Development of AN-DRGs: meeting the concerns of clinicians

The diagnosis-related group (DRG) classification has been the centre of Commonwealth and various State initiatives to modify significantly the basis for funding of public hospitals in Australia. The classification has been extensively criticised by Australian clinicians as being out of date and inappropriate for several areas of medicine. Developments in Australia to improve the DRGs classification have led to the Australian national version, AN-DRGs. The differentiating features of AN-DRGs are summarised and priority areas for further development are suggested. Further substantial improvement in the classification can be obtained only if new approaches to classification design are considered and if it is supplemented by measures of severity of illness.