A patient-classification system for long-term care.

A system for patient classification by types of care (referred to in this article as the PCTC system) was developed. The objectives of the system are to improve placement decisions for long-term care patients and to provide information that would be useful for planning and resource allocation in the long-term care field. The PCTC system attempts to resolve placement problems of long-term care patients based on patient care need and a system perspective. A conceptual model based on an assessment/classification/placement sequence is employed. Following a comprehensive assessment of patients' health states and their service requirements, types-of-care classification may be carried out through both subjective/normative and objective/empirical procedures. In an attempt to take into consideration the inherent uncertainty associated with classification procedures, the concept of a PCTC profile is introduced, and to use this profile for making rational placement decisions within environmental constraints, a patient-placement decision model is proposed.