[Comparing the economy of outpatient versus inpatient rehabilitation]

This article outlines the findings of a project comparing the economic effects of outpatient and inpatient rehabilitation in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. The study statistically covers the total population of applicants for orthopaedic-traumatologic rehabilitation who are suitable for outpatient rehabilitation. As a randomised and controlled study, it compares outcome parameters of the two variants of rehabilitation. Because the results are approximately equal, analysing the differences between amounts and periods of payments and costs for the pension insurance agency do not result in disadvantages for the patients. The results obtained from the investigation confirm that, in suitable patients, outpatient rehabilitation can achieve approximately the same outcomes as inpatient rehabilitation--but at distinctly lower cost.