The average length of stay for selected types of separations (defined using Australian Refined Diagnosis Related Groups, AR-DRGs) is regarded as an indicator of the efficiency of hospitals.
Figure 32 presents the average lengths of stay for the selected AR-DRGs in public and private hospitals. There were notable differences (more than 1 day) in the average length of stay between public and private hospitals for seven of these AR-DRGs. The average length of stay for Chronic obstructive airways disease without catastrophic complications or comorbidities was 4.7 days for public hospitals and 7.7 days for private hospitals.