The severity of illness index: an interview with Susan D. Horn.

HCSM's interview this month is with Susan D. Horn, PhD, Associate Director, Center for Hospital Finance and Management at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland. Dr. Horn, heading a research team at Johns Hopkins, has developed a patient classification system based on patient severity and medical diagnosis. In early testing, this index has proven more accurate than DRGs in capturing the homogeneity of resource use in individual diagnostic categories. Severity data also has implications for health care strategic planning. In this interview, Dr. Horn discusses the index and its benefits and then contrasts it to the DRG system.