Inpatient mental health represents a significant component of hospital activity, with costs exceeding C$194 million ($180 million US$). The Province of Ontario has recently implemented a minimum data set reporting for hospital activity occurring in adult inpatient mental health beds. The mental health dataset is based on clinical conditions and mental health (mental function, ability to develop and maintain relationships and adapt to change). A case mix classification system for inpatient mental health activity is currently being evaluated. Evaluation of the case mix classification system has revealed that a significant portion of inpatient mental health hospital admissions are short stay (0–3 days length of stay, or LOS), whereby insufficient clinical data is collected regarding clinical conditions and mental health to case mix adjust patient stays. We propose a methodology to case mix adjust inpatient mental health short stay admissions and validate using available information.
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Sutherland et al. (2007) studied this question.