Table 2.
Comparison of Characteristics among Proposed Peer Groups
| Variables | Large General Hospitals (N = 78) | Small and Medium General Hospitals with Severe Cases (N = 36) | Small and Medium General Hospitals (N = 108) | X2/F |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hospital characteristics | ||||
| Ownership | ||||
| Private | 73 (93.6) | 94 (87.0) | 27 (75.0) | 7.7* |
| Public | 5 (6.4) | 9 (13.0) | 9 (25.0) | |
| Teaching status | ||||
| Medical school | 28 (35.9) | 6 (5.6) | 1 (2.8) | 36.9*** |
| Other | 50 (64.1) | 102 (94.4) | 35(97.2) | |
| Location | ||||
| Metropolitan area | 57 (73.1) | 88 (81.5) | 28 (77.8) | 16.7* |
| Municipality | 20 (25.6) | 8 (7.4) | 5 (13.9) | |
| County | 1 (1.2) | 12 (11.1) | 3 (8.3) | |
| Composition of medical staff | ||||
| Number of physicians (specialists) | 77.6 ± 38.6 | 18.5 ± 7.2 | 22.9 ± 8.1 | 152.7*** |
| Number of nurses | 240.2 ± 94.9 | 72.7 ± 31.8 | 91.6 ± 38.9 | 172.8*** |
| Number of medical technicians | 60.6 ± 26.9 | 18.6 ± 7.0 | 23.1 ± 9.9 | 144.2*** |
| Number of specialties | 20.6 ± 2.1 | 13.1 ± 2.6 | 11.8 ± 2.6 | 300.8*** |
| Number of beds | 527.1 ± 136.3 | 272.9 ± 78.6 | 229.3 ± 87.3 | 187.5*** |
| Types of equipment by field | ||||
| Diagnostic tests | 48.9 ± 7.3 | 30.6 ± 6.8 | 33.9 ± 7.1 | 158.8*** |
| Radiological diagnostic and therapy | 17.2 ± 3.0 | 11.2 ± 2.3 | 11.8 ± 2.0 | 136.0*** |
| Physical therapy equipment | 21.6 ± 3.8 | 14.4 ± 3.2 | 15.5 ± 3.2 | 104.4*** |
| Surgical and treatment equipment | 13.9 ± 2.8 | 8.2 ± 2.4 | 9.3 ± 1.9 | 127.5*** |
| Patient volume (10,000 cases) | ||||
| Number of inpatient episodes | 11.2 ± 7.6 | 2.5 ± 1.6 | 2.6 ± 2.1 | 86.1*** |
| Number of outpatient episodes | 517.3 ± 271.3 | 144.1 ± 68.7 | 156.6 ± 90.5 | 117.6*** |
| Medical costs per inpatient episode (100,000 KRW) | 14.1 ± 3.3 | 13.5 ± 2.9 | 8.6 ± 1.4 | 130.0*** |
| Case mix complexity | ||||
| Case mix index | 0.90 ± 0.20 | 0.90 ± 0.18 | 0.58 ± 0.09 | 117.1*** |
| Professional care disease index | 0.63 ± 0.58 | 0.16 ± 0.25 | 0.04 ± 0.12 | 59.3*** |
| Service-distribution characteristics | ||||
| Specialization status (Internal Herfindahl index) | 0.12 ± 0.03 | 0.19 ± .05 | 0.19 ± 0.05 | 61.7*** |
| Distribution of patients by disease type (%) | ||||
| Cerebrovascular | 9.6 ± 5.0 | 7.6 ± 4.6 | 11.0 ± 6.9 | 6.94* |
| Cardiac | 6.9 ± 5.1 | 2.4 ± 4.8 | 5.5 ± 6.4 | 17.3*** |
| General surgical (breast) | 3.1 ± 2.3 | 2.5 ± 3.4 | 1.8 ± 1.6 | 2.6 |
| Joint and spinal | 10.6 ± 5.5 | 16.3 ± 9.3 | 19.9 ± 10.3 | 18.3*** |
| Colon | 18.5 ± 6.0 | 21.8 ± 8.2 | 20.1 ± 8.5 | 4.2* |
| Pediatric | 22.7 ± 10.4 | 24.3 ± 15.1 | 15.3 ± 13.2 | 6.2* |
| Obstetrics and gynecology | 6.3 ± 4.9 | 2.5 ± 6.6 | 0.3 ± 0.9 | 18.0*** |
*
p < .05,
**
p < .001,
***
p < .0001.