This Article Full Text (PDF) References Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Saved Citations Download to citation manager Request Permissions Request Reprints Add to My Marked Citations Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Citing Articles via Scopus Google Scholar Articles by Björkgren, M. A. Articles by Fries, B. E. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Björkgren, M. A. Articles by Fries, B. E. Social Bookmarking                   What's this?

Validity and reliability of Resource Utilization Groups (RUG-III) in Finnish long-term care facilities

National Research and Development Centre for Welfare and Health, Health Services Research Unit, Helsinki and Chydenius Institute, University of Jyväskylä, Kokkola, Finland, magnus.bjorkgren{at}chydenius.fi

Unto Häkkinen

National Research and Development Centre for Welfare and Health, Health Services Research Unit, Helsinki

U. Harriet Finne-Soveri

Koskela Hospital, Helsinki, Finland

Brant E. Fries

Institute of Gerontology and School of Public Health, The University of Michigan and Ann Arbor VA Medical Center, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA

Resource Utilization Groups, Version III (RUG-III) is a case-mix system developed in the USA for classification of long-term care residents. This paper examines the validity and reliability of an adapted 22-group version of RUG-III (RUG-III/22) for use in long-term care facilities in Finland. Finnish cost weights for RUG-III/22 groups are calculated and different methods for their computation are evaluated. The study sample (1,964 residents) was collected in 1995 - 96 from ten long-term care facilities in Finland. RUG-III/22 alone explained 38.2% of the variance of total patient-specific (nursing + auxiliary staff) per diem cost. Resource use within RUG groups was relatively homogeneous. Other predictors of resource use included age, gender and length of stay. RUG-III/22 also met the standard for good reliability (i.e. a kappa value of 0.6 or higher) for crucial classification items, such as activities of daily living and high correlation between assessments based on relative cost.

Key Words: case-mix • long-term care • nursing homes • patient classification • payment systems • resource use.

Scandinavian Journal of Public Health, Vol. 27, No. 3, 228-234 (1999)
DOI: 10.1177/14034948990270030201


CiteULike    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    What's this?

This article has been cited by other articles:

				M. A. Bjorkgren, B. E. Fries, U. Hakkinen, and M. Brommels Case-mix adjustment and efficiency measurement Scand J Public Health, December 1, 2004; 32(6): 464 - 471. [Abstract] [PDF]