[Trends in the utilization of DRGs in Belgium]

In order to use DRGs as a tool for the payment of hospitals, their explanatory power on the variance of hospital expenses was tested on a sample of 42,500 patients from three university hospitals in Belgium. Their explanatory power is high for all categories of expenses (42% for length of stay, 52% for medical fees). A refinement of DRG is, however, already possible by using variables from the uniform discharges summaries as secondary diagnoses, type of admissions, use of intensive care unit. The explanatory power of these variables is high for MDC but weak for DRG. It is also necessary to define criteria of intensity of care for the nursing care. The article also illustrates some problems when using DRG and proposes some solutions. A study of specific DRGs shows us how they can be used as comparative instruments for internal management and evaluation of quality of care.