Experts ’ perspectives on SwissDRG: Second class care for vulnerable patient groups?

With the introduction of the Swiss diagnosis-related group (DRG) hospital in-patient payment system as of January 2012, the Swiss Federal Council aimed to create an incentive to contain the increasing cost of healthcare [1]. This new tariff structure forces hospitals to produce economically efficient outcomes by reducing the length of stay and the number of services provided as well as maximizing the number of (profitable) cases [2 –4]. Scholars and healthcare professionals have feared that its introduction would decrease the quality of care provided to patients, particularly those who would fall within the less profitable DRG groups [5,6], because the increase in the number of cases can lead to medically non-indicated treat ments, to inpatient rather than ambulatory treatments and possibly to (too) early discharge from hospital [7–9].
Source: Health Policy - Category: Health Management Authors: Source Type: research