BACKGROUND: Issues concerning with the classification accuracy of Korean Outpatient Groups (KOPGs) have been raised by providers and researchers. The KOPG is an outpatient classification system used to measure casemix of outpatient visits and to adjust provider risk in charges by the Health Insurance Review & Assessment Service in managing insurance payments. The objective of this study were to refine KOPGs to improve the classification accuracy and to evaluate the refinement. METHODS: We refined the rules used to classify visits with multiple procedures, newly defined chemotherapy drug groups, and modified the medical visit indicators through reviews of other classification systems, data analyses, and consultations with experts. We assessed the improvement by measuring % of variation in case charges reduced by KOPGs and the refined system, Enhanced KOPGs (EKOPGs). We used claims data submitted by providers to the HIRA during the year 2012 in both refinement and evaluation. RESULTS: EKOPGs explicitly allowed additional payments for multiple procedures with exceptions of packaging of routine ancillary services and consolidation of related significant procedures, and discounts ranging from 30% to 70% were defined in additional payments. Thirteen chemotherapy drug KOPGs were added and medical visit indicators were streamlined to include codes for consultation fees for outpatient visits. The % of variance reduction achieved by EKOPGs was 48% for all patients whereas the figure was 40% for KOPGs, and the improvement was larger in data from tertiary and general hospitals than in data from clinics. CONCLUSION: A significant improvement in the performance of the KOPG was achieved by refining payments for visits with multiple procedures, defining groups for visits with chemotherapy, and revising medical visit indicators.
Classification ; Drug Therapy* ; Fee-for-Service Plans ; Fees and Charges ; Health Care Costs ; Hospitals, General ; Humans ; Information Systems ; Insurance ; Insurance Claim Review ; Insurance, Health ; Outpatients* ; Product Packaging ; Prospective Payment System ; Referral and Consultation

Background: The number of aging physicians is increasing as the global population ages. With aging, anesthesiologists would be expected to experience changes in their professional position. Therefore, we aimed to investigate the current professional status of Korean anesthesiologists aged over 60 years. Methods: Registered anesthesiologists aged over 60 years in Korea were invited for a survey. The questionnaire addressed 10 subjects with 40 questions that focused on demographics, practical activities, work conditions, difficulties experienced due to physical changes caused by aging, and economic status. Results: In total, 122 anesthesiologists responded to the survey (response rate: 15.7%). Of them, 30.3% were working in honorary and advisory positions at tertiary hospitals, while 19.7% were working as pain physicians. Majority of the respondents were working for 5 days a week (41.8%) and 6–8 hours/day (48.4%). Majority of them (79.5%) were generally satisfied with their present life. Conclusions Majority of the senior anesthesiologists were working at general hospitals and they reported being “satisfied” with the current status of their life. However, the clinical practice and retirement strategies of senior anesthesiologists need to be evaluated systematically to prepare for the continuing gradual increase in the number of senior anesthesiologists.

Inflammation is a common link in the pathophysiology of many neurological illnesses, including Alzheimer’s disease. Activated glial cells contribute to neuroinflammation by producing pro-inflammatory mediators. Naproxen and ibuprofen are nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs with 2-aryl(s) propionic acid as a common pharmacophore. Here we designed a small series of naproxen and ibuprofen amide dimers and tested their effects on the expression of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS), a neuroinflammatory enzyme in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated BV2 mouse microglial cells. Of note, treatment with CNU 019, 020, 021, 023, 024, and 027 at 10 M markedly inhibited the LPS-induced iNOS expression in BV2 cells. CNU 024 was tested further at different concentrations to regulate the LPS-induced iNOS expression in BV2 cells. Treatment with CNU 024 at 5, 10, or 20 M dose-dependently suppressed the LPS-induced iNOS protein and mRNA expression levels in BV2 cells, in which maximal inhibition was seen at 20 M. CNU 024 treatment at doses tested further led to a concentration-dependent inhibition of the LPS-induced phosphorylation (activation) of p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) without influencing its total protein expression in BV2 cells, but it did not affect the LPS-induced activation of c-jun N-terminal kinase-1/2 and extracellular signal-regulated kinases-1/2 in these cells. In summary, our results demonstrate that CNU 024 inhibits the LPS-induced iNOS expression in BV2 cells, partly mediated by the inhibition of p38 MAPK. This work shows that CNU 024 could be a valuable ligand for further development as a potential drug candidate for treating neuroinflammatory pathologies.

Background: The number of aging physicians is increasing as the global population ages. With aging, anesthesiologists would be expected to experience changes in their professional position. Therefore, we aimed to investigate the current professional status of Korean anesthesiologists aged over 60 years. Methods: Registered anesthesiologists aged over 60 years in Korea were invited for a survey. The questionnaire addressed 10 subjects with 40 questions that focused on demographics, practical activities, work conditions, difficulties experienced due to physical changes caused by aging, and economic status. Results: In total, 122 anesthesiologists responded to the survey (response rate: 15.7%). Of them, 30.3% were working in honorary and advisory positions at tertiary hospitals, while 19.7% were working as pain physicians. Majority of the respondents were working for 5 days a week (41.8%) and 6–8 hours/day (48.4%). Majority of them (79.5%) were generally satisfied with their present life. Conclusions Majority of the senior anesthesiologists were working at general hospitals and they reported being “satisfied” with the current status of their life. However, the clinical practice and retirement strategies of senior anesthesiologists need to be evaluated systematically to prepare for the continuing gradual increase in the number of senior anesthesiologists.

165Dy Hydroxide Macroaggregates(165Dy HMA) has a short half life(2.3 hours) and a size range of 3-5µm that give the advantage of reduced leakage and a shorter hospital stay. This report will show the results of a prospective open study on the efficacy and safety of 165Dy HMA in 178 knees of 141 patients with chronic synovitis refractory to conventional antirheumatic therapy. The final global assessment was classified as good, fair or poor. Extra-articular leakage of 165Dy HMA was determined by the scintigraphic evaluation of liver, groin and knee joints. The optimum radiation dose was 250 mCi. The mean follow up periods were 32.4(14-112) weeks. Thirty seven percent of the knees showed good results, 48% fair results and 15% poor results. In the knees with stage I radiographic changes, 82% showed improvement including 32% of the patients with good results. In the knees with stage II radiographic changes, 90% showed improvement including 42% of the patients with good results. The mean period of improvement for the 158 knees that responded to treatment was 41.4(24-106) weeks. Leakage of radioactivity from the injected joint was minimal. Adverse reactions were rare(radiation burn : 4 cases, transient postinjection swelling : 14 cases). In conclusion, 165Dy HMA radiation synovectomy is a safe and useful therapy for chromic synovitis of the rheumatoid knees.
Arthritis, Rheumatoid ; Burns ; Follow-Up Studies ; Groin ; Humans ; Injections, Intra-Articular ; Joints ; Knee Joint ; Knee ; Length of Stay ; Liver ; Prospective Studies ; Radioactivity ; Synovitis