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KMID : 0387320020120020043
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Korean Journal of Health Policy and Administration
2002 Volume.12 No. 2 p.43 ~ p.75
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Factors Affecting the Financial Structure of Hospitals in Korea
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Choi Man-Kyu
Moon Ok-Ryun
Hwang In-Kyung
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Abstract
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This study focuses on the factors that make the financial structure of hospitals in Korea different, and on recommended courses of action that could be very helpful to hospitals in maintaining a sound financial structure. Data used in this study were collected from 132 hospitals with complete general data of present conditions as well as financial statements. They were chosen from the 174 hospitals that passed the standardization audit undertaken by the Korean Hospital Association from 1996 to 2000 for the purpose of accrediting training hospitals. The dependent variable in this study is financial structure. It consists of liabilities as against total assets (total liabilities to total assets, short-term liabilities to total assets, long-term liabilities to total assets, short-term borrowings to total assets, long-term borrowings to total assets). The independent variables are ownership type, hospital type, location, whether or not a representative is a director of the hospital, the possibility of changing a hospital director, bed size, period of establishment, asset structure, profitability, growth, tax shields, business risk, competition. The factors that appear to have the strongest impact on the liabilities to total assets of all the hospitals sampled are ownership type, hospital type, profitability, tax shields, and business risk. It was found that not-for-profit private hospitals and for-profit private hospitals have more liabilities than public hospitals, and tertiary medical institutions have less liabilities than the secondary general hospitals. Moreover, hospitals earning more at the expense of high business risk have a distinct tendency to lower liabilities. Concerning the current ratio, it was found that factors such as ownership type, hospital type, period of establishment, asset structure, and business risk are the more significant variables. The current ratio of public hospitals is higher than that of both not-for-profit private hospitals and for-profit private hospitals, and the current ratio of tertiary medical institutions is higher than that of general hospitals. As business risk is higher in hospitals compared to other businesses, the current ratio becomes higher; this is because it is assumed that for fear of bankruptcy, hospitals lessen liabilities to total assets. On the other hand, as hospitals become older, the fixed assets to total assets become lower. It is remarkable that in hospitals, the factors affecting liabilities to total assets have an opposite regression coefficient sign against factors affecting current ratio. It brings out the same results borne out by the old financial theories and researches, in which a lot of the liabilities of hospitals are considered as the cause of worsening liquidity. Therefore, it is very important for hospitals to maintain a sound financial structure in order to survive using the rational acquisition and maintenance of capital.
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KEYWORD
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hospital financial structure, liabilities to total assets, borrowings to total assets, current ratio
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