Classifying sub-acute and non-acute patients: Results of the New South Wales Casemix Area Network study

Abstract

In 1994 the New South Wales Casemix Area Network initiated a study to developa classification and funding model for sub-acute and non-acute care. Thirty-fiverehabilitation, geriatric, psychogeriatric and palliative care services were recruited intothe study throughout eight area health services. The aim of the first phase, summarisedhere, was to capture and analyse a sufficiently large quantity of data to select thosevariables most likely to predict resource utilisation, for subsequent use in a detailedcosting study.It is known that acute care diagnosis related groups are not predictive of costs in sub-acutecare. This phase of the project confirmed that, in New South Wales, the mostpredictive variables were case type, functional status measures, impairment type forrehabilitation, phase for palliative care and severity of symptoms for palliative care.The resultant Phase 1 casemix classification, which has built on recent United Statesexperience and studies in other Australian States, has been termed the New SouthWales Sub-Acute and Non-Acute Patient (SNAP) Version 1 classification.