Case-mix management enhances profitability.

As hospitals are now assuming more financial risk for the mix of cases and the resources being used in providing treatment, it is becoming more essential that providers efficiently track and manage the types of cases in their organizations. This article, the second in a six-part series on managing managed care, describes how one healthcare system has developed a case-mix management process using a financially-based service line organizational framework to monitor and control performance. Future articles in this series will continue to present how hospitals are successfully, and sometimes unsuccessfully, dealing with the problems and challenges of managed care.