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X : Diagnose Related Groups (DRG) are defined on the basis of the principal diagnosis, secondary diagnoses, procedures, age, sex and discharge status, and were developed to improve hospital productivity and efficacy. Existing code systems do not cover all medical specialties equally well; examples are neonatal medicine, cancer treatment and rehabilitation. We have developed a prospective method to measure actual costs related to patients individually. The major element in this method is based upon the hospital stay being divided into types of treatment with different resource requirements: heavy intensive care, light intensive care, intermediate care and ordinary care. In addition, costs related to surgery and other procedures are measured. Our method was used to calculate costs related to neonatal surgery due to various inborn diseases in the gastrointestinal tract and the urinary system. All patients needed immediate care and competent medical intervention. Mean costs for the group was NOK 291,181 while total reimbursement to the hospital was NOK 100,390, resulting in a net negative balance of NOK 190,970. Neonatal surgery does not seem to be adequately covered by the DRG system. This complex patient group provides a comprehensive test of the prospective method, and after evaluation we feel that it can be used in most other patient groups to verify actual cost.

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