Skip to main content
. 2016 Feb 21;51(6):2221–2241. doi: 10.1111/1475-6773.12462

Table 1.

Percentages and Standard Deviations of the HCAHPS Scores, Organizational Characteristics, and Patient Case Mix Characteristics

Variables Mean SD
Nurse staffing: adjusted total number of nurses per 1,000 inpatient days 4.5 1.4
Skill mix: % of nursing staff (LPN, RN, aides) that are RNs 74.1 12.4
HCAHPS top‐box scoresa,b
Nurses always communicated well 71.1 6.6
Patients always received help as soon as they wanted 57.3 8.7
Pain was always well controlled 66.2 6.0
Staff always explained (medications) 56.7 6.5
Yes, staff did give patients this (discharge) information 79.7 5.1
Patients who gave a rating of 9 or 10 for overall hospital rating 63.8 9.7
Yes, patients would definitely recommend the hospital 67.1 11.0
Percent
Organizational characteristics
Size (number of beds)c
Small 21.4
Medium 33.7
Large 44.9
Ownership status
Not‐for‐profit 62.0
For‐profit 21.7
Public 16.3
Urban/nonurban location
Urban 91.8
Nonurban 8.2
Patient case mix characteristics
Age distribution of discharges, years
18–34 20.7 10.0
35–44 10.5 3.1
45–54 13.7 4.1
55–64 15.1 3.5
65–74 14.8 3.9
75+ 25.1 10.0
Female sex 60.6 7.2
Primary payer
Private 26.3 13.5
Medicare 42.6 12.7
Medicaid 20.9 14.0
Other 10.1 7.9
Hospital admissions originating in the emergency department 58.6 19.1
Patient zipcode income quartile
Quartile 1 18.3 23.0
Quartile 2 20.0 19.1
Quartile 3 30.0 21.4
Quartile 4 31.7 27.9
Patient race/ethnicity status
Black 11.0 14.9
Hispanic 22.0 20.0
Comorbiditiesd
Rheumatoid arthritis/collagen vascular diseases 2.2 0.8
Congestive heart failure 7.8 3.1
Hypertension (combine uncomplicated and complicated) 45.2 9.2
Hypothyroidism 10.1 3.2
Liver disease 3.3 1.5
Fluid and electrolyte disorders 22.0 8.5
Metastatic cancer 1.8 0.9
Other neurological disorders 7.3 2.8
Paralysis 2.6 1.3
Peripheral vascular disorders 4.7 2.2
Renal failure 10.7 4.5
Solid tumor without metastasis 1.7 0.7
Valvular disease 3.4 2.1
Acquired immune deficiency syndrome/lymphoma/peptic ulcer disease excluding bleeding 0.9 0.6
Deficiency anemias/chronic blood loss anemia/coagulopathy 22.9 7.1
Chronic pulmonary disease/pulmonary circulation disorders 17.8 5.4
Diabetes, uncomplicated/diabetes with chronic complications 21.9 5.6
Alcohol abuse/drug abuse 8.5 5.7
Obesity/weight loss 14.8 6.8
Depression/psychoses 12.8 4.9
a

Top‐box scores are adjusted scores calculated using a CMS methodology; the scores reflect the percentage of patients who scored each HCAHPS measurement with the most positive response category (Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services 2014a).

b

Percentages are specific to each item and therefore total more than 100%.

c

Size categories (number of beds) are assigned to hospitals on the basis of the hospitals' region, urban/rural location and teaching status. More information is available at https://www.hcup-us.ahrq.gov/db/vars/hosp_bedsize/nisnote.jsp.

d

The comorbidities used in this study are those contained in Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) comorbidity software (Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project 2013).

HCAHPS, Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems; LPN, licensed practical nurse; RN, registered nurse.