ABSTRACT
Hospital care captures more than one half of the funds allocated for health care within municipalities in Finland. Municipal administrators perceive that there is little they can do as far the quantity and quality of services are concerned. This case study was to analyse the utilization of hospital care within a coalition of two municipalities (Paimio and Sauvo) for one year. By using the Diagnosis Related Groups and Main Diagnostic Categorizations and by comparing the data with the existing physician visits, health care decisions may be made regarding the general morbidity and the use of medical services. While the databases number among the most extensive in the world, the existing information has not been fully utilized for planning, implementation and evaluation of services within the municipalities.
