Impact of DRG Payment Method Reform on Hospitalization Costs and Structures of Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospitals

Chen Meng'en; Yuan Youshu; Wang Yan; Hou Haojia; Yang Jingyu; Wang Zhiwei

Abstract：Objective:To analyze the impact of DRG payment method reform on hospitalization costs and structure in traditional Chinese medicine hospitals.Methods:Using the cost data of hospitalized patients from 2017 to 2022 for public traditional Chinese medicine hospitals in Qingyang and Tianshui,descriptive statistics and two groups interrupted time-series models were implemented to compare the changes before and after DRG payment method reform.Results:DRG payment method reform had no effective impact on the secondary traditional Chinese medicine hospital's average hospitalization costs,average Chinese medicine costs,and average western medicine costs(P＞0.05),but the average proportion of western medicine costs showed an obvious downward trend after the reform(β9=-0.19,P＜0.01).DRG payment method reform resulted in tertiary traditional Chinese medicine hospitals turning to obvious decreasing trends in average hospitalization costs,average Chinese medicine costs,and average western medicine costs(P＜0.05),while the pre-reform decreasing trends in the average proportion Chinese medicine costs share of both secondary and tertiary traditional Chinese medicine hospitals were curbed in the post-reform period.Conclusion:DRG payment method reform had effectively controlled hospitalization costs,Chinese medicine costs,and western medicine costs of tertiary traditional Chinese medicine hospitals,while the cost control of secondary traditional Chinese medicine hospitals has been ineffective,probably contributing to the enhancement of the use of Chinese medicine and the average proportion of Chinese medicine costs.DRG payment method reform for Chinese medicine should strengthen the supervision of costs,actively utilize the advantages of the characteristics of Chinese medicine,and promote the differentiated reform of traditional Chinese medicine hospitals.