Hospitalization costs of 16 827 patients in rehabilitation department from 2018 to 2024
WANG Lisha
YUAN Ziwen
CAI Ang
YANG Bo
YAO Ye
YAN Xiaoting
QIAO Jin
Abstract：Objective To explore the changes in expenses and structure after the department's payment method shifting from fee-for-service(FFS)to diagnosis related groups(DRG).
Methods Information from the first pages of medical records of patients in the Rehabilitation Department of the First Af-filiated Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University from May,2018 to May,2024(n=16 827)were collected,and then the factors affecting the hospitalization costs of rehabilitation patients were analyzed.
Results The total treatment costs accounted for over 50%of expenditures,with Traditional Chinese Medicine(TCM)and Western medicine treatments contributing nearly equal shares.The proportion of TCM medication costs showed a slight increase,while Western medication costs declined annually.The combined medication costs de-creased steadily from 18.2%in 2018 to 9.2%in 2024.Among 16 827 patients,hypertension was the most preva-lent comorbidity,affecting 51.94%of cases.Within functional impairment classifications,the patients with motor disorders constituted the largest group at 59.14%.Stroke patients represented the largest disease category,ac-counting for 49.44%of cases.The average daily hospitalization cost for each disease category showed a signifi-cant decline starting in 2023(when the DRG payment method was implemented),reaching its lowest point in 2024.Across different years,stroke remained the primary diagnosis among inpatient admissions for each disease category.The number of admissions under"other diagnoses"(excluding the six major common diseases)in-creased annually.The primary factors influencing rehabilitation treatment costs for patients were length of hospi-tal stay(β=0.66)and disease category(β=-0.43).
Conclusion The total inpatient costs have declined in rehabilitation department from 2018 to 2024,with 2024 marking the lowest level,meanwhile,the proportion of Traditional Chinese Medicine-related costs has slightly increased,and the total drug cost ratio has continued to decrease.The share of rehabilitation treatment expenses has re-mained stable.This suggests a successful transition to DRG payment system.
Keywords：rehabilitation departmentinpatient costsnumber of days in hospitalmedicare payment methods
Publication Date：2025-12-25
Online Publishing Date：2026-01-06(First online date of this platform, not the publication date of the document)
Pages：11( 1478-1488 )