The purpose of this study was to examine the perceptions, precedent tasks, positive and negative effects, and expandable professional tasks regarding the inclusion of dental hygienists (DHs) in the category of medical personnel. This study involved a survey of 259 DHs and 128 dentists. The findings were as follows: 94.2% of DHs and 46.9% of dentists were aware of inclusion in the category of medical personnel; 95.0% of DHs and 64.1% of dentists supported the idea; and 84.9% of DHs and 51.6% of dentists recognized its legitimacy. As for precedent tasks for inclusion in the category of medical personnel, both DHs and dentists scored high points in professional consciousness in the area of occupation. Both DHs and dentists scored the highest points in the quality management of DH education and the lowest points in the unification of school systems in the area of institution. In the area of society, DHs scored high points in the persuasion of the central government, whereas dentists scored high points in collaboration among concerned organizations. Regarding the positive effects of inclusion in the category of medical personnel, both DHs and dentists scored the highest points in the expanded perception of DHs. As for its negative effects, DHs scored high points in the aggravation of salary increase, whereas dentists scored high points in the aggravation of salary increase. Regarding expandable professional tasks after the inclusion of DHs in the category of medical personnel, the management of independent periodontal care programs recorded the highest percentage both in DHs and dentists. These findings highlight the need for adequate discussions about the meanings of the inclusion of DHs in the category of medical personnel and will hopefully contribute to the rational adjustment and legalization of DHs' works with regard to their inclusion in the category of medical personnel.
Consciousness ; Cooperative Behavior ; Dental Hygienists* ; Dentists ; Education ; Humans ; Illegitimacy ; Occupations ; Persuasive Communication ; Salaries and Fringe Benefits

Objective: Easy-to-understand information on emergency patient transportation and emergency medical resources is required to operate emergency medical resources appropriately. This study evaluated emergency patient transport routes using a geographic information system (GIS) and converted them into visual information to understand the current status of emergency medical resource use in the region. Methods: The basic data used in this study were collected from the 119 safety centers in Gangwon-do, South Korea, under the fire-fighting headquarters in Gangwon-do from January 2017 to December 2020. The data were analyzed using the geographic information system and converted to visual information. Results: The number of patients with cardiovascular disease, cerebrovascular disease, and traffic accidents was 12,944. Of these, 9,393 patients (72.6%) were transported from Chuncheon city, and 3,551 patients (27.4%) were transported out of Chuncheon city. The number of patients with cardiovascular diseases during the study period was 1,219 (9.4%); 782 patients (64.2%) were transported to the K-EMC (emergency medical center), and 437 patients (35.8%) were transported to the H-EMC. For cerebrovascular disease, 913 patients (7.1%) were transported to the EMC of Chuncheon city, with 585 (64.1%) K-EMC and 328 (35.9%) H-EMC patients. The number of traffic accident patients was 1,266 (9.8%). Five hundred and forty (42.7%) and 726 (57.3%) patients were transported to the K-EMC and H-EMC, respectively. Conclusion The adequacy of facilities, equipment, and human resources required to treat cardiac and cerebrovascular diseases in K-EMC and severe trauma in H-EMC needs to be reviewed.

Background: An accurate diagnosis in patients with interstitial lung diseases (ILDs) by multidisciplinary discussion (MDD) based on histopathologic information is essential for optimal treatment. Transbronchial lung cryobiopsy (TBLC) has increasingly been used as a diagnostic alternative to surgical lung biopsy. This study aimed to evaluate the appropriate methods of TBLC in patients with ILD in Korea. Methods: A total of 27 patients who underwent TBLC were included. TBLC procedure details and clinical MDD diagnosis using TBLC histopathologic information were retrospectively analyzed. Results: All procedures were performed under general anesthesia with the fluoroscopic guidance in the operation room using flexible bronchoscopy and endobronchial balloon blocker. The median procedure duration was less than 30 minutes, and the median number of biopsies per participant was 2. Most of the bleeding after TBLC was not severe, and the rate of pneumothorax was 25.9%. The most common histopathologic pattern was alternative (48.2%), followed by indeterminate (33.3%) and usual interstitial pneumonia (UIP)/probable UIP (18.5%). In the MDD after TBLC, the most common diagnosis was idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (33.3%), followed by smoking-related ILD (25.9%), nonspecific interstitial pneumonia (18.6%), unclassifiable-ILD (14.8%), and others (7.4%). Conclusion This first single-center experience showed that TBLC using a flexible bronchoscopy and endobronchial balloon blocker with the fluoroscopic guidance under general anesthesia may be a safe and adequate diagnostic method for ILD patients in Korea. The diagnostic yield of MDD was 85.2%. Further studies are needed to evaluate the diagnostic yield and confidence of TBLC.