ABSTRACT
Objective:To study the influence of patients' ages on average medical expenses under the diagnosis related group and prospective payment system(DRG-PPS)model.Methods:Medical records of 52 987 selected patients at a third-tier general hospital in Beijing were collected from January 1 to December 31, 2019, and were then divided into three age groups based on age, the elderly group, the middle-aged group and the young group, and one-way ANOVA was used to determine differences in medical expenses between the same DRG group and different age groups.Related-sample nonparametric tests and linear regression were carried out for the three age groups to estimate the influence of the age factor on the medical expenses of different DRG groups.Results:First, the data of the three age groups in the same DRG group were analyzed by one-way ANOVA.The P values of the DRG groups were less than 0.05, except for the cb39 crystal surgery DRG group; Then, the data of the three age groups in different DRG groups were analyzed with the nonparametric test( P=0.021, less than 0.05); Finally, linear regression analysis was also used to analyze the case data of the three age groups.The p value was less than 0.05, and the standardized influence coefficient was 0.173, suggesting age was positively correlated with hospitalization expenses. Conclusions:Age affects average hospitalization expenses.After the implementation of the DRG-PPS model, the payment of DRG patients should be standardized with the inclusion of the age factor.