Published online by Cambridge University Press: 02 January 2015
The advent of a non-cost reimbursement system has served as an impetus for the re-examination of the methods by which infectious processes are treated. This system prospectively sets payment rates for illnesses that require hospitalization. Diagnostic-Related Groups (DRGs) are the basis of this new system. DRGs attempt to link reimbursement to the broad category of clinical diagnosis by separating diagnoses into nearly 500 groups; each with a defined reimbursement rate. This rate does not substantially vary with regard to the length of hospital stay, the number of diagnostic tests performed or the cost of therapy employed.