[Test on the cost and development on the payment system of home health care nursing]

This study focused on analysing costs per home health care nursing visit based on home health care nursing activities in medical institutes.

The data was collected in three stages. First, the cost elements of home health care nursing services were collected and 31 home care nurses participated. Second, the workload and caseload of home care nursing activities were measured by the Easley-Storfjell Instrument(1997). Third, the opinions on improving the home health care nursing reimbursement system were collected by a nation-wide mailing survey from a total of 125 home care agencies.

The cost of home health care nursing per visit was calculated as 50,626 won. This was composed of a basic visiting fee of 35,090 won (about 35 $) and travel fee of 15,536 won (about 15 $). The major problems of the home care nursing payment system were the low level of the cost per visit, no distinction between first visit and revisits, and the limitations in health insurance coverage for home health care nursing services.

This study's results will contribute as a baseline for establishing policies for improvement of the home health care nursing cost and for applying a community-based visiting nursing service cost.