title: Is there a cost associated with higher quality?
abstract: An analysis of the relationship between quality and cost using a sample of 3081 Medicare-reimbursed acute care hospitals found that cost appears to increase somewhat with quality improvement. However, an analysis that focused on the top 10 Medicare severity-adjusted DRGs (MS-DRGs) in terms of volume, based on national statistics, found that improving quality can help to reduce costs. An examination of mortality associated with a single MS-DRG found that cost increases steadily as mortality rates increase, supporting a conclusion that poor outcomes lead to greater expenditures.
authors.affiliation: Cleverley + Associates, Worthington, Ohio, USA. bcleverley@cleverleyassociates.com
authors.forename: William O
authors.initials: WO
authors.lastname: Cleverley
authors.forename: James O
authors.initials: JO
authors.lastname: Cleverley
mesh_terms: D003365:Costs and Cost Analysis; D003953:Diagnosis-Related Groups / Q000191:economics; D005377:Financial Management, Hospital; D017052:Hospital Mortality; D006801:Humans; D011785:Quality Assurance, Health Care / Q000191:economics*; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology