How well do diagnosis-related groups explain variations in costs or length of stay among patients and across hospitals? Methods for analysing routine patient data

Andrew Street, Conrad Kobel, Thomas Renaud and Josselin Thuilliez
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Conrad Kobel: IMU - Innsbruck Medical University = Medizinische Universität Innsbruck
Thomas Renaud: IRDES - Institut de Recherche et Documentation en Economie de la Santé - Université Paris Dauphine-PSL - PSL - Université Paris Sciences et Lettres

Université Paris1 Panthéon-Sorbonne (Post-Print and Working Papers) from HAL

Abstract: We set out an analytical strategy to examine variations in resource use, whether cost or length of stay, of patients hospitalised with different conditions. The methods are designed to evaluate (i) how well diagnosis-related groups (DRGs) capture variation in resource use relative to other patient characteristics and (ii) what influence the hospital has on their resource use. In a first step, we examine the influence of variables that describe each individual patient, including the DRG to which the patients are assigned and a range of personal and treatment-related characteristics. In a second step, we explore the influence that hospitals have on the average cost or length of stay of their patients, purged of the influence of the variables accounted for in the first stage. We provide a rationale for the variables used in both stages of the analysis and detail how each is defined. The analytical strategy allows us (i) to identify those factors that explain variation in resource use across patients, (ii) to assess the explanatory power of DRGs relative to other patient and treatment characteristics and (iii) to assess relative hospital performance in managing resources and the characteristics of hospitals that explain this performance.

Keywords: DRGs; hospital costs; length of stay; hospital performance (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2012-08
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Published in Health Economics, 2012, 21 (Issue Supplement S2), pp.6-18. ⟨10.1002/hec.2837⟩

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Related works:
Journal Article: HOW WELL DO DIAGNOSIS‐RELATED GROUPS EXPLAIN VARIATIONS IN COSTS OR LENGTH OF STAY AMONG PATIENTS AND ACROSS HOSPITALS? METHODS FOR ANALYSING ROUTINE PATIENT DATA (2012)
Working Paper: How well do diagnosis-related groups explain variations in costs or length of stay among patients and across hospitals? Methods for analysing routine patient data (2012)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:hal:cesptp:halshs-00719777

DOI: 10.1002/hec.2837

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