[Analysis of pediatric «short stays¼ in a second-level hospital throughout 25 years]. / Análisis de las «estancias cero¼ pediátricas en un hospital de nivel 2 a lo largo de 25 años.

INTRODUCTION: It is essential to admit patients to hospital in an efficient way in order to use resources rationally. Short hospitalary stays are hospitalizations which does not include 00:00h and are considered avoidable. This study describes trends and characteristics of short stays throughout 25 years in our hospital. PATIENTS AND METHODS: We analyzed hospital pediatric discharges in a second-level hospital through the registration system «conjunto mínimo básico de datos¼. We categorized pediatric patients and newborn patients in two groups according to length of hospital stay: «short stays¼ and «prolonged stays¼. We analyzed and compared the following variables: gender, age, type of admission, month, diagnosis-related groups (DRG) and admission service. Binary logistic regression analysis and assessment of trends through joinpoint regression analysis were performed. RESULTS: From 1993 to 2017, 45710 children were admitted to our hospital, of which 7.3% were short stays. The trend analysis showed a point of change upwards-downwards at the beginning of the millennium. Pediatric short stays: the most important variables were emergency admissions (89%), urgent transfers (9%), month December (11%) and main diagnosis category: nervous system (18%). Mean diagnosis-related groups cost was 2432±1115€ in short stays group and 2549±1065€ in prolonged stays. CONCLUSIONS: Short stays and prolonged stays show a falling trend in our hospital. Short stays percentage in our environment is similar to other neighbor countries. Some of our short stays are urgent transfers and admissions for clinical observation. We did not find clinical significance in weight or cost of pediatric patients' DRG comparing to prolonged stays.

Tendencias en la hospitalización psiquiátrica por alcoholy drogas en Castilla y León entre 2005 y 2015 / Trends in psychiatric hospitalization for alcohol and drugs in Castilla y León between 2005 and 2015

A nivel mundial, se ha estimado que el alcohol, el tabaco y las drogashan sido responsables de más de 10 millones de muertes en 2016, yque existe mucho margen para reducir la mortalidad. Se han realizadoavances en la extracción de información de bases de datos administrativas con el fin de analizar grandes volúmenes de datos sanitarios. Hemosestudiado las tendencias en las tasas de hospitalización con diagnóstico de adicción a alcohol y drogas durante once años con el softwareJoinpoint Trend Analysis. Se trata de un estudio descriptivo de asociación cruzada de 3.758 ingresos hospitalarios de pacientes con diagnóstico principal de abuso o dependencia de alcohol y drogas en unidadesde Psiquiatría de centros públicos de Castilla y León entre 2005 y 2015.Las tendencias en la hospitalización por adicción al alcohol y/o drogasdisminuyeron a lo largo de los once años. Además de una reducciónestadísticamente significativa de los ingresos por alcohol y cocaína, seapreció una fuerte tendencia al alza en los ingresos por cannabis entre2013 y 2015. El alcohol fue durante todo el periodo de estudio la principal causa de ingreso y el que más días de hospitalización ha generado.No obstante, en los 11 años se observó una reducción progresiva y constante en los ingresos por todas las sustancias a excepción del cannabis.La metodología utilizada ya ha demostrado ser muy útil para identificarcambios de tendencias en diferentes patologías. (AU)

It has been estimated that alcohol, tobacco, and illicit drugs were responsible for more than 10 million deaths worldwide in 2016, andthere are many opportunities for improvement. Regarding innovativedata analysis, advances have been made in the extraction of information from administrative databases for analytics purposes. We studiedtrends in hospitalization rates for alcohol and drug abuse over elevenyears with Joinpoint Trend Analysis software. This is a descriptive studyof cross-associations in 3,758 hospital admissions of patients admittedwith a main diagnosis of alcohol and drug abuse or dependence inpsychiatry units of public health centres of Castilla y León (Spain)between 2005 and 2015. Hospitalization trends for alcohol and drugrelated conditions declined over the eleven-year period. Separately,there was a statistically significant decrease in alcohol and cocainerelated conditions, but a strong upward trend in cannabis relatedconditions between 2013 and 2015. Alcohol was the main cause ofadmission to psychiatric units with a diagnosis of addiction. In the11 years researched, there was a progressive and constant reductionin admissions for substance use except for cannabis. The innovativestatistical methodology has already proven to be useful for identifyingtrends and changes in different pathologies over time. (AU)

Análisis con GRD: El egreso hospitalario indiferenciado de la maternidad no representa la complejidad de las pacientes con alto riesgo obstétrico / DRG analysis: undifferentiated hospital discharges of maternity does not represent the complexity of patients with high obstetric risk

INTRODUCCIÓN: La gestión actual de camas hospitalarias sigue un modelo de indiferenciación en el que existen camas quirúrgicas, médicas y de pacientes críticos. Las maternidades si bien no siguen este modelo, tienen egresos indiferenciados con pacientes que pueden egresar post parto o aún embarazadas (con patologías perinatales). OBJETIVO: Evaluar diferencias entre egresos con parto normal y aquellos con patologías de alto riesgo obstétrico (ARO) respecto a estancia media (EM) y el consumo de recursos cuantificado con el peso medio de los grupos relacionados con el diagnóstico (PMGRD). MÉTODO: Estudio transversal con egresos maternales periodo 2017-2018. Se usó Categoría Diagnóstica Mayor (CIE - 10) para definir dos grupos de egreso: 1. Con parto normal a término o 2. Con patología ARO. Se compararon 1.658 y 1.669 egresos del grupo 1 y 2 respectivamente. Las variables de resultado son EM y PMGRD. Se compararon variables cuantitativas con t de student y Kruskal Wallis. Se usó Odds Ratio con respectivo intervalo de confianza para evaluar asociación entre variables y regresión logística multivariada para ajustar asociación. RESULTADOS: La edad, proporción de gestantes tardías, EM y PMGRD fue mayor en los egresos ARO (p<0,05). Existe fuerte asociación de EM prolongada (>4 días) y PMGRD elevado (>0.3109) con los egresos ARO (ORa=3.75; IC95%=3.21-4.39 y ORa=1.28; IC95%=1.1-1.49 respectivamente). CONCLUSIONES: Es necesario diferenciar los egresos del servicio de maternidad porque los egresos de ARO muestran mayor complejidad. La evaluación del riesgo usando EM y PMGRD permite analizar con especificidad los egresos maternales para una mejor gestión de camas y del recurso humano.

INTRODUCTION: The current management of hospital beds in Chile follows an undifferentiation model in which there are surgical, medical and critical patient bed. Maternity hospitals although they do not follow this model, have undifferentiated discharges with patients who may leave poatpartum or still pregnant (with perinatal pathologies) OBJECTIVE: To assess differences between discharges with normal delivery and those with high obstetric risk pathologies (HOR) with respect to mean stay (MS) and the resource spending quantified with the average weight of the diagnosis related group (AWDRG). METHOD: Cross-sectional study with maternal discharges between 2017-2018 period. Major Diagnostic Category (ICD - 10) was used to define two discharge groups: 1. With normal term birth or 2. With HOR pathology. 1,658 and 1,669 egress from group 1 and 2 were compared respectively. The outcome variables are EM and AWDRG. Quantitative variables were compared with student t and Kruskal Wallis. Odds Ratio and respective confidence interval were used to evaluate association between variables and multivariate logistic regression to adjust association. RESULTS: Age, proportion of late pregnant women, MS and AWDRG was higher in HOR discharges (p <0.05). There is a strong association of prolonged MS (> 4 days) and elevated AWDRG (> 0.3109) with HOR discharges (ORa = 3.75; 95% CI 3.21-4.39 and ORa = 1.28; 95% CI 1.1-1.49 respectively). CONCLUSIONS: It is necessary to differentiate medical discharge of the maternity service because the HOR egress show greater complexity. The risk assessment using MS and AWDRG allows to analyze with specificity the maternal discharge for a better management of beds and human resources.

Economic evaluation of surgical treatment of obesity. / Evaluación económica del tratamiento quirúrgico de la obesidad.

INTRODUCTION: Obesity surgery is the best treatment for extreme obesity, with demonstrated long-term positive outcomes. The potential cost-savings generated by the improvement of comorbidities after surgery can justify the allocation of more resources in the surgical treatment of obesity. METHODS: This was an observational, descriptive, longitudinal and retrospective study. Eligible patients underwent Roux-en-Y gastric bypass surgery at the Hospital Universitario Central de Asturias between 2003 and 2012. The established minimum follow-up period was two years. We calculated the individualized cost per patient treated (bottom-up) as well as per Diagnosis-Related Group (DRG) codes (top-down). RESULTS: Our study included 307 patients. The average cost per hospitalization calculated by DRG codes was €6,545.90, and the average cost per patient was €10,572.20. DRG 288 represented 91% of the series, with a value of €4,631. The number of medications also decreased during this period, from 2.86 to 0.78 per medically treated patient, representing a cost reduction of €4,433 per patient with all the obesity-related comorbidities analyzed. CONCLUSIONS: Two years after Roux-en-Y gastric bypass conducted at Hospital Universitario Central de Asturias, the savings in drug costs for patients with multiple pathologies would compensate the inherent costs of the surgical treatment itself. Our results showed that DRG-related costs was insufficient to make a correct economic evaluation, so we recommend an individualized cost calculating method.

[Outlier patient admissions and their relationship with the emergence of clinical complications and prolonged hospital stays]. / Los ingresos ectópicos y su relación con la aparición de complicaciones y estancias prolongadas.

OBJECTIVE: To analyze the relationship between the type of hospital admission (outlier and non-outlier admissions) and the appearance of clinical complications and the average stay. METHODS: From a retrospective epidemiological study of a cohort of patients admitted to the Hospital Complejo Asistencial Universitario de Salamanca (Salamanca, Spain) over a six-month period, outlier and non-outlier patients were identified. This project had access to the admissions department database, the hospital's CMBD (in Spanish, Conjunto Mínimo Básico de Datos) for hospitalisation, the AP-DRG (All Patient-Diagnosis Related Groups) and ALCOR (a clinical-statistics analytics tool). It then proceeded to break down the results by DRG, looking at the five most common DRGs in that period. RESULTS: 8.4% of the total 11,842 admissions were medical outliers. In the overall study, the average stay was longer for outlier patients (8. 11 days) than for other patients (7.15 days). The mortality rate was, likewise, higher for outlier patients, although there was a reduced incidence of complications (7.6% for outlier patients as opposed to 8.4% for others). The analysis by DRG corroborated these results in three of the five cases investigated, showing longer average stays but fewer clinical complications in the case of outlier patients. CONCLUSIONS: On admission to hospital, a significant proportion of patients were allocated beds on inappropriate wards (outlier patients). It was more common to find medical patients placed on surgical wards than vice versa. The average stay of outlier patients was longer than that of patients admitted to the correct ward. The study found no significant difference between the two groups in terms of clinical complication rates.

[Seguridad y eficacia del modelo de atención fast-track vs. atención convencional en apendicitis no complicada del paciente pediátrico]. / Safety and effectiveness of the fast-track attention model vs. conventional care in uncomplicated appendicitis of the pediatric patient.

OBJETIVO: Comparar la seguridad y la eficacia de la atención fast-track vs. atención convencional en apendicitis no complicada en un hospital pediátrico. MÉTODO: Ensayo clínico controlado, aleatorizado, con dos grupos de 30 pacientes cada uno: A) fast-track, apendicitis no complicada que cumplieron el programa; y B) atención convencional, apendicitis no complicada con atención habitual. Variables de seguridad y eficacia: proporción de complicaciones y tiempo de estancia hospitalaria. RESULTADOS: Se incluyeron 60 pacientes, sin diferencia entre grupos: sexo masculino (53 vs. 60%), edad (8 ± 3 vs. 8 ± 2 años), tiempo de evolución (23 ± 21 vs. 24 ± 20 horas), tiempo desde ingreso a urgencias hasta inicio de cirugía (6 ± 4 vs. 8 ± 6 horas), y tipo de apendicitis edematosa (27 vs. 24%) o supurada (73 vs. 76%). La estancia hospitalaria promedio del grupo fast-track fue de 13 ± 5 vs. 72 ± 40 horas del grupo de atención convencional (p = 0.001). Hubo complicaciones en el 3 y el 6%, respectivamente (p = 1.0). La estancia hospitalaria disminuyó 2.45 días por paciente con el protocolo fast-track, lo que representa un ahorro de $ 6,731 pesos/día/paciente/hospitalización (US$ 373), sin un aumento de las complicaciones. CONCLUSIÓN: El protocolo fast-track en los niños con apendicitis no complicada es seguro y efectivo en un hospital universitario. El programa fast-track aportó beneficios clínicos y económicos, ahorrando en total $ 403,860 en los 30 pacientes. OBJECTIVE: To compare safety and efficacy of fast-track program vs. conventional attention in non-complicated appendicitis attending a pediatric university hospital. METHOD: Randomized clinical trial, comparing two groups with 30 patients each: (A) fast-track group, appendicitis agreeing the treatment protocol; and (B) conventional attention group, appendicitis following habitual surgical care. The efficacy and safety measures were length of hospital stay and proportion of complications. RESULTS: We included 60 patients, there were no significant difference between groups with regard: male gender (53 vs. 60%), age (8 ± 3 vs. 8 ± 2 years-old), time of evolution (23 ± 21 vs. 24 ± 20 h), time since admittance to emergency and beginning of surgery (6 ± 4 vs. 8 ± 6 h), and type of appendicitis edematous (27 vs. 24%) or suppurate (73 vs. 76%). Mean length of hospital stay in fast-track group was 13 ± 5 vs. 72 ± 40 h in conventional attention (p = 0.001). The complications were 3 and 6%, respectively (p = 1.0). Fast-track program diminished length of hospital stay in 2.45 days per patient, representing a mean cost saving of 6,731 Mexican pesos per day, per patient hospitalized (US$ 373), without increased complications. CONCLUSION: Fast-track program in children with non-complicated appendicitis is safe and effective in pediatric university hospital; there was cost-minimization without carelessness of safety. This program support clinical and economic benefits, a total saving of 403,860 Mexican pesos for the 30 patients in the fast-track group.

[Direct service costs of diabetes mellitus hospitalisations in the Mexican Institute of Social Security]. / Costos directos de las hospitalizaciones por diabetes mellitus en el Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social.

OBJECTIVE: To estimate the direct costs related to hospitalizations for diabetes mellitus and its complications in the Mexican Institute of Social Security METHODS: The hospital care costs of patients with diabetes mellitus using diagnosis-related groups in the IMSS (Mexican Institute of Social Security) and the hospital discharges from the corresponding E10-E14 codes for diabetes mellitus were estimated between 2008-2013. Costs were grouped according to demographic characteristics and main condition, and were estimated in US dollars in 2013. RESULTS: 411,302 diabetes mellitus discharges were recorded, representing a cost of $1,563 million. 52.44% of hospital discharges were men and 77.26% were for type 2 diabetes mellitus. The biggest cost was attributed to peripheral circulatory complications (34.84%) and people from 45-64 years of age (47.1%). Discharges decreased by 3.84% and total costs by 1.75% in the period analysed. The complications that caused the biggest cost variations were ketoacidosis (50.7%), ophthalmic (22.6%) and circulatory (18.81%). CONCLUSIONS: Hospital care for diabetes mellitus represents an important financial challenge for the IMSS. The increase in the frequency of hospitalisations in the productive age group, which affects society as a whole, is an even bigger challenge, and suggests the need to strengthen monitoring of diabetics in order to prevent complications that require hospital care.

Costs and hospital procedures in an urology department of a tertiary hospital. Analysis of groups related by their diagnosis. / Costes y procesos hospitalarios en un servicio de urología de un hospital terciario. Análisis de los grupos relacionados por el diagnóstico.

INTRODUCTION: The health care system has management tools available in hospitals that facilitate the assessment of efficiency through the study of costs and management control in order to make a better use of the resources. OBJECTIVE: The aim of the study was the calculation and analysis of the total cost of a urology department, including ambulatory, hospitalization and surgery activity and the drafting of an income statement where service costs are compared with income earned from the Government fees during 2014. MATERIAL AND METHODS: From the information recorded by the Economic Information System of the Department of Health, ABC and top-down method of cost calculation was applied by process care activity. The cost results obtained were compared with the rates established for ambulatory and hospital production in the Tax Law of the Generalitat Valenciana. The production was structured into outpatient (external and technical consultations) and hospital stays and surgeries (inpatient). RESULTS: A total of 32,510 outpatient consultations, 7,527 techniques, 2,860 interventions and 4,855 hospital stays were made during 2014. The total cost was 7,579,327€; the cost for outpatient consultations was 1,748,145€, 1,229,836 Euros for technical consultations, 2,621,036€ for surgery procedures and 1,980,310€ for hospital admissions. Considered as income the current rates applied in 2014 (a total of 15,035,843€), the difference between income and expenditure was 7,456,516€. CONCLUSIONS: The economic balance was positive with savings over 50% and a mean adjusted hospitalization stay rate (IEMAC) rate of 0.67 (33% better than the standard). CMA had a favorable impact on cost control.

[Differential features of DRG 541 readmitting patients]. / Características diferenciales de los pacientes del Grupo Relacionado con el Diagnóstico (GRD) 541 que reingresan.

OBJECTIVE: Hospital readmission is considered an adverse outcome, and the hospital readmission ratio is an indicator of health care quality. Published studies show a wide variability and heterogeneity, with large groups of patients with different diagnoses and prognoses. The aim of the study was to analyse the differences between patients readmitted and those who were not, in patients grouped into the diagnosis related group (DRG) 541. MATERIAL AND METHOD: A retrospective observational study was conducted on DRG 541 patients discharged in 2010. Readmission is defined as any admission into any hospital department, and for any reason at ≤30 days from discharge. An analysis was performed that included age, sex, day of discharge, month of discharge, number of diagnoses and drugs at discharge, respiratory depressant drugs, length of stay, requests for consultations/referrals, Charlson comorbidity index, feeding method, hospitalisations in the previous 6 months, albumin and haemoglobin levels and medical examinations within 30 days after discharge. RESULTS: Of the 985 patients included in the study, 189 were readmitted. On multivariate analysis, significant variables were: Haemoglobin -0.6g/dl (95% confidence interval [95%CI] -0.9 to -0.3), gastrostomy feeding odds ratio (OR) 5.6 (95%CI: 1.5 to 21.6), hospitalisations in previous 6 months OR 1.9 (95%CI: 1.3 to 2.8), visits to emergency department OR 17.4 (95%CI: 11.3 to 26.8), medical checks after discharge OR 0.4 (95%CI: 0.2 to 0.8). CONCLUSIONS: DRG 541 readmitting patients have some distinctive features that could allow early detection and prevent hospital readmission.

Grupos Relacionados por el Diagnóstico (GRD). Experiencia con IR-GRD en el Sanatorio Americano, sistema FEMI / Diagnosis Related Groups (DRG) Experience with IR-GRD in the Sanatorio Americano, FEMI system

Introducción: el proceso de atención en los centros asistenciales concentra la mayoría de los recursos que gastan los sistemas de salud y conocer lo que producen los hospitales es un insumo imprescindible para la gestión clínica y administrativa. Lo que producen los hospitales se denomina producto hospitalario. Los Grupos Relacionados por el Diagnóstico (GRD) son uno de los Sistemas de Clasificación de Pacientes (SCP) más universalmente utilizados para medir el producto hospitalario. Se obtienen a partir de la información que se registra en las historias clínicas de cada uno de los pacientes, comprenden una amplia familia de sistemas, y relacionan las características clínicas de los pacientes con el consumo de recursos. Objetivos: los objetivos de este artículo son describir el proceso de desarrollo e implementación de la aplicación de los IR-GRD (Internacionales Refinados-GRD) en el Sanatorio Americano y comunicar los resultados obtenidos con la aplicación de esta herramienta. Material y método: se analizan los egresos del Sanatorio Americano de pacientes provenientes de Instituciones de Asistencia Médica Colectiva (IAMC) del sistema FEMI (Federación Médica del Interior) y de otras instituciones que internaron pacientes en el sanatorio en el período de abril-setiembre de 2007. Resutados: se obtienen los GRD de los 1.416 egresos, que generaron 6.872 días/cama/ocupados (DCO) en las distintas modalidades de atención, con una estancia media de 4,85 días. Del análisis de los mismos, resulta que es posible introducir cambios en la prestación de los servicios, que permitan obtener beneficios a todos los involucrados en el proceso asistencial, ya sea el paciente, la institución que lo envía o el propio prestador, en este caso el Sanatorio Americano, en otras palabras, mejorar la eficiencia. Conclusiones: las principales conclusiones son que es posible implementar el sistema de GRD en nuestro país, que es una herramienta válida para el análisis y rediseño del proceso asistencial y que se pueden realizar adaptaciones locales, en su aplicación, novedosas y con buenos resultados, y que su utilización puede extenderse a otras instituciones de nuestro medio públicas y privadas.

Summary Introduction: the provision for health care services, at the health centers, concentrates most of the resources paid by the health systems and, learning about the productivity of hospitals is essential for the clinical and administrative management. What hospitals produce is referred to as "hospital product". Diagnosis-related groups (DRGs) are one of the Patient Classification Systems (PCS) more widely used to measure the hospital product. Information in the medical records of each patient constitutes the source for these classification groups, which comprise a wide range of systems and relate patients’ clinical features to the resources they consumed. Objective: the purpose of this article is to describe the process for developing and implementing the application of IR-DRGs (International Refined DRGs) at the Sanatorio Americano and to reveal results obtained in the application of this system. Method: we analyzed the discharges at the Sanatorio Americano that corresponded to patients coming from IAMC (Collective Health Care Institutions) belonging to FEMI (Uruguayan Medical Federation) and other institutions, which hospitalized these patients in the hospital between April-September, 2007. Results: we obtained the DRGs of the 1,416 discharges, which resulted in 6,872 occupied bed days (OBD) in the different service modalities, with an average length of stay of 4.85 days. Upon analysis, we found that we can introduce changes to the rendering of services in order to benefit all interested parties within the health care process: patients, referring institution and/or the institutions providing the services, in this case, Sanatorio Americano. In other words, this means improving efficiency. Conclusions: our main conclusions are that it is possible to implement the DRG system in our country, that it is a valid system to analyze and re-design the health care process, and that we can perform country- specific variations to the system that are innovative and provide good results, and that its use can be extended to other public and private institutions in our country.

Résumé Introduction: l’assistance aux centres hospitaliers concentre la plupart du budget des systèmes de santé; il s’avère donc indispensable pour la gestion clinique et administrative de connaître ce que les hôpitaux produisent. Ce que ceux-ci produisent s’appelle produit hospitalier. Les Groupes en Relation par le Diagnostic (DRG-Diagnosis Related Groups) est un des Systèmes de Classement de Patients (SCP) très utilisé dans le monde pour mesurer le produit hospitalier. On y aboutit à partir des données des histoires cliniques de chaque patient, ils comprennent une vaste gamme de systèmes et mettent en rapport les caractéristiques cliniques des patients et la consommation des ressources. Objectif: le but de cet article est de décrire le développement et la mise en marche des IR-DRG (Internationaux Raffinés DRG) au Sanatorio Americano et de communiquer les résultats obtenus avec cet outil. Matériel et méthode: on analyse les patients sortis du Sanatorio Americano provenant d’Institutions d’Assistance Médicale Collective (IAMC) du système FEMI (Fédération Médicale de l’Uruguay) et d’autres institutions ayant hospitalisé des patients pendant la période avril-septembre 2007 à cet hôpital-là. Résultats: on obtient les DRG des 1416 patients sortis, ayant 6872 jours/lits/occupés (JLO) aux différentes modalités d’assistance, avec un séjour moyen de 4,85 jours. Il en résulte qu’il est possible d’introduire des changements dans les services qui permettent d’obtenir des bénéfices pour tous les acteurs du processus d’assistance, soit le patient, l’institution qui l’envoie ou le propre prestataire, ici le Sanatorio Americano, voire d’améliorer l’efficacité. Conclusion: les conclusions les plus remarquables sont qu’il est possible d’appliquer le système de DRG dans notre pays, qu’il s’agit d’un outil valable pour l’analyse et l’ajustement de la période d’assistance et qu’on peut tout de même faire des adaptations locales à l’heure de son application, nouvelles et efficaces, dont l’implémentation est viable dans d’autres centres nationaux publics et privés.

Resumo Introdução: a atenção de saúde nos centros assistenciais consome a maior parte dos recursos dos sistemas de saúde; a produção dos hospitais é uma informação fundamental para a gestão clínica e administrativa. A produção dos hospitais é chamada produto hospitalar. Os Grupos Diagnósticos Relacionados (GRD) são um dos sistemas de Classificação de Pacientes mais utilizados no mundo para medir o produto hospitalar. Os dados são obtidos da informação registrada nos prontuários de pacientes, abarcam vários sistemas e relacionam as características clínicas dos pacientes com o consumo de recursos. Objetivo: os objetivos deste artigo são descrever o processo de planejamento e implementação da aplicação de IR-GRD (Internacionales Refinados-GRD) no Sanatório Americano e comunicar os resultados obtidos com a utilização desta ferramenta. Material e método: foram incluídas todas as altas de pacientes atendidos no Sanatório Americano com convênios com Instituições de Assistência Médica do sistema FEMI (Federação Médica do Uruguai) e de outras instituições no período abril-setembro de 2007. Resultados: foram obtidos GRD de 1416 altas, que geraram 6872 dias/cama/ocupadas (DCO) nos diferentes tipos de atenção, com uma média de permanência de 4.85 dias. A análise dos GRD mostrou que é possível realizar mudanças na prestação de serviços que permitirão gerar benefícios a todos os participantes do processo de atenção: pacientes, instituição conveniada, e o prestador da assistência, neste caso o Sanatório Americano, melhorando a eficiência. Conclusões: as principais conclusões deste estudo são: é possível implementar o sistema de GRD no Uruguai; é uma ferramenta válida para a análise e re-planejamento do processo assistencial; fazer adaptações locais, com novo enfoque e bons resultados, é uma ferramenta viável e, que pode ser utilizada em outras instituições locais, tanto públicas como privadas.