Hospital financing: lessons learned from over 25 years of experience with the revision of the case-based payment system in Kyrgyzstan

Overview

The development of the Kyrgyz diagnosis related group (DRG)/casebased payment system has been a crucial component of large-scale health system reforms over the past decades in Kyrgyzstan. Kyrgyzstan started with a very simple DRG version followed by the introduction of complexities into the system, driven by national needs. The path to an effective DRG system entailed careful data management, stakeholder engagement and continuous refinement of the DRG system. Kyrgyzstan's experience suggests that opting for a domestically developed DRG system may offer certain advantages over adopting a DRG system from other countries. This policy paper provides an overview of the evolution of the Kyrgyz DRG system, with a specific focus on recent revisions, offering valuable insights for other countries embarking on hospital payment reform or the introduction of a DRG system.