Tendencies in the Public-Funded Hungarian One-Day Surgical Care
Author(s)
Róbert Pónusz, BSc, MSc, PhD1, Dalma Pónusz-Kovács, BSc, MSc2, Dora Endrei, MSc, PhD, MD1, Imre Boncz, MSc, PhD, MD1.
1Institute for Health Insurance, University of Pécs, Pécs, Hungary, 2Doctoral School of Health Sciences, University of Pécs, Pécs, Hungary.
1Institute for Health Insurance, University of Pécs, Pécs, Hungary, 2Doctoral School of Health Sciences, University of Pécs, Pécs, Hungary.
OBJECTIVES: The role of one-day surgery is pivotal in today's modern healthcare system. Technological advances and continuing price increases require cost-effective alternatives in the treatment. In the early 2010s, one-day surgery was marginal in Hungary, but its share among surgical cases has increased since 2015. This study aims to analyze the one-day surgical case numbers between 2015-2023 in the Hungarian public healthcare system.
METHODS: The National Health Insurance Fund Administration of Hungary provided the research database, which has a monopoly status in Hungarian healthcare financing. The database included the number of cases and DRG cost weights, the age and the sex of the patients, the type of the caregiver hospital, and the code of the interventions by WHO ICPM between 2015 and 2023. The study determined the annual one-day surgical performance of the hospitals every year. The market share of the most involved hospitals was also evaluated.
RESULTS: There is an increasing trend in the annual one-day surgical patient flow in the Hungarian healthcare system. Despite the years of 2020 and 2021 strongly influenced by COVID-19 pandemic, the annual performance indicators increased linearly. The women were represented more in the study population (63%; n=2,845,807), while the 2/3rd of the patients were older than 51 years (66%; n=2,999,202). The TOP 10 hospitals with the highest number of cases covered 41% of the study population (n=1,876,469). The universities have paramount importance in one-day surgical cases, because the clinical centers represented 25% of the total number of cases (1,138,320). The most involved medical field was ophthalmology (41%; n=1,897,783).
CONCLUSIONS: In the Hungarian public-funded healthcare system, a favourable financial method surrounds the one-day surgical treatment. On the one hand, the universities have pivotal importance among hospitals; however, it is opposite to the international practice that the universities are involved in one-day surgical treatment, in such a remarkable way.
METHODS: The National Health Insurance Fund Administration of Hungary provided the research database, which has a monopoly status in Hungarian healthcare financing. The database included the number of cases and DRG cost weights, the age and the sex of the patients, the type of the caregiver hospital, and the code of the interventions by WHO ICPM between 2015 and 2023. The study determined the annual one-day surgical performance of the hospitals every year. The market share of the most involved hospitals was also evaluated.
RESULTS: There is an increasing trend in the annual one-day surgical patient flow in the Hungarian healthcare system. Despite the years of 2020 and 2021 strongly influenced by COVID-19 pandemic, the annual performance indicators increased linearly. The women were represented more in the study population (63%; n=2,845,807), while the 2/3rd of the patients were older than 51 years (66%; n=2,999,202). The TOP 10 hospitals with the highest number of cases covered 41% of the study population (n=1,876,469). The universities have paramount importance in one-day surgical cases, because the clinical centers represented 25% of the total number of cases (1,138,320). The most involved medical field was ophthalmology (41%; n=1,897,783).
CONCLUSIONS: In the Hungarian public-funded healthcare system, a favourable financial method surrounds the one-day surgical treatment. On the one hand, the universities have pivotal importance among hospitals; however, it is opposite to the international practice that the universities are involved in one-day surgical treatment, in such a remarkable way.
Conference/Value in Health Info
2025-11, ISPOR Europe 2025, Glasgow, Scotland
Value in Health, Volume 28, Issue S2
Code
EPH226
Topic
Epidemiology & Public Health, Health Policy & Regulatory, Health Service Delivery & Process of Care
Topic Subcategory
Public Health
Disease
No Additional Disease & Conditions/Specialized Treatment Areas