Casemix and affective disorders: a comparison of private and public psychiatric systems.

OBJECTIVE

To determine whether there is a difference in length of stay for patients with affective disorders between private and public psychiatric hospitals.

METHOD

The casemix Australian national diagnosis-related group (AN-DRG) diagnoses of all inpatient separations from private and public psychiatric hospitals in South Australia for 1 year were abstracted from records. The average length of stay for patients with affective disorders was calculated.

RESULTS

There was no significant difference in the average length of stay for patients with affective disorders treated in private and public psychiatric hospitals.

CONCLUSIONS

These results should allay fears that the treatment of patients with affective disorders in any particular treatment setting will be compromised by the introduction of casemix.