Study on the cost-control effect of diagnosis-related groups based on meta-analysis.

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effect of diagnosis-related group (DRG) payment method systematically before and after implementation in terms of average hospitalization day, cost and care quality. METHOD: Restricted the period from 2019 to May 31, 2023, we use 6 databases from CNKI, Wipu, Wanfang, PubMed, ScienceDirect, and web of science. With the related study, we extract the data about DRG, then we conducted meta-analysis of the data about length of stay (LOS) and cost by RevMan 5.4 and Stata 12.0 software. Care quality is in conjunction with literature reports. RESULT: About 24 articles were included, covering 2 indicators average hospitalization expenses and days. Meta-analysis shows that implementing DRG payment method has an advantage in terms of average hospital stay (pooled effect -1.13%, 95% CI -1.42 to -0.84, P = .00), and the difference is statistically significant. There is also an advantage in average hospitalization expenses (pooled effect -2.58, 95% CI -3.38 to -1.79, P = .00), and the difference is statistically significant. CONCLUSION: The use of DRG payment method can effectively reduce LOS and average hospitalization expenses. However, quality of care may decline with DRG adoption.