Medical quality control mechanism for elderly medicare inpatients in tertiary public hospitals under the diagnosis-related groups prospective payment system
10.3760/cma.j.issn.0254-9026.2025.12.018
- VernacularTitle:疾病诊断相关分组预定额付费制下三级公立医院老年医保住院患者医疗质量质控机制
- Author:
Chao LI
1
;
Yuanyuan GAI
;
Suowei WU
;
Hao CHEN
Author Information
1. 北京医院医务处 国家老年医学中心 中国医学科学院老年医学研究院，北京 100730
- Publication Type:Journal Article
- Keywords:
Medical quality;
Elderly patients;
Diagnosis Related Group System-Propective Payment System;
Age
- From:
Chinese Journal of Geriatrics
2025;44(12):1741-1749
- CountryChina
- Language:Chinese
-
Abstract:
Objective:To examine the differences in the medical quality of elderly Medicare patients in tertiary public hospitals before and after the implementation of the Diagnosis-related Group Prospective Payment System(DRG-PPS), and to explore the establishment of a long-term quality control mechanism.Methods:A total of 62, 321 inpatient first-page records was collected from Beijing Hospital, including 27, 488 cases from January to December 2019 and 34, 833 cases from January to December 2023.Firstly, the two-sample Kolmogorov-Smirnov test was applied to six sample DRG groups to analyze the statistical differences in the intra-group indicators(average per-case cost, average length of stay)among three age groups(young and middle-aged group: 18-65 years old; early elderly group: 66-79 years old; advanced elderly group: 80-99 years old)before and after the DRG-PPS reform of the medical insurance payment system.Secondly, the two-sample Kruskal-Wallis test was used to analyze the statistical differences in the indicators(total cost, medical cost, nursing cost, medical technology cost, pharmaceutical cost, consumable cost, administrative cost, and length of stay)among the three age groups within the same DRG group.Finally, the Conover test was employed for pairwise comparisons of inter-group indicators between the three groups.Results:Through the intra-group analysis of the total cost and average length of stay indicators of different age groups in the six sample DRG groups( n=6, 248), it was found that the differences were statistically significant.( Z-values for total cost in groups 1-3 was 12.69, 15.73, and 11.45, respectively; Z-values for average length of stay were 8.33, 6.73, and 3.69, respectively; all P<0.05), indicating that the DRG-PPS reform was effective in controlling hospitalization costs and length of stay.The inter-group analysis revealed statistically significant differences in total cost, nursing cost, pharmaceutical cost, consumable cost, administrative cost, and length of stay( H-values were 22.49, 41.86, 15.61, 200.56, 14.73 and 10.73, respectively; all P<0.05; ), suggesting that there were statistically significant differences in cost control among different age groups in the same DRG group.Furthermore, analysis of specific cases revealed that differences in medical costs among different age groups resulted from the combined effects of clinical practice standardization(reflected in the significant reduction of unnecessary examinations and medication)and policy interventions such as volume-based procurement excluding the adverse effects of cost containment on the medical quality of elderly patients in the six sample patient groups.No substantial rise was observed in the 31-day readmission rate, indicating that admission splitting was unlikely to have occurred. Conclusions:The implementation of the DRG-PPS contributed to cost efficiency in the sample hospital.By establishing a long-term quality control mechanism focused on DRG groups with significant cost reductions in elderly patients, abnormal cost-control behaviors can be effectively identified, and high-quality development of the hospital can be achieved while ensuring healthcare quality for elderly patients.
