[Neurological complex treatment: impact on mortality in the first year and costs for statutory health insurance]

The purpose of this study was to compare standard treatment of strokes with a complex form, defined by the German procedure classification.

3827 patients in 2005 were compared with 4315 patients in 2007 concerning mortality within hospital and 30, 90 and 360 days after hospital admission. Furthermore, the costs for the statutory health insurances were linked to the mortality rates. 2005 was set as proxy for the standard treatment and 2007 as proxy for the neurological complex treatment.

There were significant differences in the 1-year mortality with a 3.11 percentage point reduction (p < 0.0373). For the other periods, there were no significant deviations. The cost for the statutory health insurance per case rose with an average of 0.4809 cost weights.

There are hints of an improvement in the long-term mortality after the introduction of complex neurological treatment. For the health insurance significant additional costs ensue, which are in an international published range. On the other hand, savings by improving the morbidity must be taken into account.