ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Case mix index

When the hospital has many patients, it can be difficult to figure out how much it will cost to take care of them all. This is where the Case Mix Index comes in.

It is like a chart that helps the hospital figure out how much it should charge for each patient based on how sick they are and what kinds of treatments they need. The sicker the patient, the more expensive their care will be.

To decide the Case Mix Index, hospitals look at things like the patient's age, gender, health condition, and what kind of procedures or medicines they need. The hospital then assigns a number to each patient based on how much care they need.

For example, a healthy patient might have a number of 1, while a patient with a serious illness might have a number of 5. The more patients with higher numbers, the higher the Case Mix Index will be.

Overall, the Case Mix Index helps hospitals so they can provide the care patients need and charge a fair price for it.
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