The authors have assessed the activity of a complex division (three wards) at the Modena General Hospital. The parameters used were DRG indicators: Case-Mix Index; Performance Index and Resources Index. It is a in-house hospital analysis, since the benchmark is based on the three units average figures. The analysis covers 1479 patients hospitalized during the first 6 months of the year 2000. The authors have taken into account overall DGRs, surgical DGRs and recurrent DGRs. Making allowance for the limits of such comparison, the study shows some differences as regards efficiency and cost-curbing policies, with the surgical unit having the largest and most diversified number of cases.