Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2014 Oct;38(5):395-403.
doi: 10.4093/dmj.2014.38.5.395. Epub 2014 Oct 17.

Background and data configuration process of a nationwide population-based study using the korean national health insurance system

Sun Ok Song  1 , Chang Hee Jung  2 , Young Duk Song  3 , Cheol-Young Park  4 , Hyuk-Sang Kwon  5 , Bong Soo Cha  6 , Joong-Yeol Park  2 , Ki-Up Lee  2 , Kyung Soo Ko  7 , Byung-Wan Lee  6
Affiliations

Background and data configuration process of a nationwide population-based study using the korean national health insurance system

Sun Ok Song et al. Diabetes Metab J. 2014 Oct.

Abstract

Background: The National Health Insurance Service (NHIS) recently signed an agreement to provide limited open access to the databases within the Korean Diabetes Association for the benefit of Korean subjects with diabetes. Here, we present the history, structure, contents, and way to use data procurement in the Korean National Health Insurance (NHI) system for the benefit of Korean researchers.

Methods: The NHIS in Korea is a single-payer program and is mandatory for all residents in Korea. The three main healthcare programs of the NHI, Medical Aid, and long-term care insurance (LTCI) provide 100% coverage for the Korean population. The NHIS in Korea has adopted a fee-for-service system to pay health providers. Researchers can obtain health information from the four databases of the insured that contain data on health insurance claims, health check-ups and LTCI.

Results: Metabolic disease as chronic disease is increasing with aging society. NHIS data is based on mandatory, serial population data, so, this might show the time course of disease and predict some disease progress, and also be used in primary and secondary prevention of disease after data mining.

Conclusion: The NHIS database represents the entire Korean population and can be used as a population-based database. The integrated information technology of the NHIS database makes it a world-leading population-based epidemiology and disease research platform.

Keywords: Korea; National Health Insurance; National Health Insurance Service; Population-based data.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Operational structure of the National Health Insurance program.
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Plausible healthcare system types.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Jeong HS. Korea's National Health Insurance: lessons from the past three decades. Health Aff (Millwood) 2011;30:136–144. - PubMed
    1. Jeong HS, Niki R. Divergence in the development of public health insurance in Japan and the Republic of Korea: a multiple-payer versus a single-payer system. Int Soc Secur Rev. 2012;65:51–73.
    1. Kwon S. Healthcare financing reform and the new single payer system in the Republic of Korea: social solidarity or efficiency. Int Soc Secur Rev. 2003;56:75–94.
    1. Kwon S. Future of long-term care financing for the elderly in Korea. J Aging Soc Policy. 2008;20:119–136. - PubMed
    1. Song YJ. The South Korean Health Care System. Jpn Med Assoc J. 2009;52:206–209.

LinkOut - more resources