The economic burden of Hospital-Acquired Infections on cancer patients under China’s pioneering Diagnosis-Intervention Packet payment model: a retrospective study

Background: This study aimed to analyze the distribution and economic burden of cancer-related nosocomial infections under the Diagnosis-Intervention Packet (DIP) payment model. Methods: A retrospective study was conducted using 2024 medical insurance and healthcare-associated infection (HAI) data from discharged patients at a regional cancer center. We compared the differences in medical insurance settlement indicators between HAI and non-HAI patients within major DIP categories, as well as among different HAI types. After adjusting for time-dependent bias and confounding factors via risk-set matching, we further compared the above indicators between HAI and non-HAI patients, and generalized linear model (GLM) was used to identify independent factors for DIP settlement difference. Results: 0.05). HAI occurrence and infection with ≥3 MDRO types led to an increase of $2,021.15 and $5,601.44 in DIP deficits, respectively. Conclusion: Using DIP payment differentials to assess the economic burden of HAIs is more scientifically valid. Cancer-associated HAIs significantly increase medical resource consumption and economic burden. Implementing infection prevention and control strategies at the DIP categories, particularly for MDRO infections, may help reduce additional costs and improve the balance of medical insurance payments.