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KMID : 0387320100200040001
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Korean Journal of Health Policy and Administration
2010 Volume.20 No. 4 p.1 ~ p.18
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A revisit to policy agenda concerned with the distortion of functional differentiation among health care providers
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Han Dal-Sun
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Abstract
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Much policy attention has been directed to the concentration of patients in large hospitals, especially in tertiary care hospitals. In order to address the problem, the government has enforced referral requirement for accessing care in tertiary care hospitals by denying insurance benefits to the patients who do not observe the requirement. This approach somehow has failed to produce expected effects although it still exists in theory. The concentration of patients in a certain type of providers results in the distortion of functional differentiation among various types of providers and vice versa. Thus the approaches for the alleviation of the problem should be directed to both patients and providers. However, policy approaches has so far focused on ways of directly affecting patients’ choice of a provider neglecting the effects of providers. Based upon the observation, this paper has reviewed selected issues that should be considered in agenda setting for policies concerned with the concentration of patients in large hospitals or the distortion of functional differentiation among health care providers. A brief discussion of each of the issues suggests three general guidelines for the formulation and implementation of policies intended to address the problem. First, attention should be directed to both patients and providers. Secondly, it is necessary to employ diverse measures including regulation, incentives and administrative supports. Thirdly, some of the approaches should be planned from a long range perspective, for it often takes a long time to change some aspects of health care utilization and provision.
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KEYWORD
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health care delivery system, referral requirement, functional differentiation among health care providers
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