Reconnaissance over time on the cost of hospitals in Switzerland
The Federal Office of Public Health has published the second comparison of costs per case of hospitals and maternity hospitals in Switzerland
Today the Federal Office of Public Health (FOPH) published for the second time a comparison of the costs per case of hospitals and maternity hospitals in Switzerland. This enables a nationwide comparison of costs.
The inpatient services of hospitals and maternity hospitals are paid for using the flat rates per case of the SwissDRG tariff structure.
Konzept zur Publikation von Fallkosten 2020
Concept pour la publication des coûts de case 2020
Homogeneous groups of differently weighted cases are formed in order to account for their differing complexity.
For comparison purposes, a hospital’s individual case costs are considered net of this different weighting of its cases (individual case costs net of degree of severity).
It is thus possible to compare the costs of a standardized case across different hospitals.
Improvement in the plausibility of hospital data
The FOPH notes that, with a few exceptions, the costs per case are stable and that overall there have been no appreciable changes. There has also been a slight improvement in the plausibility of the hospital data.
However, the second publication of the costs per case after 2020 does not permit an in-depth analysis of the development of costs in the acute inpatient sector of hospitals.
Publikation der Fallkosten der Spitäler 2019
Publication des coûts par cas des hôpitaux 2019
It should be kept in mind that the lump-sum payment system results in inaccuracies in the representation of certain services.
Hospitals that provide a high proportion of services that are not correctly represented may eventually present costs per case that do not necessarily reflect higher or lower efficiency.
This should be taken into account when comparing per-case costs net of severity among individual hospitals.
A guide for rate setting partners
The publication serves as a guide for rate setting partners and can be used by the cantons in their hospital planning. It can also be used by physicians and patients as a basis for decision-making when choosing a hospital.
Publikation der Fallkosten der Spitäler 2018
Publication des coûts par cas des hôpitaux 2018
In addition to the costs per case, since 2008 the FOPH has been publishing key figures for Swiss hospitals and quality indicators for Swiss acute care hospitals.
The key figures provide an overview of the structure, patients, services, range of services, personnel, financial situation of the hospitals and the average severity of the diseases requiring acute hospitalization.
The quality indicators contain data on care such as number of cases, rates (e.g. of caesarean sections), mortality for certain clinical pictures and interventions, lengths of stay and particular transfers.