score. The risk of developing calcification is primarily associated with waist circumference, anemia and triglycerides, and health care and health checks are expected to help reduce the incidence of cardiovascular disease and reduce medical costs.

Proposed Application Design for Community-Based Rehabilitation Services Access in Community Care System: Occupation and Activity Based (커뮤니티케어 제도 내 지역사회중심재활 서비스 접근을 위한 애플리케이션 디자인의 제안 : 작업과 활동 중심으로)

  • Bae, Seong-Hwan;Jang, Yeon-Sig;Baek, Ji-Young
    • Journal of Korea Entertainment Industry Association
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    • v.15 no.4
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    • pp.325-335
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    • 2021
  • Chronic diseases have been increasing recently as the average life expectancy of humans has been extended, and this trend has caused problems such as the widespread demand for health and rehabilitation services and rising medical costs. In order to solve this problem, the community-based rehabilitation has been developed and strengthened in Korea and gradually promoted since 2019. It is important to secure access to clients who want to use services to revitalize community-based rehabilitation. So in this study, as part of the community-based rehabilitation, intends to devise smartphone applications designs and develop a prototype to secure access to community-based occupational therapy services based on occupation and activities. For Occupational Therapy Practice Framework (OTPF), International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF), and Allen Diagnostic Module-2 (ADM-2) were used to devise and categorize occupation and activity based application content, and link OTPF, ICF, and ADM-2 through prior research analysis and expert meetings. The derived content was visualized through literature review and activity analysis, and was implemented to enable direct playback within the application using the YouTube API, and finally developed a prototype application. The Android Studio 3.5.2 for Windows 64-bit was used to build the application prototype. In further research, converging various digital technologies for user convenience and additionally researching community-based occupational therapy service providers opinions and service user satisfaction will improve accessibility to community-based occupational therapy services for clients who have difficulty occupational performance in the community.

Comparing the Effects of Regional Household Expenditure Burden on Childbirth Intention of Married Women: The Case of Capital and Non-Capital Regions (지역별 가계지출 부담이 기혼여성의 출산 의사에 미치는 영향: 수도권과 비수도권 비교를 중심으로)

  • Lee, Da-Eun;Seo, Wonseok
    • Journal of Cadastre & Land InformatiX
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    • v.51 no.2
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    • pp.151-168
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    • 2021
  • This study compared and analyzed the effect of the burden of household expenditure in the metropolitan and non-metropolitan areas on the intention to childbirth intention to married women using a panel logit model. To this end, this analysis targeted married women aged 25 to 39 who are highly likely to be fertile. The main results are as follows; First of all, it was confirmed that the economic power of spouse can be an important factor in the childbirth intention regardless of region. Second, it was found that the higher the satisfaction of marriage had a positive effect on the childbirth intention, and also higher the value that children must have, the higher the childbirth intention. Third, it was confirmed that the burden of household expenditure is the most important factor in the willingness to childbirth intention, excluding factors such as the number of existing children. In particular, the burden on education spending in both the capital region and non-capital region was found to be a key reason for the decrease in the childbirth intention. Lastly, the burden of household expenditure showed different effects on childbirth intention on depending on the region. Specifically, in the capital region, medical spending and loans had a greater impact, while, in the non-capital region, transportation and communication costs had a greater impact on childbirth intentions. Through the results, this study confirmed the implication that easing the burden on household expenditure is continuously necessary to enhance childbirth, and that discriminatory policy approaches are required depending on the area of residence.

Elderly Sarcopenia and Vitamin B Deficiency: A Relationship? (비타민 B 결핍에 의한 노인성 근감소증)

  • Kisang Kwon;Hye-Jeong Jang;Sun-Nyoung Yu;Soon-Cheol Ahn;O-Yu Kwon
    • Journal of Life Science
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    • v.33 no.7
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    • pp.574-585
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    • 2023
  • Sarcopenia is a leading cause of increased medical and nursing care costs among the elderly. In Korea, preventive measures for sarcopenia are mostly targeted toward the general elderly population without specific diseases. However, it is also necessary to implement measures for elderly individuals living in nursing homes and hospitals, where the prevalence of sarcopenia is high. Currently, computed tomography and/or magnetic resonance imaging are considered standard diagnostic tools. However, their complexity and time-consuming nature make them unsuitable for clinical use. The exact pathophysiological mechanisms of sarcopenia are unclear, as they involve various molecular biological pathways, including decreased exercise, protein and nutrient intake, changes in testosterone and growth hormone, and inflammation. Sarcopenia symptoms can lead to several diseases, such as osteoporosis, fractures, dementia, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease. Vitamin B deficiency is a significant factor in sarcopenia induction, with B vitamins being directly involved in energy and protein metabolism and nerve function. Vitamin B deficiency can lead to neuromuscular and neurogenic disorders, which often overlap with sarcopenia. Suboptimal intake of B vitamins, malabsorption, and anorexia are common among the elderly. This study aims to provide information on the role of water-soluble B vitamins in preventing and controlling muscle mass loss and deterioration among the elderly with sarcopenia. In addition, we discuss the potential of myokines from the B vitamin family in modulating sarcopenia.