DRG 901 Overview

DRG 901 covers inpatient hospital admissions for wound debridements related to injuries when a Major Complication or Comorbidity is present, typically involving severe tissue damage, contamination, or infection requiring operative or extensive bedside debridement. This Diagnosis-Related Group groups cases where the presence of a Major Complication or Comorbidity drives higher resource use, such as longer length of stay, intensive wound care, and additional surgical or medical management. For Medicare payment, classification to this Diagnosis-Related Group affects relative weight and payment level within the inpatient prospective payment system. Accurate clinical documentation of the injury, extent of debridement, and the Major Complication or Comorbidity is essential to support assignment to this Diagnosis-Related Group.

Across commercial payers the reported rates for DRG 901 range roughly from $370 up to $160K, with median/p50 values spanning from about $37K to $76K depending on payer. The widest spread appears for Anthem (min $390 to max $160K), indicating the largest payer-level variability. See the table and chart below for payer-specific distributions and percentiles.

The CMS 2023 data represent national Medicare fee-for-service inpatient payments reported in the CMS Provider Utilization and Payment Data program. The table below shows average total payment, average submitted covered charges, average Medicare payment amount, and total discharges for DRG 901. These values summarize nationwide Medicare payment and charge levels for the reported discharges.

• Acute operative technique and timing trials: Studies comparing immediate versus delayed surgical debridement strategies, or different operative debridement techniques (for example serial sharp debridement versus tangential/plastic surgery approaches) in patients with traumatic or complex soft tissue wounds and concomitant major complications. These trials enroll inpatients with varying wound severity and comorbidities (including infection, ischemia, or polytrauma) to evaluate short-term outcomes such as infection control, need for reoperation, limb salvage, and length of stay. Results inform surgeons and hospital payers about interventions that may reduce intensive resource utilization and complications in this high-MCC cohort.
• Comparative effectiveness research on adjunctive wound therapies during inpatient care: Randomized or pragmatic studies comparing adjuncts to standard debridement (for example negative pressure wound therapy, biologic dressings, or topical antimicrobial protocols) in patients with complex, infected, or chronicized traumatic wounds that meet MCC criteria. These studies focus on wound healing trajectories, rates of secondary infection, required number of operating room returns, and inpatient resource use across diverse patient subgroups (diabetes, peripheral vascular disease, immunosuppression). Findings help care teams and payers evaluate which adjuncts produce meaningful improvements in clinically relevant outcomes and may justify higher initial inpatient costs through downstream savings.
• Post-discharge outcomes and care transition studies: Prospective cohort studies or transitional care trials that follow patients after inpatient debridement with MCC-level complications to assess readmission rates, outpatient wound healing, functional recovery, and long-term costs of care. These studies target patients discharged to home, skilled nursing, or home health services to identify predictors of poor recovery (residual infection, nonhealing tissue, need for reconstructive surgery) and to test care coordination models that might reduce readmissions. Evidence from these studies is critical for hospitals and payers to design discharge planning, bundle payments, and post-acute pathways that lower avoidable utilization and improve patient-centered outcomes.