Abstract
Activity-based financing of acute somatic hospitals was introduced in Norway in July 1997, succeeding financing by frame budgets. The financing is based on estimated costs per DRG and total number of DRG points produced. Since 2006, the reimbursement to the hospitals has been 40 percent of the total estimated costs. This is a strong incentive for the hospitals to maximize the patient volume and hence the number of DRG points. The mean length of stay at Norwegian hospitals has been decreasing annually, from 5.67 days in 2002, to 5.15 days in 2005, and to 4.75 days in 2008. During the same period, the readmission rate has increased from 10.24 in 2002 to 11.77 in 2008. The aim of this study is to estimate reimbursements associated with readmissions. We are going to study changes from 2002 until 2008, and investigate if there was any difference between surgical patients and others.
Highlights
Activity-based financing of acute somatic hospitals was introduced in Norway in July 1997, succeeding financing by frame budgets
The total number of DRG points for readmitted patients increased by a percentage of 36.2 during the period 2002-2008, more than twice that of the increase of the total number of DRG points for all patients (17.1 per cent)
Patients grouped into a surgical DRG had fewer readmissions than other patients
Summary
Activity-based financing of acute somatic hospitals was introduced in Norway in July 1997, succeeding financing by frame budgets. The financing is based on estimated costs per DRG and total number of DRG points produced. Since 2006, the reimbursement to the hospitals has been 40 percent of the total estimated costs. This is a strong incentive for the hospitals to maximize the patient volume and the number of DRG points. The mean length of stay at Norwegian hospitals has been decreasing annually, from 5.67 days in 2002, to 5.15 days in 2005, and to 4.75 days in 2008. The readmission rate has increased from 10.24 in 2002 to 11.77 in 2008
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