Case-mix measurement in medical rehabilitation

Case-mix measurement offers a way to take patient characteristics into account in the determination of payment rates. This article begins with an overview of major case-mix measures across inpatient hospital and other institutional settings and describes ways to measure the suitability and relative strengths of these measures. It then briefly discusses issues of payment and the appropriateness of alternative case-mix measures to inpatient rehabilitation. The literature review extends back to the 1970s, thus preceding advent of the Diagnosis-Related Groups, which was the first major case-mix measure developed and implemented in a hospital setting.