Journal of Pathology and Translational Medicine

Original Articles

Current Status of Pathologic Examinations in Korea, 2011–2015, Based on the Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service Dataset: Sun-ju Byeon; J Pathol Transl Med. 2017;51(2):137-147. Published online February 22, 2017; DOI: https://doi.org/10.4132/jptm.2016.12.30

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Background
Pathologic examinations play an important role in medical services. Until recently, the overall status of pathologic examinations in Korea has not been identified. I conducted a nationwide survey of pathologic examination status using the insurance reimbursements (IRs) dataset from the Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service (HIRA). The aims of this study were to estimate current pathologic examination status in Korea and to provide information for future resource arrangement in the pathology area. Methods: I asked HIRA to provide data on IR requests, including pathologic examinations from 2011 to 2015. Pathologic examination status was investigated according to the following categories: annual statistics, requesting department, type of medical institution, administrative district, and location at which pathologic examinations were performed. Results: Histologic mapping, immunohistochemistry, and cervicovaginal examinations have increased in the last 5 years. Internal medicine, general surgery, obstetrics/gynecology, and urology were the most common medical departments requesting pathologic examinations. The majority of pathologic examinations were frequently performed in tertiary hospitals. About 60.3% of pathologic examinations were requested in medical institutions located in Seoul, Gyeonggi-do, and Busan. More than half of the biopsies and aspiration cytologic examinations were performed using outside services. The mean period between IR requests and 99 percentile IR request completion inspections was 6.2 months. Conclusions: This survey was based on the HIRA dataset, which is one of the largest medical datasets in Korea. The trends of some pathologic examinations were reflected in the policies and needs for detailed diagnosis. The numbers and proportions of pathologic examinations were correlated with the population and medical institutions of the area, as well as patient preference. These data will be helpful for future resource arrangement in the pathology area.

Citations

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Validation of the pathological prognostic staging system proposed in the revised eighth edition of the AJCC staging manual in different molecular subtypes of breast cancer
Nuri Jang, Jung Eun Choi, Su Hwan Kang, Young Kyung Bae
Virchows Archiv.2019; 474(2): 193. CrossRef

Review of Medical Advisory Services by the Korean Society of Pathologists from 2003 to 2014: Min Hye Jang, Geon Kook Lee, Han Seong Kim, Wan Seop Kim; J Pathol Transl Med. 2016;50(1):37-44. Published online November 17, 2015; DOI: https://doi.org/10.4132/jptm.2015.09.18

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Abstract PDF Supplementary Material: Background
Since 2003, the Korean Society of Pathologists (KSP) has been officially providing medical advisory services (MAS). We reviewed the cases submitted to the KSP between 2003 and 2014. Methods: In total, 1,950 cases were submitted, most by private health insurance companies. The main purposes of the consultations were to clarify the initial diagnoses and to assign a proper disease classification code. We comprehensively reviewed 1,803 consultation cases with detailed information. Results: In spite of some fluctuations, the number of submitted cases has been significantly increasing over the 12 study years. The colon and rectum (40.3%), urinary bladder (14.2%), and stomach (6.9%) were the three most common tissues of origin. The most common diagnoses for each of the three tissues of origin were neuroendocrine tumor (50.7%), non-invasive papillary urothelial carcinoma (70.7%), and adenocarcinoma (36.2%). Regardless of the tissue of origin, neuroendocrine tumor of the digestive system was the most common diagnosis (419 of 1,803). Conclusions: In the current study, we found that pathologic consultations associated with private health insurance accounted for a large proportion of the MAS. Coding of the biologic behavior of diseases was the main issue of the consultations. In spite of the effort of the KSP to set proper guidelines for coding and classification of tumors, this review revealed that problems still exist and will continue to be an important issue.

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