Evaluation of the Importance of One-Day Surgical Treatment in Benign Gynecological Surgeries

OBJECTIVES: The waiting list obligation covers the treatment of benign gynecological disorders in Hungary thus the utilization of gynecological surgeries has a prime importance in the Hungarian healthcare sector. The research aimed to assess the market share of one-day surgical treatment associated to benign gynecological surgeries in Hungary.

METHODS: A retrospective, quantitative research was conducted, based on the data of the Hungarian National Health Insurance Fund Administration. The database included all relevant information for publicly financed gynecological surgeries for benign indications: number of cases, location, the type of hospitals, as well as their case-mix-index. During the research number of cases and prevalence were measured by the counties. The study period covers the years 2010-2022.

RESULTS: In the study period county hospitals performed the highest number of surgeries, closely followed by city hospitals (63,794 and 60,384 respectively). Church hospitals (152) and one-day surgical institutions (5,083) had the lowest case numbers. Mean age of patients was highest in church hospitals (51.6 years) and national institutes (48.2 years) and lowest in city hospitals (46.8 years) and one-day surgical institutions (47.2 years). For the whole analyzed period, 78% of all surgeries were financed as inpatient and 22% as one-day surgical care. During the study period rate of one-day surgical cases increased from 17,57% to 27,85% while inpatient surgery rates decreased from 82,34% to 72,13% from 2010 to 2022. For inpatient surgeries mean patient age was 47.1 years, and for one-day surgery mean age was 47.5 years. Between 2010 and 2022 the case mix index of university and county hospitals increased significantly (0.28 and 0.24), with university hospitals having the highest CMI in 2022 (1.13).

CONCLUSIONS: According to the international academic literature the role of one-day surgical treatment has been increasing. There is a significant shift towards one-day surgical treatment for benign gynecological indications in Hungary.