The next generation of performance indicators

SQLape® offers a set of scientifically validated indicators for cost management and quality management, as well as hospital planning tools

What are we offering?

Monitor your ambulatory shift

Our algorithm analyses all the patient’s diagnoses and procedures defining whether the stay could have been avoided by day surgery or outpatient care.

See the whole picture

Compare your costs and quality with average and best US hospitals through our benchmark.

User-friendly software

Preparing input files and double clicking on the SQLape application is all you need to compute your indicators. No need to change anything in your coding practice.

What is SQLape?

SQLape® is a set of scientifically-validated tools and indicators for the analysis of inpatient health care. Through its comprehensive and intelligible patient classification system, it sets accurate standards while adjusting for case mix and removing pernicious effects.

SQLape is used by numerous hospitals in Switzerland and is now fully adapted for use in US hospitals and clinics

The SQLape tool is developed in Switzerland since 2003 and is based on new classification principles.

Why SQLape is better than DRG-like solution?

SQLape®

Patients are assigned to a single category, which is supposed to summarize all its characteristics. This inevitably leads to categories that are difficult to interpret medically.

In the race for the explanatory power of the classification system, other systems include predictive variables (complications, ventilation times, etc.) which can be harmful for patients.

Current classification systems have too many outliers, diverting significant hospital resources and leaving uncertainty about whether additional costs stem from complications or pricier medical practices.

Classification depends enormously on the choice of the principal diagnosis. Patients who have had several surgeries are underpaid. Moreover it leads to bias in medical coding.

Our algorithm identifies several significant issues for each case. The classification of diseases is based on the organs affected and the pathology (infection, cancer, etc). Procedures are based on the organs operated on, the operative gesture and access. This typology is significantly more meaningful for doctors.

The tool compares observed and expected costs according to the patient profile, distinguishing the contribution of extreme cases, iatrogenic complications and medical practices. This is very important for setting the cost control strategy.

Diagnoses likely to be complications or immediate causes of death and the given care (ventilation for instance) are not involved in the classification and thus they are not skewing the results.

The hierarchy between the problems (primary or secondary) is established by the grouper and does not depend on the coding.

Current patient classification systems often have around 1000 categories. Instinctively it seems that the more the better but it's not. There are only 6000 hospital stays in an average US hospital per year. Too many categories means less statistical accuracy and interpretability.

The number of categories is limited to around 200 diagnosis and 200 procedures. It allows for better statistical accuracy and fewer extreme cases.

Traditional Patient Classification Tools

How can SQLape help you

While other systems are based on the overall costs of a patient, SQLape® goes a step further by redistributing the costs of each diagnosis and each procedure. It is then much easier for doctors to analyze their practice. The method which makes it possible is up-to-date and has been scientifically validated. It is called the iterative proportional repartition (IPR) method.

SQLape® indicators will help you identify and interpret those patient categories where resources are spent inefficiently thus allowing you to significantly cut down expenses. You can go even deeper into the problem and find specific diagnosis and procedures that could and should be improved.

SQLape® tool gives you an opportunity to compare your costs with US average and with best US hospitals via realistic but ambitious benchmark.

Success Stories

SQLape clearly highlights a hospital's strengths and weaknesses and suggests potential savings opportunities in a language that is easy to interpret for managers, doctors and caregivers.

Gautier Vallat, CEO of Hôpital du Jura

Dorsaf Steiner, Performance engineer,
and Hugo Bothorel, Head of Clinical Research
at Hôpital de La Tour (Meyrin)

Finally, a tool that helps us accurately assess the financial impact of complications!

If you have only simple cases like hip joint replacements or deliveries without complications, then probably your current patient classification system is working fine. But if you encounter more complex cases with different diagnoses and procedures combination, then you need a more advanced system like SQLape.

Dr Mikael de Rham, CEO of Ensemble hospitalier de la Côte (EHC)

Take a peek at SQLape® software and how it can be used in real-life scenarios.

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Get In Touch

Don’t hesitate to contact us if you have any questions regarding SQLape

© SQLape 2025 / 1803, Chardonne, Switzerland