[Analysis of hospital mortality in the Croatian Republic using selected indicators]

Mortality trends and distribution in a system of 32 general and teaching hospitals in the Republic of Croatia for the years 1966 through 1989, separately for 1986/1987, were evaluated as a possible informational support to the national policies regarding developing of health care system. By means of 13 elaborated and/or selected indicators, using hospital health statistics as a data base, we measured the changes in the dynamics, structure and level of death at institutions, individual medical departments and among patients. Hospitals mortality statistics was found to offer a good informational orientation for monitoring realization of the hospital's restructuring activities envisaged under the Aim 29 of the Croatian strategy Health for All by the Year 2000 as well as for planning technical surveillance and streamlining the special statistical studies on inpatient health care. It can also provide a solid base for the evaluation of the quality of inpatient medical care, if the diagnosis of causes of death is improved, methodology for sentinel-health-events adopted, commissions for the evaluation of inpatient health care organized, medical registration units established and the National Register of Autopsy begun.