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Case mix planning in hospitals: a review and future agenda

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Abstract

The case mix planning problem deals with choosing the ideal composition and volume of patients in a hospital. With many countries having recently changed to systems where hospitals are reimbursed for patients according to their diagnosis, case mix planning has become an important tool in strategic and tactical hospital planning. Selecting patients in such a payment system can have a significant impact on a hospital’s revenue. The contribution of this article is to provide the first literature review focusing on the case mix planning problem. We describe the problem, distinguish it from similar planning problems, and evaluate the existing literature with regard to problem structure and managerial impact. Further, we identify gaps in the literature. We hope to foster research in the field of case mix planning, which only lately has received growing attention despite its fundamental economic impact on hospitals.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Universitäres Zentrum für Gesundheitswissenschaften am Klinikum Augsburg (UNIKA-T), School of Business and Economics, Universität Augsburg, Universitätsstraße 16, 86159, Augsburg, Germany

    Sebastian Hof, Andreas Fügener, Jan Schoenfelder & Jens O. Brunner

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  1. Sebastian Hof
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Correspondence to Andreas Fügener.

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Hof, S., Fügener, A., Schoenfelder, J. et al. Case mix planning in hospitals: a review and future agenda. Health Care Manag Sci 20, 207–220 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10729-015-9342-2

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