BACKGROUND: The shelf life should be determined by health care facility's infection control program. The current standards for preserving the sterility can be changing. So, to measure and compare the recontamination time of sterile packs among wrappers and storage conditions, and develop a practical standard for the shelf life and storage conditions of sterile products. The purpose of this study was placed on measurement of the recontamination time in packs wrapped in all kinds of wrapping materials used in Il-San hospital and extra-costs. METHODS: The first phase study was from June to November 2002 and tile second phase study was planned to extend further the shelf life of the pouch bag from December 2002 to June 2003. Total 504 sterile sample packs containing cotton ball (5 cm-length) prepared and wrapped in four wrapping materials (randomized reprocessed two folds of lines, a fold of new craft paper, a fold of new nonwoven fabric, a fold of new pouch bag) and stored in three location (open shell of one of typical wards, open shelf of one of ICUs, open shelf of CSSD). Each type of packs were opened weekly and the cotton balls inoculated into thioglycollate broth at 35degrees C for seven days by infection control nurse. The temperature and relative humidity was monitored monthly. RESULTS: There was on growth found for any types of the pack and storage conditions studied. The temperature and relative humidity of storage locations were 24.8degrees C and 35.5 %. The extra-cost of reprocessing in Ethylene-Oxide gas sterilization was \32,800,000 and Steam sterilization was \36,900,000 by year. CONCLUSION: This study was conducted in attempt to identify the possibility of extending the current shelf life for sterile goods we use in a sense of cost effectiveness. It was possible to extend shelf life from four weeks to six months in the study hospital. We are going to continue this study and take all steps need to apply this new concept to our practice, and then trying to extend to other hospitals.
Cost-Benefit Analysis ; Costs and Cost Analysis* ; Delivery of Health Care ; Humidity ; Infection Control ; Infertility ; Steam ; Sterilization

This paper introduces the present application situation of medical consumable materials in consumption, use, quality control and computer management. It presents the concrete contents of standard management in quality guarantee, rules and regulations, and cost reduction.
Costs and Cost Analysis ; Disposable Equipment ; economics ; standards ; Quality Control

This paper introduces methods to control the cost of maintenance and repair for medical equipments through service team training, service contract control, system establishment and outside service resources, etc..
Cost Control ; Equipment and Supplies ; Maintenance ; economics ; organization & administration

BACKGROUND: This study is designed to estimate the factors that affect the level of three different performance (publicity, efficiency, profitability) among regional public hospitals. METHODS: The units of analysis are the regional 30 hospitals, which have the operating data during 22 years (from 1933 to 2014). The research method is used by fixed panel analysis. The publicity is measured by medicaid outpatient proportion and medicaid inpatient proportion. The efficiency is measured by two types of efficient score by DEA (data envelopment analysis). The profitability is measured by medical income to medical revenue and ROA (return on total asset). RESULTS: At first, the increase of bed gives negative affect to the publicity but give positive effect to the efficiency and profitability. Because it means the increase of the region population, it gives more profitability compare to hospital with small number of beds. The more the operating period is the higher effect to the publicity and efficiency because of it's refutation. The debt ratio gives negative effect to publicity, but positive effect to profitability. It is the normal belief that there is inverse relationship between publicity and profitability. The turnover rate of bed gives the negative affect to the publicity, but positive affect to the efficiency and profitability. That give us the implication that type of the inpatient make different effect the hospital performance. The ratio of labor cost give negative effect to all kind of performance. That means that the higher labor cost don't mean the higher publicity and labor cost control is very important factors to hospital performance. So the region hospital have to focus the labor factors more to make higher performance. CONCLUSION: As the conclusion, the independent variables give similar effect to the efficiency and the profitability, but give inverse effect to the publicity. That means that if an region hospital want to make the more publicity, it loss the higher efficiency and profitability. Specially publicity is higher negative relation with the profitability.
Cost Control ; Hospitals, Public ; Humans ; Inpatients ; Medicaid ; Methods ; Outpatients

BACKGROUND: Clinical microbiological tests are conducted at night, on weekends, and during public holidays in various manners due to the fact that both manual processes and the form of working type, are not well known. Therefore, we surveyed the current running condition of these laboratories and made some suggestions for better-quality clinical microbiology tests. METHODS: We conducted a survey, both online and offline, focusing on the operating styles of clinical microbiological tests within laboratories that had participated in an external quality assessment program, conducted by the Korean Association of External Quality Assessment Service (KEQAS). RESULTS: Out of 341 laboratories that participated in the microbiology program of KEQAS, 128 replied to our questionnaires. In Korea, various types of operations occur within clinical microbiology laboratories. Those in night duty operate in either shifts or dedicated duties. In the case of weekend shifts, they either operated on single-day schedules (either on a Saturday or a Sunday), or over the entire weekend. For public holidays, the laboratories operated in various manners, depending on the number of days off. Among the clinical microbiological tests conducted at night, on weekends, and during public holidays, Gram staining and inoculations are the most common tasks carried out, with some laboratories conducting antibiotic susceptibility tests as well. CONCLUSIONS: Rapid reporting of clinical microbiological test results is currently inadequate due to both cost and labor constraints, despite its many advantages. It would be ultimately beneficial for both the patient and the hospital to switch to a 24/7 operating schedule through the utilization of a variety of methods, including cost control, coordination of a fine workforce, and prioritization of tests needing to be reported.
Appointments and Schedules ; Consensus ; Cost Control ; Holidays ; Humans ; Korea ; Running

OBJECTIVE: To analyze the medical equipment operation data of 44 clinical departments in the hospital from three aspects: materials and consumables, operation and maintenance depreciation, and operation management. METHODS: To formulate the evaluation standards and scoring criteria for the operation indicators, the lowest score is 0 points, and the highest score is 5 points. Based on the operation indicators of medical equipment, establish a hierarchical structure model, determine the criterion layer and sub-criteria layer, construct a judgment matrix, normalize it, and calculate the weight coefficient. RESULTS: Count equipment operation data in 2021 and 2022. Score according to the assessment standards, assign weights through the analytic hierarchy process, calculate the total score and sort, and making a special analysis on the top 10 departments and departments with a score below 4 points, and formulate a rectification plan. CONCLUSIONS The establishment of index assessment standards and the weight distribution of AHP can effectively enhance the control of equipment operating costs.
Analytic Hierarchy Process ; Rationalization ; Surgical Equipment ; Reference Standards ; Cost Control

BACKGROUND: Cost control in general anesthesia is no longer an option; it is a necessity. New anesthetics have entered the market, but economic differences in comparison to standard anesthetic regimens are not exactly known. The purpose of this study was to compare the cost of a sevoflurane-based strategy with a propofol-based general anesthetic technique. METHODS: Eighty patients undergoing elective surgery were randomly divided into two groups, with 40 patients each. The propofol group received propofol with remifentanil infusion, and the sevoflurane group received sevoflurane with N2O 50%, O2 50% for anesthesia. Sevoflurane consumption was measured by weighing the vaporizer using a precision weighing machine. We recorded the use of all drugs for the induction and maintenance of anesthesia, and postoperative pain control in the postoperative anesthesia care unit. RESULTS: The recovery characteristics were not significantly different in the two groups. Total (intra and postoperative) cost were significantly higher in the propofol group than in the sevoflurane group. CONCLUSIONS: We conclude that in today's climate of cost savings, a comprehensive pharmacoeconomic approach is needed.
Anesthesia ; Anesthesia, General ; Anesthetics ; Climate ; Cost Control ; Cost Savings ; Costs and Cost Analysis ; Humans ; Methyl Ethers ; Nebulizers and Vaporizers ; Pain, Postoperative ; Piperidines ; Propofol

Congenital Abnormalities ; economics ; prevention & control ; Cost Control ; Humans ; Public Health Practice ; economics

This study has been focused on understandings for the problems of dietitian who perform nutrition service in the field of industry foodservice and then focused on using of its findings as basic material for smooth nutrition service performance through analyzing job satisfaction, job characteristic and its importance of dietitians' task in industry foodservice. A questionnaire survey of 120 nutritionists who have engaged themselves in industry foodservice-60 are under direct management and 60, held in trust-has been performed, and 95 responses (79%) have been collected and categorized, except some unfinished responses. The examined data have been classified statistically by using of SPSS, and then analyzed into frequency, percentage, mean value, standard deviation, and correlation among factors, according to questionnaires. The findings of the research can be summarized as following: The details of the surveyed dietitians were: 20~25 years old on an average; working less than two years; college graduates; mere employees; receiving monthly pay of 70~100 won on an average; working more than 52 hours weekly; and providing with four meals a day in a single menu. For job satisfaction and job characteristic, the service itself and the understanding of the service appear as main features. For the relative importance of the service, the findings show that the menu making, sanitation and cost control occupy an important position, while nutrition counseling, nutrition education and dietary control by ailments make up very low portion. For the cause of not enacting the nutrition service, the lack of counseling ability and the overburden of food service are at the top. The findings of this research, therefore, present the needs of the service capacity education and the reduction of excessive foodservice hours of dietitians in order to secure the efficient nutrition service in industry foodservice. To achieve this goal, first of all, there should be an intensive education course in school by using of practice hours. for enhancing practical service adaptability, and then the computerization of foodservice should be executed perfectly to reduce the excessive foodservice hours.
Cost Control ; Counseling ; Education ; Food Services ; Humans ; Job Satisfaction* ; Meals ; Nutritionists* ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; Sanitation

PURPOSE: The appendectomy is the most common emergent surgical procedure in elderly patients. The increasing number of elderly persons has been accompanied by an increase in the number of cases of acute appendicitis in the elderly. In order to understand the clinical significance of a laparoscopic appendectomy for elderly patients with appendicitis, we investigated the results of a laparoscopic appendectomy for treating patients over 60 years of age with appendicitis and compared them with the results for an open technique. METHODS: We studied retrospectively patients over 60 years of age who underwent an appendectomy with either a laparoscopic (LA) or open (OA) technique for appendicitis between July 2007 and December 2009. There were 30 patients in the LA group and 47 patients in the OA group. The demographic data, operative time, length of the hospital stay, bowel movement, pain control, cost, complications and pre-existing disease were assessed. RESULTS: There were no significant differences between the LA and the OA groups with respect to pre-existing diseases, gender, age, American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) score and the number of cases of complicated appendicitis, operative time, length of hospital stay, and times of analgesics use. However, the proportion of early gas out (within POD #2) was significantly greater in the LA group (80% vs. 57%, P < 0.05), and postoperative complications were significantly lower in the LA group (7% vs. 32%, P < 0.01). The costs for the two groups were not significantly different. CONCLUSION: A laparoscopic appendectomy is a safe and effective procedure in elderly patients and is not associated with any increase in morbidity. It can be recommended for routine use in treating elderly patients with appendicitis.
Aged ; Analgesics ; Appendectomy ; Appendicitis ; Cost Control ; Humans ; Length of Stay ; Operative Time ; Postoperative Complications ; Retrospective Studies