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