Definition of Hospital Discharge Rate

A hospital discharge rate is a measurement of the number of patients who leave a hospital after receiving care. It is a mathematical measurement that can be used to figure out hospital costs and utilization.

Features

• Hospital statistics help lower the cost of medical care.

  The hospital discharge rate is the number of patients who are discharged from a hospital for each condition. The rate is measured against a specific number of people (usually per 100,000 or 10,000 people) to see whether people are coming to that hospital for certain conditions.

Identification

• Knowing why people go to the hospital can help reduce the cost.

  Using specific diagnosis codes, a researcher can figure out how many people go to the hospital, what conditions cause them to go, and how long patients stay. Next, they measure this against the population at large to see whether people in certain areas or with certain conditions go to the hospital more or stay longer.

Significance

• Many hospitalizations can be prevented by better medical care.

  Hospital discharge rates show how many people use the hospital and what conditions drive them in. Knowing this can point the way to better cost containment. If people are going to the hospital with diabetes, for example, the answer might be better overall diabetes education for the public in that area.

The Facts

• Reducing healthcare costs is essential for the economy.

  Studying hospital discharge rates is a fair way to measure the utilization of health care in a given area. By measuring the rate against a specific number like 100,000 or 10,000, it will allow for differences in the size of the population.

Types

• By measuring the hospital discharge rate, interested parties can measure hospital utilization from one area to the next. Using diagnosis codes, the discharge rate is a powerful indicator of where preventive care might drive down costs. In addition, the value of certain procedures can be measured against the cost.