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Reimbursement of burns by DRG in four European countries: an analysis
1Clinic for Plastic, Hand and Reconstructive Surgery, Burn Center, BG Trauma Center, Eberhard-Karls-University, Tuebingen, Germany. oliver.lotter@freenet.de
Purpose:
To analyze the German, Austrian, Italian and Spanish Diagnosis-Related Group (DRG)-systems regarding burns.
Methods:
We analyzed 78 cases of inpatients with burns which were processed by national DRG-groupers. DRGs were linked to thresholds concerning length of stay as well as reimbursement tables of the respective countries.
Main Findings:
Fifty-one % of cases showed higher reimbursement in Germany compared to Austria, 55% compared to Italy and 67% as against Spain. Total proceeds are highest in Austria with 1,577,000 €, followed by Italy with 1,569,000 €, Germany with 1,502,000 € and Spain with 902,596 €. No correlation was found between macroeconomic key figures and our data.
Conclusions:
International comparison of reimbursement of burns by DRG could be a useful instrument for benchmarking while not depending solely on political decisions or country-specific cost data. For better comparability, hospital indices based on healthcare baskets should be discussed.
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