Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42167354›Full record

ArticleJournal of preventive medicine and public health = Yebang Uihakhoe chi2026

National Trends in Healthcare Quality in Korea: A Multidimensional Assessment Using OECD Health Care Quality Indicators (2008-2023).

Hyejin Lee, Soo-Hee Hwang, Sang-A Cho, Hyemin Jung, Youngs Chang, Jieun Yun, Sanghyun Cho, Un-Na Kim, Hye Yeon Koo, Eun Byul Cho and 2 more

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Journal of preventive medicine and public health = Yebang Uihakhoe chi, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

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0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
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1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

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Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

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5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

12 authors.

Hyejin Lee *Department of Family Medicine, Seoul National University Bundang Hospital, Seongnam, Korea.
Soo-Hee Hwang *Quality Assessment Management Department, Health Insurance Review & Assessment Service, Wonju, Korea.
Sang-A ChoQuality Assessment Management Department, Health Insurance Review & Assessment Service, Wonju, Korea.
Hyemin JungDepartment of Health Policy and Management, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
Youngs ChangDepartment of Preventive Medicine, Soonchunhyang University College of Medicine, Cheonan, Korea.
Jieun YunDepartment of Pharmaceutical Engineering, Cheongju University, Cheongju, Korea.
Sanghyun ChoDepartment of Health Policy and Management, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
Un-Na KimDepartment of Health Policy and Management, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
Hye Yeon KooDepartment of Family Medicine, Seoul National University Bundang Hospital, Seongnam, Korea.
Eun Byul ChoDepartment of Family Medicine, CHA Bundang Medical Center, Seongnam, Korea.
Do Hee KimDepartment of Family Medicine, Seoul National University Bundang Hospital, Seongnam, Korea.
Jin Yong LeeDepartment of Health Policy and Management, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea. jylee00@snu.ac.kr.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Objectives: Assessing healthcare quality at the national level is essential for evaluating health system performance and identifying areas requiring improvement. This study examined long-term trends in healthcare quality in Korea from 2008 to 2023 using internationally comparable indicators. Methods: We conducted a trend analysis of healthcare quality in Korea using the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) Health Care Quality and Outcomes framework and quality indicators. Indicators across multiple domains, including acute care, primary care, prescribing in primary care, mental healthcare, and patient experiences, were analyzed and compared with OECD averages. Results: Healthcare quality in Korea improved across several domains. Thirty-day mortality for acute myocardial infarction decreased from 14.2% in 2008 to 10.2% in 2023, while mortality for ischemic stroke declined from 8.7% to 5.5%. Avoidable hospitalizations decreased substantially, with hospitalizations for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease declining by 59.7%. The proportion of patients with diabetes receiving cholesterol-lowering treatment increased from 44.1% to 82.5%. However, the proportion of broad-spectrum antibiotic prescriptions remained substantially higher than the OECD average (40.3 vs. 15.5%). In mental healthcare, excess mortality ratios increased from 4.3 in 2010 to 4.9 in 2023 for schizophrenia and from 3.5 to 4.3 for bipolar disorder, while post-discharge suicide rates showed little improvement. Patient experience indicators related to patient-physician communication improved and approached OECD averages. Conclusions: Healthcare quality in Korea improved substantially between 2008 and 2023, particularly in acute care outcomes and chronic disease management. However, persistent challenges remain in areas such as antibiotic use, polypharmacy, and mental healthcare. These findings provide internationally comparable evidence to inform future health policy and healthcare quality improvement efforts.

Indexed as

Quality Indicators, Health CareQuality of Health CareHospitalizationHumansMyocardial InfarctionOrganisation for Economic Co-Operation and DevelopmentPrimary Health CareRepublic of KoreaHealth system performanceOrganization for Economic Cooperation and DevelopmentQuality indicators, health careQuality of health careRepublic of Korea

Identifiers

PMID42167354
PMCPMC13254470

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LicenceCC BY-NC
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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.