BOOKS OF RtfiDIfGS - PAHO/WHO

CA .IIX DEFINITION BY DRG
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differences among providers still remain
with respect to length of stay and other
output mneasures which cannot be accounted
for by patient characteristics ora.
surgical procedures.
The development of the patient classes
is not intended to inhibit in any way the
practice of medicine but to offer one the
capability of examining reasons for variations
in service utilization, treatinent provess,
and outcomie. In this cont..dt, the
groups can provide a iramnework tor the
initiation of an ongoing process of comparative
anialysis of hlicatlh caire with the
long-rim goal of determining both the cost
and value of any kind of care that might be
delivered. With such information, meaningful
dialogue among clinicians, administrators,
planners and regulators canl proceed
in rationalizing of observed difterences.
Only in this way can strategy, policy and
ME :DICAL CAR:
politics interact to the benefit of the con,.
munities served by each institution.
The classification of patient records into
DRGs is a constantly evolving process. In
fact, the group structure described here
represents the third classification schelie
developed using the methodology pre.
sented in the previous section. As coding
schemes change and data are collected thiat
are more current and represelntativei o'
acute-care institutions in the United States.
these grotps will be re-examined anud revised
accordingly.
Clinently the DRCs arc being appllied in
a number of different practical and research
settings in the health-care field.
While these applications are discussed extensively
elsewhere, a brief overview is
presented in the following sections to give
the reader a better uinderstanding of the
DRGs' potential utility in a variety of areas.