title: Having a usual source of care and its associated factors in Korean adults: a cross-sectional study of the 2012 Korea Health Panel Survey.
abstract: Usual source of care (USC) is one of the hallmarks of primary care. We aimed to examine the status of having a USC and its patient-related sociodemographic factors among Korean adults.
  
  
  
  Data were obtained from the 2012 Korea Health Panel survey. Panel participants were selected for the study who were aged 18 years or older and who replied to questionnaire items on having a USC (n = 11,935).
  
  
  
  Of the participants, 21.5% had a usual place and 13.9% had a usual physician. Reasons for not having a USC were seldom being ill (66.1%), the preference to visit multiple medical institutions (27.9%), and others. The private community clinic was the most common type of usual place (57.0%). In patient-reported attributes of care provided by a usual physician, the percentages of positive responses for comprehensiveness and coordination were 67.2% and 34.5%, respectively. By institution type, primary care clinics showed the lowest percentage (32.8%) of positive responses for coordination. Adjusted odds ratios of having a usual physician were 3.77 (95% confidence interval, CI: 3.75-3.79) for those aged 65 years or older (vs. aged 18-34 years), 1.31 (CI: 1.30-1.31) for females (vs. males), 0.72 (CI: 0.72-0.73) for unmarried people (vs. married), 1.16 (CI: 1.16-1.16) for college graduates or higher (vs. elementary school graduate or less), 0.64 for the fifth quintile (vs. the first quintile) by household income, 1.53 (CI: 1.52-1.54) for Medical Aid (vs. employee health insurance) for type of health insurance, and 4.09 (CI: 4.08-4.10) for presence (vs. absence) of a chronic diseases.
  
  
  
  The proportion of Korean adults who have a USC is extremely low, the most influential factor of having a USC is having a chronic disease or not, and Korean patients experience much poorer health care coordination than do patients in other industrialized countries. The findings of this study will give insight to researchers and policy makers regarding the potential facilitators of and barriers to promoting having a USC in the general Korean public.
authors.affiliation: Public Health Medical Service Department, Seoul National University Hospital, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Ah Reum
authors.initials: AR
authors.lastname: An
authors.affiliation: Department of Family Medicine, Inje University Paik Hospital, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Kyoungwoo
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Department of Family Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea College of Medicine, 222 Banpo-daero, Seocho-gu, Seoul, 137-701, Korea. jaeholee@catholic.ac.kr.
authors.forename: Jae-Ho
authors.identifier: 0000-0001-5184-7437
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.affiliation: Department of Family Medicine, Dongguk University Ilsan Hospital, Goyang, Korea.
authors.forename: Nak-Jin
authors.initials: NJ
authors.lastname: Sung
authors.affiliation: Department of Preventive Medicine, College of Medicine, University of Ulsan, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Sang-Il
authors.initials: SI
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.affiliation: Department of Preventive Medicine, College of Korean Medicine, Dongguk University, Gyeongju, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Min Kyung
authors.initials: MK
authors.lastname: Hyun
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D002908:Chronic Disease; D003151:Community Health Centers / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D003191:Comprehensive Health Care / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D019091:Critical Pathways / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006291:Health Policy; D006304:Health Status; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D007348:Insurance, Health; D008297:Male; D057240:Patient Preference; D011320:Primary Health Care / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D056910:Republic of Korea; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Health policy; Korea; Primary health care; Surveys and questionnaires