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Head-to-head comparison of fee-for-service and diagnosis related groups in two tertiary referral hospitals in Switzerland: an observational study

Weissenberger, Noemi and Thommen, Désirée and Schuetz, Philipp and Mueller, Beat and Reemts, Christoph and Holler, Thomas and Schifferli, Juerg A. and Gerber, Martin and Hug, Balthasar L.. (2013) Head-to-head comparison of fee-for-service and diagnosis related groups in two tertiary referral hospitals in Switzerland: an observational study. Swiss Medical Weekly, 143. w13790.

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Official URL: http://edoc.unibas.ch/dok/A6205499

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Abstract

BACKGROUND: Reimbursement for inpatients in Switzerland differed among states until 2012. Some hospitals used diagnosis related groups (DRG) and others used fee-for-service (FFS). We compared length of hospital stay (LOS), patient satisfaction and quality of life between the two systems before a nation-wide implementation of DRG. METHODS: In a prospective, two-centre observational cohort study, we identified all patients with a main diagnosis of either community-acquired pneumonia, exacerbation of chronic pulmonary obstructive disease, acute heart failure or hip fracture from January to June 2011 and performed a systematic questionnaire survey 2-4 months after hospital discharge. RESULTS: Of 1,093 inpatients, 450 were included. Mean age was 71.1 (+/-SD 19.5) years (48% male). Patients in the FFS hospital were older (mean age 74.8 vs. 65.2 years; p >0.001) and suffered from more co-morbidities. Mean LOS was 9 days and shorter in the all-patient DRG (AP-DRG) hospital (unadjusted mean 8.2 vs. 9.5 days, p = 0.04). After multivariate adjustment, no significant difference in LOS was found (p = 0.24). More patients from the FFS hospital were re-hospitalised for any reason (35% vs. 17.5%; p = 0.01), re-admitted to acute-care institutions (11.7% vs. 5.2%; p = 0.014), not satisfied with the discharge process (15.3% vs. 9.7%; p = 0.02), showed problems with self-care (93.8% vs. 88%; p = 0.03) and usual activities (79.3% vs. 76%; p = 0.02). DISCUSSION: This study suggested that the AP-DRG hospital showed higher patient satisfaction regarding discharge, lower re-hospitalisation rates and shorter LOS partly explained by a lower burden of co-morbidities and disease severity. This study needs validation in a larger cohort of patients and at multiple time points.
Faculties and Departments:03 Faculty of Medicine > Bereich Medizinische Fächer (Klinik) > Ehemalige Einheiten Medizinische Fächer (Klinik) > Stationäre innere Medizin (Schifferli)
03 Faculty of Medicine > Departement Klinische Forschung > Bereich Medizinische Fächer (Klinik) > Ehemalige Einheiten Medizinische Fächer (Klinik) > Stationäre innere Medizin (Schifferli)
UniBasel Contributors:Hug, Balthasar L. and Müller, Beat
Item Type:Article, refereed
Article Subtype:Research Article
Publisher:EMH Schweizerischer Arzteverlag
ISSN:1424-7860
e-ISSN:1424-3997
Note:Publication type according to Uni Basel Research Database: Journal article
Language:English
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Last Modified:12 Jun 2018 12:51
Deposited On:23 May 2014 08:34

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