Healthcare Utilization and Discrepancies by Income Level Among Patients With Newly Diagnosed Type 2 Diabetes in Korea: An Analysis of National Health Insurance Sample Cohort Data.

Objectives: The use of qualitative healthcare services or its discrepancy between different income levels of the type 2 diabetes (T2D) patients has seldom been studied concurrently. The present study is unique that regarding T2D patients of early stages of diagnosis. Aimed to assess the utilization of qualitative healthcare services and influence of income levels on the inequality of care among newly diagnosed patients with T2D.

Effect of COVID-19 response work experience on turnover intention among employees of dedicated COVID-19 hospitals in Seoul.

Background: According to previous studies, stress and job burnout among medical personnel increased during the COVID-19 pandemic. This study analyzed the effect of the experience of COVID-19 response work on the intention of municipal hospital staffs to leave their workplaces during the pandemic.

Methods: The 3556 employees who had worked for more than 1 year at one of the eight Seoul Municipal Hospitals that either provided inpatient treatment for quarantined COVID-19 patients or operated as screening clinics were taken as the study population.

Evaluation of Patient No-Shows in a Tertiary Hospital: Focusing on Modes of Appointment-Making and Type of Appointment.

No-show appointments waste resources and decrease the sustainability of care. This study is an attempt to evaluate patient no-shows based on modes of appointment-making and types of appointments. We collected hospital information system data and appointment data including characteristics of patients, service providers, and clinical visits over a three-month period (1 September 2018 to 30 November 2018), at a large tertiary hospital in Seoul, Korea.

Sex Differences in Factors Affecting Hospital Outpatient Department Visits: Korea Health Panel Survey Data from 2009 to 2016.

This study intends to inspect the sex differences in proportion of hospital outpatient department (OPD) visits in overall outpatient (OP) visits using national panel data and to explore factors that influence the proportions by sex. This study analyzed data of the 2009-2016 Korea Health Panel Survey. Fractional logit regression was applied to analyze factors that affect proportion of hospital visits among outpatient visits.

The Economic Burden of Breast Cancer Survivors in Korea: A Descriptive Study Using a 26-Month Micro-Costing Cohort Approach.

Background: This study analyzed the burden of cancer treatment costs on patients by calculating the monthly amount of medical expenses paid by breast cancer patients for two years after mastectomy. Methods: Among those who were diagnosed with breast cancer and had received treatment at one of two academic medical centers in Seoul between 2003 and 2011, 1,087 patients who underwent mastectomy and received follow-up for at least two years were recruited. A micro-costing approach from the provider’s perspective, based on a retrospective review of patient medical claim records, was used to analyze cancer treatment cost of care.

Association between supplementary private health insurance and visits to physician offices versus hospital outpatient departments among adults with diabetes in the universal public insurance system.

Background: Diabetes mellitus is a chronic disease with a high prevalence across the world as well as in South Korea. Most cases of diabetes can be adequately managed at physician offices, but many diabetes patients receive outpatient care at hospitals. This study examines the relationship between supplementary private health insurance (SPHI) ownership and the use of hospitals among diabetes outpatients within the universal public health insurance scheme.

The Determinants of Choosing Traditional Korean Medicine or Conventional Medicine: Findings from the Korea Health Panel.

The purpose of this study is to identify key factors that determine a person's decision to seek treatment from traditional Korean medicine (TKM) instead of conventional medicine through analysis of nationally representative data from Korea, where a dual healthcare system exists. The analysis is based on episodic data from the 2008 and 2009 Korea Health Panel. The main dependent variable is the selection between TKM and conventional medicine.

Time trend of out-of-pocket expenditure among cancer inpatients: evidence from Korean tertiary hospitals.

Background: This study aimed to examine out-of-pocket expenditure for cancer treatments of hospitalized patients and to analyze changing patterns over time.

Materials And Methods: This study examined data of all cancer patients receiving inpatient care from two tertiary hospitals from January 2003 to December 2010. Medical expenditures per admission were calculated and classified into those covered and uncovered by the Korean National Health Insurance (NHI) and co-payment.

Effects of supplementary private health insurance on physician visits in Korea.

Background/purpose: The coverage of social health insurance has remained limited, despite it being compulsory in Korea. Accordingly, Koreans have come to rely upon supplementary private health insurance (PHI) to cover their medical costs. We examined the effects of supplementary PHI on physician visits in Korea.

Demographic and socioeconomic determinants of the use of periodic health examinations: public vs. private sector.

Periodic health examinations (PHEs) are prevalent in Korea. While some people frequently use public PHEs, others use private PHEs with high fees. This study examined the determinants of the use of public and private PHEs using a multinomial logit model.

[The determinants of the use of opportunistic screening programs in Korea].

Objectives: Both organized and opportunistic screening programs have been widely used in Korea. This paper examined the determinants of the use of opportunistic screening programs in Korea.

Methods: The subjects were a national stratified random sample of 10,254 people aged 45 or older from the first wave of the Korean Longitudinal Study of Ageing in 2006.

The life-sustaining treatments among cancer patients at end of life and the caregiver's experience and perspectives.

Goals Of Work: The goal of this study was to investigate the utilization of and attitudes toward life-sustaining treatments (LSTs) at the end of life.

Materials And Methods: We identified 4,042 families of cancer patients who had died at any of 17 hospitals in Korea during 2004. Among those, we analyzed the interviews provided by 1,592 (39.

The benefits of supplementary private health insurance for healthcare utilization and survival among stomach cancer patients.

Social health insurance (SHI) has covered only 60% of healthcare payments in Korea; therefore, Koreans rely upon supplementary private health insurance (SPHI) to cover the rest of the payments. SPHI status is assumed to affect clinical treatment and outcome of patients with stomach cancer, which is the most prevalent cancer among Koreans. This study examined the relationships between SPHI and diagnosis, treatment, utilization, and survival among stomach cancer patients.

Health-related quality of life among disease-free stomach cancer survivors in Korea.

Previous studies about the quality of life (QOL) in stomach cancer survivors focused on selected clinical parameters and did not consider the broader implications for overall health and QOL. We evaluated the impact of demographic and treatment-related factors on the QOL of stomach cancer survivors. We asked 391 stage I-III stomach cancer survivors who had been disease-free for at least 1 year after surgery to complete a demographic questionnaire, the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer QLQ-C30 questionnaire, and its stomach module, QLQ-STO22.

Understanding disparities in aggressive care preferences between patients with terminal illness and their family members.

We examined the factors associated with the disparity in aggressive care preferences between patients with terminal cancer and their family members. Two hundred forty-four consecutive pairs recruited from three university hospitals participated in this study. Each pair completed questionnaires that measured two major aggressive care preferences-admission to the intensive care unit (ICU) and the use of cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR).

Validation study of the Korean version of the M. D. Anderson Symptom Inventory.

This study aimed to evaluate the Korean version of the M. D. Anderson Symptom Inventory (MDASI-K) as a tool for assessing multiple symptoms in Korean cancer patients.

The attitudes of cancer patients and their families toward the disclosure of terminal illness.

Purpose: To ascertain the attitude of cancer patients and their families toward disclosure of terminal illness to the patient.

Patients And Methods: We constructed a questionnaire that included demographic and clinical information and delivered it to 758 consecutive individuals (433 cancer patients and 325 families that have a relative with cancer) at seven university hospitals and one national cancer center in Korea.

Results: 380 cancer patients and one member from each of 281 families that have a relative with cancer completed the questionnaire.