Modeling of high-cost patient distribution within renal failure diagnosis related group.

Modeling by mixed-distribution was proposed in order to analyze heterogeneity of costs and length of stays within Diagnosis Related Groups (DRGs). A mixed-distribution model based on Weibull distributions was applied to 791 discharge abstracts of French DRG no. 450 (Health Care Financing Administration 3 DRG no. 316 "Renal failure") from a national database. Three subgroups of cost and length of stay were identified. Except for age, clinical criteria significantly linked with the long-stay subgroup were the same as those associated with the high-cost subgroup: acute renal failure, intensive care, infectious complications, and vascular investigations. The identification of factors associated with high costs, based on the proposed model, will allow physicians to understand more accurately how their choice of specific procedures influences hospital costs.