An economic analysis of relationship between hospital types and length of stay in a hospital

Abstract

　　A multiple regression analysis was performed by hospital type to examine the length of hospital stay for cerebral infarction （without surgery） and proximal femoral fractures.　Prior to the analysis, hospitals were classified into three types:national, prefectural and municipal hospitals, public welfare hospitals, and private hospitals.　The DPC data distributed by the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare were then linked to the public data obtained from the regional medical information network.　The analysis using these data revealed that, for proximal femoral fractures, the length of hospital stay was longer in private hospitals.　For cerebral infarction （without surgery）, the length of hospital stay was shorter in public welfare hospitals.　In this paper, based on the results, the author argues that the inherent characteristics of the organizational structure of the hospital could provide incentives （as motivation for effort） for physicians and affect the outcome of the referral system.