• Journal of Korean Dental Science
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• v.16 no.1
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• pp.63-73
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• 2023

Purpose: Hyperdontia is a developmental disorder of the oral cavity. Mesiodens refers to the hyperdontia located between the maxillary central incisors. During the surgical procedure, the anesthetic method for pain control should be considered along with factors related to the surgery itself. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of the impacted position of the mesiodens on the selection of sedation method and to suggest incisive foramen as a brief reference. Materials and Methods: This study included 126 patients who were scheduled for extraction of mesiodens. The selection criteria included patients with one palatally impacted inverted mesiodens accessible from the palatal gingival margin, and those with good cooperation potential in order to control for clinical information. Using cone beam computed tomography, vertical, horizontal, and palatal positional factors were measured, and the anesthetic method was determined by two examiners. The patients were grouped into vertical and horizontal groups based on the position of the incisive foramen. Data were statistically analyzed using the Mann-Whitney test, the chi-square test, and logistic regression analysis. Result: All positional factors differed between the outpatient and inpatient anesthetic groups. The vertical minimum distance from the alveolar ridge to the mesiodens (Va) and the minimum distance from the palatal surface to the crown tip of the mesiodens (Tc) were factors affecting the choice of anesthetic method. The distribution of the vertical and horizontal positional groups differed between the outpatient and inpatient anesthetic groups. Conclusion: The incisive foramen can be used as a brief reference to determine the appropriate anesthetic method. Referral for inpatient anesthesia may be a priority if they are in the V₂H₂ group with Va ≥5 mm, and Tc ≥6 mm, and outpatient sedation may be considered if they are in the V₁H₁ group with Va ≤1.5 mm, and Tc ≤2.5 mm.

• Korean Journal of Social Welfare Studies
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• v.42 no.2
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• pp.303-322
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• 2011

The increased needs for medical cost containment and the quality of life improvement for the low-income elderly with chronic disease require the complementary relationship between hospital care and community health services. This study investigated the current status of the linkage between Korean hospital care and community services using Seoul Welfare Panel Study(SWPS) data. Logistic regression analysis was used to examine the effects of experiences of hospitalization and outpatient health services on use and needs of community health services. The analysis results indicated that the elderly with chronic disease who have not experienced outpatient health services were unlikely to receive health and social services in the community. Even those who have experienced hospitalization were not provided complementary health services in the community despite the increasing demand.

• 한국노년학
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• v.31 no.1
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• pp.171-188
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• 2011

The purpose of this study is to examine the factors associated with the probability and levels of the health service utilization among the disabled elderly in Korea. The sample includes 2,111 people older than 65 who are extracted from the 2008 National Survey on People with Disabilities. More than half (54.3%) of the sample experienced at least 1 outpatient physician visit within two weeks and 26.7% were hospitalized within a year. The key factors associated with the outpatient visits were health insurance status, the existence of chronic disease, self-rated health, the Activities of Daily Living (ADLs), as well as renal impairment. Similarly, the utilization of inpatient care was related to health insurance status along with the existence of the internal organ disabilities such as cardiac or respiratory disorders. The study implies the need for the health care policies regarding the prevention of chronic diseases, dependency for daily activities of the elderly, and a management system that specifically targets those with internal organ disabilities. Moreover, the study suggests that financial supports for the low-income group would be helpful to increase their access to health service utilization.

• Korea Journal of Hospital Management
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• v.28 no.3
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• pp.47-57
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• 2023

Purpose: Health expenditure and utilization of Korean medicine are increasing every year. Since Chuna Manual Therapy was covered by National Health Insurance in 2019, it is predicted that the usage of Chuna Manual Therapy would be also increasing. However, there are few studies about Chuna Manual Therapy using Korean National Health Insurance claims database. Therefore, we will investigate the utilization trend of outpatient's Chuna Manual Therapy using Korean National Health Insurance database and suggest political implications. Methodology: The Korean National Health Insurance claims database was used to identify outpatient's Chuna Manual Therapy usage spanning 4 years from 2019-2023 and the number of Chuna Manual Therapy claims were approximately 18.61 million. Findings: The number of Chuna Manual Therapy claims and patients, health expenditure of Chuna Manual Therapy have been increasing spanning 4 years among over 65 aged. In the case of female patients, the number of Chuna Manual Therapy claims was more than male patients and health spending related to Chuna Manual Therapy was also higher than male patients. Most patients visited Korean medicine clinics due to musculoskeletal diseases, and most claims were from rural regions. Practical Implication: Since Chuna Manual Therapy was covered by National Health Insurance in 2019, Utilization of Chuna Manual Therapy has been increased overall. In particular, Chuna Manual Therapy is mostly implemented in the elderly, Korean medicine clinics, and local areas, thus policy managers will need to consider this.

• Health Policy and Management
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• v.33 no.3
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• pp.264-272
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• 2023

Background: Private health insurance supplements the coverage of national health insurance in Korea. In this situation, the subject of the study is to identify the healthcare utilization of people with physical and mental illnesses according to private health insurance. Methods: This study used data from the Korea Health Panel Survey 2018. The study population consisted of 813 individuals with physical and mental illnesses (PMI). Multiple logistic regression analysis and binominal logistic regression analysis were conducted about the utilization of emergency, inpatient, and outpatient medical services of people with PMI depending on enrollment in private health insurance (PHI). Results: The results of this study indicated that individuals with PHI utilized emergency and outpatient medical services less frequently compared to those without PHI. Conversely, having PHI was associated with a higher utilization of inpatient medical services compared to not having PHI. Binomial logistic regression analysis revealed that individuals with PMI who had PHI exhibited a higher frequency of visits to emergency and outpatient medical services compared to those without PHI. However, the significance of this trend was not observed in the case of emergency medical services. On the other hand, individuals with PMI who had PHI showed a lower frequency of visits to inpatient medical services compared to those without PHI. Conclusion: In conclusion, there was a significant relationship between having PHI and the utilization of medical services in people with PMI. There is a need for a follow-up study considering the type of mental illnesses, length of stay, and health outcome of people with PMI depending on having PHI.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Radiology
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• v.81 no.3
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• pp.530-548
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• 2020

Thyroid radiology practice is a medical practice in which thyroid diseases are diagnosed using imaging modality and treated by imaging-based interventional techniques, and the primary care target is thyroid nodular disease. Diagnosis of thyroid nodules is primarily done by ultrasound imaging and biopsy; thyroid nodules can be treated by non-surgical interventional treatment and thyroidectomy. Ethanol ablation is the first-line treatment for cystic benign nodules, and radiofrequency ablation is used for the treatment of benign solid nodules and recurrent thyroid cancers. Thyroid radiology practice has an essential clinical role in diagnosis and nonsurgical treatment of thyroid nodular diseases, and treatment should be performed based on standard care guidelines for proper patient care. In order to provide the best care to patients with thyroid nodular disease, it is desirable to treat patients in the radiology outpatient clinic. Thyroid radiology practice centered on outpatient clinic practice needs to be expanded.

• Journal of Society of Preventive Korean Medicine
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• v.19 no.1
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• pp.95-107
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• 2015

Objective : To use and its affecting factors of patients' outpatient treatment that have single and multiple chronic illnesses Method : We used the 2011 study by the Ministry of Health and Welfare, "Report on Usage and Consumption of Korean Medicine." This report was conducted on outpatients and inpatients that visited Korean traditional medicine, from August 25th, 2011, to September 30th, 2011. Our research was based on 1729 patients with chronic diseases aged 30 and over who received outpatient treatment during the last three months. Results : There were 1365 patients with non-complex chronic diseases, while there were 364 patients with complex chronis diseases. Patients had 1 - 8 chronic diseases, and the average number (standard deviation) was 1.26 (0.59). There were statistically significant differences by sex(P<0.0001), age(p=0.0045), marriage (p=0.0060), education level(p<0.0001), income level(P=0.0063), and types of health insurance(p=0.0023). The diseases most common among patients with non-complex chronic diseases were: low back pain, arthritis, gastrointestinal disorder, frozen shoulder, side effects from motor accidents, high blood pressure, fracture, stroke, diabetes, cancer, atopic dermatitis, and asthma. The diseases most common among patients with non-complex chronic diseases were: arthritis+low back pain, low back pain+gastrointestinal disorder, low back pain+side effects from motor accidents, low back pain+frozen shoulder, arthritis+gastrointestinal disease, gastrointestinal disease+frozen shoulder, arthritis+low back pain+gastrointestinal disease, high blood pressure+arthritis, arthritis+low back pain+frozen shoulder, arthritis+fracture, and arthritis+side effects from motor accidents. There were statistically significant differences among the usage of medical clinics by: frequently used clinic (p<0.0001), number of treatment (p<0.0001), the cost of outpatient treatment (p=0.0073), the satisfaction rate (p=0.0171), whether the clinic is the preferred clinic (p=0.0040). In model 1, men than women, people who had local benefits instead of type 1 medical aid, and patients with complex chronic diseases were more likely to use Korean medical clinics. In model 2, men than women, people who had local benefits than people with types 1 and 2 medical aids, people who went to pharmacies and Korean medicine pharmacies than people who went to hospitals, people who went to get treatment 1-10 times than people who visited 11-20 times and more than 41 times, and people who spent less than ten thousand Korean won than people who spent 1 to 2 million Korean won, and people without complex chronic diseases were more likely to use Korean medical treatment. Conclusion : There were differences in sociodemographic characteristics and the usage of medical clinics between patients with non-complex chronic diseases and patients with complex chronic diseases. Among patients with complex chronic diseases, women, patients with types 1 and 2 medical aid, patients who used Korean medical clinics, patients who were treated 11-20 times and more than 41 times, and patients who spent 1 million to 2 million Korean won on outpatient treatment used less treatment than patients with non-complex chronic diseases. However, patients with complex chronic diseases used pharmacies and Korean medicine pharmacies more.

• Quality Improvement in Health Care
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• v.20 no.1
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• pp.28-40
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• 2014

Objectives: Prescriptions for Parkinson's can be dispensed at the outpatient pharmacy. In general, the treatment of Parkinson's disease requires a multitude of drugs, sometimes taken 4 to 6 times a day at specific times as prescribed by the medical practitioner. Said "time-specific therapy" is one of the major reasons of dispensing delay observed at the outpatient pharmacy. Because our establishment lacked a computerized system to support time-specific prescriptions, they were not recognized electronically. They had to be issued and dispensed manually, which required a greater amount of time than the automated process. To solve the problem, a new sig code was developed to handle time-specific prescriptions with a comprehensive automated dispensing system to support it. This study aims to create electronic programs and streamline the process to increase dispensing performance. And thus, ensure greater patient safety and dispensing accuracy within a shorter dispensing time and also increase employee satisfaction through a decreased workload. Methods: After identifying the problems caused by non-electronic prescriptions an automated system that allowed the issuance of time-specific prescriptions was developed. A new sig code was created that could be recognized by the Pharmacy electronic medical program, the label printer to group medications by administration times and the Automatic Tablet Counter(ATC) to count the grouped drugs accordingly. Result: With the new sig code, the practitioner became able to electronically select the times of drug administration while issuing the prescription. This 'time-specific prescription' can now be recognized by the pharmacy electronic medical program, the label printer and the ATC like any other prescription. Conclusion: The developed program started operating on September 2013. Although not all Parkinson's patients have been issued with the new electronic 'time-specific prescription', the overall dispensing process has become more streamlined and accurate. As the medical team continues to integrate the new system in their practice an additional decrease of the dispensing time is predicted. Future program upgrades and other new time-saving approaches are scheduled, which are expected to further increase the service quality of our outpatient pharmacy.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.17 no.7
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• pp.357-366
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• 2016

This study evaluated the standardization of the outpatient management process in several regions of South Korea. The hospital workers in the administration department of the different medical institutions that are registered with the Korean Hospital Association were surveyed. These institutions can be standard hospitals or hospitals greater in size. A summary of the research results are as follows. There was no significant correlation in their registration procedures in relation to the institution's founder, number of sickbeds, number of staff employed in the administration department, and average number of outpatients per day. On the other hand, the prepayment of medical fees occurred more frequently when the number of sickbeds was larger. In addition, there was no large difference in their appointment procedures in relation to those features. Nevertheless, the prepayment of medical fees accounted for 11.8 % of the entire payment in institutions with less than five hundred beds, while fifty percent of the payment was made in advance in larger institutions with five hundred or more beds. From this research, there was only a small difference among the institutions' outpatient management, but a notable difference was observed in their electronic data processing systems and facilities. Therefore, more financial support should be generated for the implementation of a more integrated process. As a follow-up study, to provide patients with quality medical services, it will be necessary to apply the standardized procedure to an actual medical institution and analyze the expected effect.

• Journal of the korean academy of Pediatric Dentistry
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• v.31 no.1
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• pp.19-25
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• 2004

Dentally disabled person means one who have difficulty in cooperating voluntarily with a dentist for routine dental care. Seoul National University Dental Hospital (SNUDH) Dental Clinic for Disabled has worked for them under outpatient anesthesia concept. The aim of this study was to determine the anesthetic characteristics of the patients attending for dental treatment at SNUDH Dental Clinic for Disabled in order to establish better future treatment plans. The data were drawn from the patients who visited SNUDH Dental Clinic for Disabled from January 1999 to October 2002. Total 93 dental treatments for 83 patients were enrolled in this study. Most patients had mental retardation and the conservative treatments were carried out under general anesthesia. Thiopental and vecuronium were mostly used for induction agent and neuromuscular blocker, respectively. Enflurane, with oxygen and nitrous oxide, was mostly used to maintain the anesthesia. Mean total anesthetic time was $164.4{\pm}57.2$ minutes and mean duration at the post-anesthetic care unit was $106.2{\pm}50.5$ min. Serious postoperative complications were not observed. These results showed our successful anesthetic outcomes without any severe side effect or complication and the needs of more outpatient centers for dental care for disabled.