Table A-13. Measures of Central Tendency and Variability for Year-to-Year Percent Changes in Various Health Sector Prices. 1966-19811.
| Type of National Health Expenditure | Price Variable | Measures of Variability2 | ||||
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| Measures of Central Tendency | Standard Deviation | Standard Error | Coefficient of Variation of The Mean3 | |||
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| Mean | Median | |||||
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| Total | Implicit Price Deflator National Health Expenditures | 7.0% | 7.2% | 2.2% | 0.569% | 0.082 |
| Personal Health Care (Total Systems Cost) | Implicit Price Deflator Total Systems Cost | 7.2 | 7.1 | 2.5 | 0.645 | 0.090 |
| Hospital Care | Implicit Price Deflator Hospital Care | 8.1 | 7.8 | 2.0 | 0.529 | 0.065 |
| Community Hospital Care | National Hospital Input Price Index | 8.2 | 8.1 | 2.1 | 0.549 | 0.067 |
| Inpatient | National Hospital Input Price Index | 8.2 | 8.1 | 2.1 | 0.549 | 0.067 |
| Outpatient | National Hospital Input Price Index | 8.2 | 8.1 | 2.1 | 0.549 | 0.067 |
| Federal Hospital Care | Federal Hospital Input Price Index | 7.3 | 8.2 | 3.0 | 0.770 | 0.105 |
| Physicians' Services | CPI Physicians'Services | 8.0 | 7.9 | 2.6 | 0.676 | 0.085 |
| Dentists'Services | CPI Dental Services | 6.8 | 6.7 | 2.4 | 0.608 | 0.089 |
| Other Professional Services | CPI Professional Services | 7.5 | 7.3 | 2.3 | 0.582 | 0.078 |
| Drugs and Medical Sundries | CPI Medical Care Commodities | 4.0 | 2.8 | 3.7 | 0.953 | 0.237 |
| Eyeglasses and Appliances | CPI Eyeglasses | 4.7 | 4.7 | 1.7 | 0.440 | 0.093 |
| Nursing Home Care | National Nursing-Home Input Price Index | 7.9 | 7.8 | 1.5 | 0.391 | 0.049 |
| Nursing-Home Care Excluding ICF-MR | National Nursing-Home Input Price Index | 7.9 | 7.8 | 1.5 | 0.391 | 0.049 |
| Other Health Services | CPI Medical Care | 7.8 | 7.7 | 2.5 | 0.657 | 0.085 |
| Program Administration and Net Cost of Insurance | Implicit Price Deflator for Program Administration and Net Cost of Insurance | 6.5 | 6.3 | 1.9 | 0.499 | 0.077 |
| Government Public Health Activities | Wages and Salaries per Employee in Civilian Federal Government and in State and Local Government | 7.2 | 7.2 | 1.6 | 0.409 | 0.057 |
| Research | Biomedical Research and Development Price Index | 6.7 | 6.3 | 1.8 | 0.462 | 0.069 |
| Construction of Medical Facilities | Department of Commerce Composite Construction Cost Index | 8.2 | 7.1 | 3.8 | 0.987 | 0.120 |
There are 16 annual percent changes for the period 1966-1981.
ln textbook examples, measures of variability typically measure sampling variability, that is, variations that might occur by chance because a sample of the population is surveyed. As calculated in this paper (and for typical applied time-series analyses) measures of variability also reflect variability associated with evolving causal structures and variability associated with various types of nonsampling errors such as data processing mistakes, nonresponse, misreporting by respondents, etc. The calculated measures are approximate and are meant as a general guide. It is important to keep in mind the potential dangers of extrapolating historical measures of variability into the future. That is, there can be no guarantee that future variability will replicate historical variability.
For cautions in using the coefficient of variation when the mean of the variable measures change, see Kish (1965, pp. 47-49).