EVALUATION OF PROPOSED CASEMIX CRITERIA AS A BASIS FOR COSTING PATIENTS IN THE ADULT GENERAL INTENSIVE-CARE UNIT

This study analyses the relationship between the actual patient-relate d costs of care calculated for 145 patients admitted sequentially to a n adult general intensive care unit and a number of factors obtained f rom a previously described consensus of opinion study. The factors ide ntified in the study were suggested as potential descriptors for the c asemix in an intensive care unit that could be used to predict the cos ts of care. Significant correlations between the costs of care and sev erity of illness, workload and length of stay were found but these fai led to predict the costs of care with sufficient accuracy to be used i n isolation to define isoresource groups in the intensive care unit. N o associations between intensive care unit mortality, reason for admis sion and intensive care unit treatments and costs of care were found. Based on these results, it seems that casemix descriptors and isoresou rce groups for the intensive care unit that would allow costs to be pr edicted cannot be defined in terms of single factors.