Lee A H, Codde J
School of Public Health, Curtin University of Technology.
Aust Health Rev. 2000;23(4):126-33.
This study analysed and compared the determinants of length of inpatient stay between the rural and metropolitan public hospitals. The investigation was based on the 1998/99 Western Australia patient discharge data. A Cox regression model was used due to the high proportion of patient transfers in the rural hospitals. It was found that several variables were associated with length of stay (LOS) variations within Diagnosis Related Groups (DRG). The method provides additional insights to hospital management and clinicians in assessing the risk of prolonged hospitalisation. From a state government perspective, a DRG payment adjustment strategy may be developed for different categories of admitted patient episodes. The analysis has implications on the formulation of differential funding rates between rural and metropolitan hospitals.
本研究分析并比较了农村和城市公立医院住院时间的决定因素。该调查基于1998/99年西澳大利亚州患者出院数据。由于农村医院患者转院比例较高，因此使用了Cox回归模型。研究发现，在诊断相关组（DRG）中，有几个变量与住院时间（LOS）变化相关。该方法为医院管理层和临床医生评估住院时间延长风险提供了更多见解。从州政府的角度来看，可以针对不同类别的入院患者制定DRG支付调整策略。该分析对制定农村和城市医院之间的差别资助率具有启示意义。
