Vol. 512 No. 6
287 Ms McManus asked the Minister for Health and Children the comparative cost of a hip replacement operation, cardiac bypass operation, cataract operation and insertion of grommets in each hospital carrying out these procedures; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [27108/99]
My Department's casemix programme collects information in relation to both hospital activity, and its associated costs, in 30 public hospitals which participate in casemix.
Casemix, which involves the monitoring and comparison of costs and activity between hospitals, classifies patients into discrete classes or groups which share common clinical attributes and similar patterns of resource use. The system currently in use in Ireland categorises activity into 495 diagnosis related groups, DRGs.
Casemix estimates an average cost per case for all cases in each DRG, but does not break down costs to the level of individual procedures on a hospital by hospital basis. Costs are averaged over all hospitals in the casemix programme, rather than by individual hospital, in order to produce meaningful national data.
The information in relation to the procedures requested by the Deputy are detailed as follows. Data relates to 1997, the latest date for which information is available. Hip replacement: DRG 209 relates to major joint and limb reattachment procedures of the lower extremity, including total, partial and revised hip, knee and ankle replacements. The average cost per case is £4,378. Cardiac bypass: DRG 106 and DRG 107 relate to coronary bypass, with and without catheterisation, with an average cost per case of £9,377 and £6,043 respectively. Cataract operation: DRG 39 includes lens procedures, including cataracts, and the average cost is £1,017 per case. Grommets: DRG 62 relates to myringotomy with tube insertion in children under 17 years and the average cost is £720 per case.
