DRG's Effect On Oral Cancer Costs And Medical Quality

To examine the impact of DRG reform on medical costs and care quality for oral cancer patients in Guangxi, and inform regional medical insurance policies and specialized service enhancements. A retrospective cohort study covered oral cancer patients admitted to a Grade III-A Stomatology hospital in Guangxi from 2018 to 2023. Patients were divided into pre-reform (2018-2020), post-reform (2021-2023) groups. A two-group interrupted time series regression model was used to analyze changes in 22 indicators, including length of stay, medical expense structure, and complication rates. Data analysis employed nonparametric tests and multiple regression using SPSS 24.0. Post-DRG, median length of stay shortened by 14.3% (from 18 to 14 days, P <0.001), and median hospitalization costs fell by 13.6% (from 33,129.19 to 28,623.97 yuan, P <0.001). Expense structure improved, with pharmaceuticals decreasing by 5.3% ( P <0.05) and rehabilitation (+2.1%) and precision treatment (+3.7%) increasing. Medical quality improved, with cure rates up to 79.3% (P=0.002) and postoperative hematoma (down 16.4% to 11.8%, P =0.013) and nosocomial pneumonia (down 8.9% to 5.8%, P =0.039) decreasing. As Guangxi's first oral DRG study, this confirms cost control and quality enhancement through expense structure optimization. However, issues like specialty adaptability and operational cost pressures persist. Recommendations include a dynamic adjustment mechanism incorporating oral cancer-specific indicators and exploring specialty weighting coefficients to optimize resource allocation and service.