DPC in Acute-phase Inpatient Hospital Care

The Diagnosis Procedure Combination (DPC) is a global assessment system based on the standardization and visualization of medical data. This system was introduced into the Japanese medical system after its reformation [1]. Since the introduction of the DPC system, medical data have been used secondarily to promote the standardization of medical care as the following studies show. Recent studies have shown the benefits of using the DPC system as well as the Nursing Minimum Data Set (NMDS). The use of the DPC system in studies conducted in Japan displayed the advantages of using standardized data to analyze large numbers of patients and to evaluate procedures [2–4]. Moreover, studies using the NMDS, were conducted successfully in Western countries (the U.S., Belgium, and Austria), and showed the benefits of using standardized data to analyze various aspects of nursing care performed on large groups of patients [5– 8]. The number of elderly patients in acutephase medical institutions has been increasing due to Japan’s rapidly aging population. At the same time, the average number of days of hospitalization in acutephase medical institutions has been reduced by the introduction of the DPC system or functional differentiation of medical facilities. Consequently, it has become even more important to distribute nursing resources appropriately and assure the quality of nursing practice during a short hospital stay. Therefore, it is neces sary to visualize nursing care provided to the patients and make analyses and assessments from both qualitative and quantitative aspects. The DPC system basically refers to the amount of medical resources provided. However, factors associated with nursing, the field providing the greatest workforce, have not been reflected in this concept. The main reason for this is that the standardization of nursing information in Japan has not been ascertained, and there has been