A decade of no effective inpatient medical discharges, experience from a hospital in Lima, Peru

Abstract

Our aim is to describe the financial implications of no effective in patient discharges from 2001-2010 from a general hospital in lima city. For this purpose we analyzed the total amounts, cancellations and exonarations from the patient accounts with a non effective medical discharge because of hospital “debts”. We found that the number of patients with a non effective medical discharge decreased 70% from 2001 to 2010, the number of days between the medical discharge until the day the patient left the hospital decreased 80%. The total amounts, cancellations and exonarations decreased 63%, 53% and 68%, respectively. The average amount of exoneration was 61,7%. In conclusion, the non effective medical discharges increase patient debts, which are partially exonerated and assumed by the hospital. Even though it has decreased in the last decade, this could be explained by the implementation of the new health insurance policies.