The purpose of this study is to present the information on the duration of treatment and the cost of work-related low back pain. Using the compensation-database for 1997 work-related low back pain (n=9,277), this study estimated the duration of treatment, the cost of work-related low back pain, the relationship between them, and probability of being off treatment at different intervals. The mean and the median of the treatment duration are 252.6 days and 175 days. The mean and the median of the cost of total insurance benefit are 37,700,000 won and 14,400,000 won. The treatment duration of 51% of the study subjects was less than 6 months and their cost accounted for 10.2% of the total insurance benefit. The subjects who were treated more than 24 months were 5.8% but it accounted for 29.2% of the cost. It was found that approximately 50% of the subjects who will remain on treatment at the end of n months would be off treatment at the end of n+5 months. This study presents the point in time when the low back pain (LBP) workers need to prepare to return to work by forecasting their off-treatment period. From the treat duration and cost perspectives, this study may be utilized as evidence for active management of work-related LBP.
Absenteeism ; Back Injuries/*therapy ; Bayes Theorem ; *Cost of Illness ; Costs and Cost Analysis ; Disability Evaluation ; Humans ; Insurance, Health ; Korea ; Low Back Pain/*therapy ; Sick Leave ; Time Factors ; Work ; Workers' Compensation

OBJECTIVE: Pain has long been regarded as a subjective symptom. Recently, however, some regard a type of intractable chronic pain as a disease. Furthermore, chronic persistent pain becomes a cause of permanent impairment (PI). In 6th edition, the American Medical Association (AMA) Guides has rated the pain as a PI. In Korea, pain has been already been rated as a PI. Here, we examined the present status and the prospect of disability evaluation for the pain in Korea. METHODS: Pain can be rated as a PI by the Workmen's Compensation Insurance Act (WCIA) and Patriots and Veterans Welfare Corporation Act (PVWCA) in Korea. We examined the definition, diagnostic criteria and grades of the pain related disability (PRD) in these two acts. We also examined legal judgments, which were made in 2005 for patients with severe pain. We also compared the acts and the judgments to the criteria of the 6th AMA Guides. RESULTS: The PRD can be rated as one of the 4 grades according to the WCIA. The provisions of the law do not limit the pain only for the complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS). The PRD can be rated as one of the 3 grades by the PVWCA. If there were objective signs such as osteoporosis, joint contracture and muscle atrophy corresponding to the CRPS, the grade is rated as 6. When the pain always interferes with one's job except easy work, the grade is rated as high as 5. In Korea, judicial precedents dealt the pain as a permanent disability in 2005. CONCLUSION: Although there were no objective criteria for evaluation of the PRD, pain has been already rated as a PI by the laws or judicial precedents, in Korea. Thus, we should regulate the Korean criteria of PRD like the AMA 6th edition. We also should develop the objective tools for evaluation of the PRD near in future.
American Medical Association ; Chronic Pain ; Contracture ; Craniocerebral Trauma ; Disability Evaluation ; Glycolates ; Humans ; Insurance ; Joints ; Judgment ; Jurisprudence ; Korea ; Muscular Atrophy ; Osteoporosis ; Treatment Outcome ; Veterans ; Workers' Compensation

Generally, the role of doctors has been limited in prevention, diagnosis and treatment of diseases. However, the role has recently expanded in improving the quality of life and evaluating the impairments of various disease. Evaluation of impairment in the psychiatric area has much more difficulty than others. Symptoms of psychiatric disorders have subjective, diverse and changeable. Also, previous tools such as McBride Disability Evaluation, Law of Workmen's Accident Compensation Insurance and Law of National Compensation, are not accepted as universal instruments in psychiatric area because of their own limitation. Consequently, the Department of Impairment Evaluation Committee in Korean Neuropsychiatric Association has revised, evaluated and investigated previous diverse guidelines related with evaluation of psychiatric impairments to make reasonable and adaptable new guidelines which include recent medical opinions. We hope this guideline could be used pertinently in evaluation of psychiatric impairment in every situations.
Compensation and Redress ; Diagnosis ; Disability Evaluation ; Hope ; Insurance ; Jurisprudence ; Neuropsychiatry ; Quality of Life

In orthopedic practice, patients sometimes ask certain kinds of medical documents certifying their disability grading. But many orthopedic surgeons are not accustomed to issue such medical certificates. So we want to review the way of evaluation and grading of disabilities for such different kinds of medical certificates(for examples: disability grading certificate for use in traffic accident, industrial accident, liability of national compensation, private insurance, the handicapped, military service and others) and compare the differences between them.
Accidents, Occupational ; Accidents, Traffic ; Compensation and Redress ; Disability Evaluation ; Disabled Persons ; Humans ; Insurance ; Military Personnel ; Orthopedics*

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: In disability rating of hearing injury, there are some medicolegal considerations, such as discrepancy in estimating values between McBride system and the American Medical Association system, and difficulties in judging the hearing level in boundary cases. We have therefore felt the need of complementary hearing disability evaluation methods that reflect reality. As a first step, we have pointed out current situation and problems in legal advisory cases of hearing injury. SUBJECTS AND METHOD: For the past 14 years, we have provided legal advisory on hearing injury for 121 cases for courts (group A) or insurance companies (group B). Eleven cases of 'aggravation of disability' were excluded. Data were summarized and tested statistically. We have used unpaired t-test for continuous variables such as age, hearing, hearing disability, disability rating, Fisher's exact test for dichotomous variable such as gender, group (A/B), and Pearson's correlation test for correlation coefficients between continuous variables. RESULTS: Subjects were more frequently males (3:1) and in the fifth decade of life. The averages of audiometry were around 40 dB. There were significant differences in hearing and disability rating between younger and older group. Group B is significantly older than group A. The type of disability or accident did not influence hearing and disability rating. CONCLUSION: This paper could help figure out the current situation with respect to medicolegal considerations of hearing injury discrepancies in disability rating and could also serve well to recognize the necessity for a complementary hearing disability evaluation method, especially for borderline hearing level.
American Medical Association ; Audiometry ; Disability Evaluation ; Hearing Loss ; Hearing* ; Humans ; Insurance ; Jurisprudence ; Male

OBJECTIVE: The aims of this study were to refer descriptive statistics of the disability duration in musculoskeletal injured patients in the automobile accidents. METHOD: The authors chose 469,319 injured patients in traffic accidents as subjects that met inclusion criteria with 8 representative Abbreviated Injury Scale (AIS) comparable with 4th edition of Korean standard classification of diseases. Mean, standard deviation, mode, median, maximum and minimum of 8 representative AIS code were calculated. RESULTS: Mean disability duration for minor cervical sprain was 18.8 days, that of moderate cervical disc herniation was 56.2 days, that of serious cervical disc herniation was 141.5 days, that of minor lumbar sprain was 21.2 days, that of moderate lumbar disc herniation was 53.5 days, that of serious lumbar disc herniation was 128.1 days, that of sprain of 3 major joint in lower limb without desmorrhexis was 24.0 days, and that of dislocation or desmorrhexis of 3 major joint in lower limb was 101.2 days. CONCLUSION: Disability duration of the representative musculoskeletal diseases comparable to AIS code in 4th edition of Korean standard classification of diseases was presented and this study can be utilized as a basic recommended disability duration of automobile injured persons.
Abbreviated Injury Scale ; Accidents, Traffic ; Automobiles* ; Classification ; Dislocations ; Humans ; Insurance, Disability ; Joints ; Length of Stay ; Lower Extremity ; Musculoskeletal Diseases ; Sprains and Strains

OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study is to investigate the clinical characteristics of neurocognitive functions in patients with traumatic brain injury referred for mental disability evaluation. METHODS: The neurocognitive functions of 293 patients, who were referred for mental disability evaluation, were assessed using a computerized neurocognitive test. The patients were divided into three groups according to head trauma history and brain imaging studies. We also measured their intelligence and memory, using the K-WAIS and the Rey-Kim Memory Test. RESULTS: The group with organic mental disorder showed more impaired concentration, language, memory, intelligence, executive function and visuospatial function than those with nonorganic mental disorder without traumatic brain injury. The group with organic mental disorder also showed greater impairments in selective attention, some part of language, long-term memory, and hypothesis formation than those with postconcussional disorder. The group with organic mental disorder obtained lower intelligence and memory test scores than those with postconcussional disorder and nonorganic mental disorder without traumatic brain injury. There was no difference in intelligence or memory between postconcussional disorder and nonorganic mental disorder without traumatic brain injury. CONCLUSION: Patients with postconcussional disorder share the characteristics of neurocognitive function with organic mental disorder and nonorganic mental disorder without traumatic brain injury. We suggest the computerized neurocognitive test that evaluated details of neurocognitive functions for patients with traumatic brain injury referred for mental disability evaluation.
Brain ; Brain Injuries ; Craniocerebral Trauma ; Neurocognitive Disorders ; Disability Evaluation ; Executive Function ; Humans ; Insurance ; Intelligence ; Memory ; Memory, Long-Term ; Mental Disorders ; Neuroimaging

With the rapid aging of the population, Korea introduced public long-term care insurance for older people in 2008. The long-term care insurance was designed as a separate scheme from the national health insurance, with eligibility qualifications and the certification process based on functional disability, benefits and coverage of community-based and institutional care, and a financing structure through multi-party contributions. Delivering appropriate health services to long-term care beneficiaries who manifest a high prevalence of comorbid chronic conditions with rising healthcare costs, however, presents a particular challenge. The lack of coordination between the health and long-term care sectors, limited consideration of physicians' assessments in the certification process, inadequate provision of health services in long-term care facilities, and overlapping and inefficient use of care resources act as barriers to providing comprehensive healthcare for older beneficiaries. Through active participation in the long-term care system, health professionals can help older patients navigate through the complex long-term care terrain to obtain quality healthcare.
Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Delivery of Health Care/*economics ; Disability Evaluation ; Humans ; Insurance, Long-Term Care/*economics ; Middle Aged ; National Health Programs/economics

The incidence of hearing impairment is increasing due to growth of the population of the elderly, industrialization and noise exposure. Evaluation of hearing impairment are frequently made in purpose of compensation, indemnification or welfare policy of the disabled. Evaluation of hearing impairment is a process to diagnose and to evaluate the disability under objective criteria. Several domestic and international standards have been proposed including legal acts such as the disable welfare law, industrial accident compensation insurance and the national pensions act. There are also medical counsel standards such as Korean academy of medical sciences disability evaluation standards, disability standards of American medical association and disability evaluation of McBride. In order to assess the hearing impairment fairly, thorough understanding about the difference of the purposes and standards of each guideline of hearing impairment is needed. Therefore in this article, the domestic and the international standards for the evaluation method of hearing impairment which was revised recently and their differences are discussed.
Accidents, Occupational ; Aged ; American Medical Association ; Compensation and Redress ; Disability Evaluation ; Hearing ; Hearing Loss ; Humans ; Incidence ; Insurance ; Jurisprudence ; Noise ; Pensions ; Industrial Development

Ataxia-telangiectasia (AT; OMIM 208900) is a rare autosomal recessive inherited progressive neurodegenerative disorder, with onset in early childhood. AT is caused by homozygous or compound heterozygous mutations in ATM (OMIM 607585) on chromosome 11q22. The average prevalence of the disease is estimated at 1 of 100,000 children worldwide. The prevalence of AT in the Republic of Korea is suggested to be extremely low, with only a few cases genetically confirmed thus far. Herein, we report a 5-year-old Korean boy with clinical features such as progressive gait and truncal ataxia, both ankle spasticity, dysarthria, and mild intellectual disability. The patient was identified as a compound heterozygote with two novel genetic variants: a paternally derived c.5288_5289insGA p.(Tyr1763*) nonsense variant and a maternally derived c.8363A>C p.(His2788Pro) missense variant, as revealed by next-generation sequencing and confirmed by Sanger sequencing. Based on claims data from the Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service Republic of Korea, we calculated the prevalence of AT in the Republic of Korea to be about 0.9 per million individuals, which is similar to the worldwide average. Therefore, we suggest that multi-gene panel sequencing including ATM should be considered early diagnosis.
Ankle ; Ataxia ; Ataxia Telangiectasia* ; Child ; Child, Preschool ; Databases, Genetic ; Dysarthria ; Early Diagnosis ; Gait ; Heterozygote ; High-Throughput Nucleotide Sequencing ; Humans ; Insurance, Health ; Intellectual Disability ; Male ; Muscle Spasticity ; Neurodegenerative Diseases ; Prevalence* ; Republic of Korea* ; Spinocerebellar Degenerations