Effects of Project Perception of Research Nurses from Research-driven Hospitals, Research-relevant Performance: Focusing on the Mediating Effects of Research Capacity and Job Satisfaction / 간호행정학회지

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to identify the level of project perception for those nurses from research-driven hospitals and to analyze the effect of research-relevant performance in the health care field focusing on the mediated effect of research capacity and job satisfaction. METHODS: Data were collected from June, 2014 to July, 2014, and participants were 106 research nurses in Research-driven hospitals. Descriptive statistics, Independent t-test, One-way ANOVA, structural equation modeling (SEM). RESULTS: As a result, Research-relevant performance according to project perception of research nurses from Research-driven Hospitals was not statistically significant, but research capacity and job satisfaction had a mediating role. Evaluation System Perception was significantly different from Research Capacity (p<.001), Research Capacity was significantly different from Job Satisfaction (p<.001), Job Satisfaction was significantly different from Research Performance (p<.001) CONCLUSION: The results indicate that research capacity building and job security research nurses are able to contribute to improving research performance of research-driven hospitals.

Forecasting the Future Reimbursement System of Korean National Health Insurance: A Contemplation Focusing on Global Budget and Neo-KDRG-Based Payment Systems

With the adoption of national health insurance in 1977, Korea has been utilizing fee-for-service payment with contract-based healthcare reimbursement system in 2000. Under the system, fee-for-service reimbursement has been accused of augmenting national healthcare expenditure by excessively increasing service volume. The researcher examined in this paper two major alternatives including diagnosis related group-based payment and global budget to contemplate the future of reimbursement system of Korean national health insurance. Various literature and preceding studies on pilot project and actual implementation of Neo-KDRG were reviewed. As a result, DRG-based payment was effective for healthcare cost control but low in administrative efficiency. Global budget may be adequate for cost control and improving the quality of healthcare and administrative efficiency. However, many healthcare providers disagree that excess care arising from fee-for-service payment alone has led to financial deterioration of national health insurance and healthcare institutions should take responsibility with global budget payment as an appropriate solution. Dissimilar payment systems may be applied to different types of institutions to reflect their unique attributes, and this process can be achieved step-by-step. Developing public sphere among the stakeholders and striving for consensus shall be kept as collateral to attain the desirable reimbursement system in the future.

A study on revitalization of primary healthcare organizations through development of standard functions

Primary care lays the foundation of national healthcare systems, but it has been weak in playing its role correctly because of legal and environmental attributes surrounding the healthcare industry in Korea. This study is conducted to concretize the definition and scope of primary care and to deduce its standard functions to contribute to establishing the healthcare delivery system and appropriate healthcare systems embracing socio-environmental leverage. The term primary healthcare institution was adopted based on literature review to achieve the research goal. The principle diseases appropriate for the primary healthcare institution based on ambulatory care sensitive conditions were analyzed, and the standard functions were deduced by matching these diseases with current procedural terminologies using CrossCoder package. Based on the analysis, the primary healthcare institution-specific diseases were 53 specific diseases under 23 broad disease groups. The standard functions were deduced in three categories of the standard functions of the entire primary healthcare institutions with 100% frequency, common standard functions with 70% frequency, and peculiar standard functions specific to diseases or body systems. These functions included outpatient evaluation and measurement, various factor tests through blood collection, and X-ray. Establishing the standard functions for the primary healthcare institution can promote patient reliability on primary care, alleviate health demand congestion toward large-sized advanced healthcare institutions. Furthermore, it contributes to establishing and reinforcing other healthcare policies related to the healthcare reimbursement system and referral system, and fosters primary care physician education. Most importantly, it reduces the national health expenditures by realizing efficient and effective healthcare delivery.

A Comprehensive Model of Factors Affecting Adoption of Clinical Practice Guidelines in Korea

This study aims to investigate the factors related to the adoption of clinical practice guidelines in clinical settings in Korea; it also aims to determine how these factors differ depending on the specific situation of health care system and professional climate. The research sample comprised physicians who are board members of academic societies with experiences in development of clinical practice guidelines using a convenient sampling. We analyzed 324 physicians with pooling two-year sample of 2007 and 2008. From all the respondents, 48.8% stated that they followed Clinical Practice Guidelines, and 93.4% agreed with the content in the Clinical Practice Guidelines. With regard to the item on the self-efficacy of practicing guidelines, 90.3% of the respondents selected 'low level'. In the regression analysis, the factors associated with implementation were level of recognition, agreement and self-efficacy and positive attitude towards practice guidelines. Although the health care system in Korea differs from those in Western countries, our results revealed that the factors related to the adoption of practice guidelines were similar to the research results of Western countries. These results suggest that professionals' attitudes towards clinical practice guidelines are universal, and implementation strategies should be developed globally.

Bicalutamide-induced Interstitial Lung Disease / 결핵및호흡기질환

Androgen deprivation therapy, which is the standard treatment for metastatic prostate cancer, includes nonsteroidal antiandrogenic drugs, such as flutamide, nilutamide and bicalutamide. Of them, bicalutamide rarely induces interstitial pneumonia. We report a case of bicalutamide-induced interstitial pneumonia. A 68-year old male diagnosed with prostate cancer and multiple bone metastases presented with dry cough and low grade fever for 3 days. He had taken bicalutamide (50 mg/day) for 13 months. High resolution computed tomography revealed ground glass opacity in his right upper lung. The laboratory studies showed no eosinophilia in the serum and bronchoalveolar lavage fluid. Despite the use of antimicrobial agents for 2 weeks, the extent of the lung lesions increased to the left upper and right lower lung. He had no environmental exposure, collagen vascular disease and microbiological causes. Under the suspicion of bicalutamide-induced interstitial pneumonia, bicalutamide was stopped and prednisolone (1 mg/kg/day) was initiated. The symptoms and radiologic abnormalities were resolved with residual minimal fibrosis.

An Analysis on Factors Relating to Fiscal Deficit for Regional Health Insurance Program in Korea / 예방의학회지

This study was designed to investigate factors relating to fiscal deficit for regional health insurance. The financial statements for the fiscal year 1990 of nationwide 254 regional medical insurance societies were analyzed. Important findings are summarized below: 1. There were differences in the main reason for the financial deficit among regions when deficit and surplus societies were compared by regions. The total revenue per enrollee, especially revenue from the premium contribution of a deficit society was significantly smaller than that of a surplus society in large cities and counties. On the other hand, the total expenditure per enrollee of a deficit society was larger than that of a surplus society in small cities. 2. Both low premium irate at the beginning of health insurance program and less effort to increase the premium rate were main factors for the smaller revenue from the contribution of a deficit society in large cities and counties. 3. Larger expenditures per covered person of a deficit society in small cities were explained with larger medical expenditures especially for out-patients services rather than larger administrative expenses. 4. A regression analysis showed that utilization rates in out-patient services were significantly associated with income and numbers of total medical care institution per capita within a region where a health insurance society located. Also expenses paid by insurer per visit were associated with the proportion of utilization for tertiary care hospitals as well as the proportion of utilization of public health centers.