Table 2.
List of attributes used in our analysis based on the data collected (continued from Table 1)
| Category | Attribute | Description | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| HCPCS Information | Procedure Types | A set of binary attributes, one for each type of procedure performed by the provider. HCPCS cover anything billable to Medicare, from new visits to transplants. | CMS |
| Relative Cost of Procedures | The relative cost of the provider’s procedures, normalized to [0,1] by all providers within a 30 mile radius. | CMS | |
| Relative Procedure Volume | The relative volume of the provider’s procedures, normalized to [0,1]. | CMS | |
| Number of HCPCS Beneficiaries | Number of beneficiaries for all HCPCSs for the provider. | CMS | |
| Prescriber Information | Prescription Types | The types of drugs prescribed by the provider (brand and generic names handled separately). | CMS |
| Number of Rx Beneficiaries | Number of Medicare beneficiaries from the prescriber dataset. | CMS | |
| Hospital Affiliations | Affiliated Hospital Score | The maximum score from the provider’s hospital affiliations, where the score of each hospital affiliation depends upon the provider’s specialties and U.S. News scoring of hospitals. | CMS (to get hospitals) and U.S. News (for score of hospitals) |
| Number of Affiliated Hospitals | Number of hospital affiliations for the provider. | ||
| Insurance | Number of Accepted Insurances | Number of insurers accepted by the provider. | Vitals.com and Healthgrades.com |
| Individual Insurers | A set of attributes, one for each insurer accepted by the provider, e.g., Humana. | Vitals.com and Healthgrades.com | |
| Medical Experience | Medical School Rank | Ranking of the provider’s medical school by primary care rating. | CMS and U.S. News |
| Years of Experience | The difference between 2014 and the year the provider graduated medical school. | CMS | |
| Credentials | The provider’s credentials, e.g., MD, DO, FACP, etc. | CMS | |
| Residency Rank | Ranking of the provider’s residencies by primary care rating. | Healthgrades.com and U.S. News | |
| Fellowship Rank | Ranking of provider’s fellowships by primary care rating. | Healthgrades.com and U.S. News | |
| Number of Residencies | Number of the provider’s residencies. | Healthgrades.com | |
| Number of Fellowships | Number of the provider’s fellowships. | Healthgrades.com | |
| Disciplinary Information | Number of Malpractices | Number of malpractices of the provider. | Healthgrades.com |
| Number of Sanctions | Number of sanctions of the provider. | Healthgrades.com | |
| Number of Board Actions | Number of disciplinary board actions of the provider. | Healthgrades.com | |
| Average Ratings from Patient Reviews | Patient Review Ratings | A set of attributes based on user reviews: Overall Rating, Ease of Appointment, Follows Up After Visit, Promptness, Spends Time with Me, Courteous Staff, Bedside Manner, and Accurate Diagnosis. | Merge reviews from Vitals.com and Healthgrades.com |
| Number of Patient Reviews | Number of patient reviews for the provider. | Vitals.com and Healthgrades.com |