[Analysis of 6,879 groin hernia surgeries in the Czech Republic using data from a health insurance company]

Information about actual results of provided surgical care is difficult to obtain. We tested the insurance company billing system in terms of data usability.

6,879 groin hernia surgeries carried out from 2008 to 2015 were analysed using registry data of one health insurance company.

Groin hernia surgeries were performed by 156 providers in the Czech Republic. Day surgeries were used in 3.8% cases (248), of which laparoscopic surgeries were used in 77% (193) of patients. The other 96.2% (6,631) surgeries were carried out on inpatients with the median hospital stay of 4 days. Of this number: open procedures without the use of a mesh were done in 36.54% (2,423), open procedures using a mesh in 19.84% (1,316), and laparoscopic procedures in 43.61% (2,892) cases. Reoperations for recurrence after hernia repair were done in 1.85% (127) of all cases, while 2.76% (66) reoperations were done after open procedures without the use of a mesh, 1.66% (22) after open procedures using a mesh, and 1.19% (37) after laparoscopic surgeries. The prediction rate for recurrent hernia incidence within 5 years was 2.42% in all cases. Others parameters were also evaluated.

The study confirmed usefulness of the DRG data registry of health insurance companies for obtaining relevant information on the surgical procedures.

groin hernia - treatment - database - day surgery - health insurance company.