Evidence map›Paper›PMID 32050962›Full record

SynthesisBMC health services research2020

The effects of diagnosis-related groups payment on hospital healthcare in China: a systematic review.

Kun Zou, Hong-Ying Li, Die Zhou, Zai-Jun Liao

Open access · goldAbstract readSystematic Review
In one paragraph

Synthesis in BMC health services research, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 77 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
77citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
14.0field-weighted citation impact, top 1% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

77 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 115 citations in OpenAlex.

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17 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

4 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.

Kun ZouDepartment of Medical Records and Statistics, Sichuan Academy of Medical Sciences & Sichuan Provincial People's Hospital, Affiliated Hospital of University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, School of Medicine, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China.
Hong-Ying LiDepartment of Medical Records and Statistics, Sichuan Academy of Medical Sciences & Sichuan Provincial People's Hospital, Affiliated Hospital of University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, School of Medicine, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China. 2508107446@qq.com.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-6668-8990
Die ZhouDepartment of Medical Records and Statistics, Sichuan Academy of Medical Sciences & Sichuan Provincial People's Hospital, Affiliated Hospital of University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, School of Medicine, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China.
Zai-Jun LiaoDepartment of Medical Records and Statistics, Sichuan Academy of Medical Sciences & Sichuan Provincial People's Hospital, Affiliated Hospital of University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, School of Medicine, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China.
University of Electronic Science and Technology of China · CN

Funding

University of Electronic Science and Technology of China 2672018ZYGX2018J102
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundThere has been a growing interest in using diagnosis-related groups (DRGs) payment to reimburse inpatient care worldwide. But its effects on healthcare and health outcomes are controversial, and the evidence from low- and middle- income countries (LMICs) is especially scarce. The objective of this study is to evaluate the effects of DRGs payment on healthcare and health outcomes in China.

methodA systematic review was conducted. We searched literature databases of PubMed, Cochrane Library, EMBASE, Web of Science, Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure and SinoMed for empirical studies examining the effects of DRGs payment on healthcare in mainland China. We performed a narrative synthesis of outcomes regarding expenditure, efficiency, quality and equity of healthcare, and assessed the quality of evidence.

resultsTwenty-three publications representing thirteen DRGs payment studies were included, including six controlled before after studies, two interrupted time series studies and five uncontrolled before-after studies. All studies compared DRGs payment to fee-for-service, with or without an overall budget, in settings of tertiary (7), secondary (7) and primary care (1). The involved participants varied from specific groups to all inpatients. DRGs payment mildly reduced the length of stay. Impairment of equity of healthcare was consistently reported, especially for patients exempted from DRGs payment, including: patient selection, cost-shifting and inferior quality of healthcare. However, findings on total expenditure, out of pocket payment (OOP) and quality of healthcare were inconsistent. The quality of the evidence was generally low or very low due to the study design and potential risk of bias of included studies.

conclusionDRGs payment may mildly improve the efficiency but impair the equity and quality of healthcare, especially for patients exempted from this payment scheme, and may cause up-coding of medical records. However, DRGs payment may or may not contain the total expenditure or OOP, depending on the components design of the payment. Policymakers should very carefully consider each component of DRGs payment design against policy goals. Well-designed randomised trials or comparative studies are warranted to consolidate the evidence of the effects of DRGs payment on healthcare and health outcomes in LMICs to inform policymaking.

Indexed as

Delivery of Health CareHospitalsChinaDiagnosis-Related GroupsHealth Services ResearchHumansChinaDiagnosis-related groupsEffectsHospital healthcareHospital payment reformSystematic review

Identifiers

PMID32050962
PMCPMC7017558
OpenAlexW3006875937

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY
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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.