Table 3.
Discharge Bias and Change in Rank by Hospital Characteristics
| Hospital characteristic | Mean bias (SD) | p-value | Mean change in rank (SD) | p-value |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bed size | ||||
| <100 beds | 4.11 (1.26) | 15.33 (29.13) | ||
| 100–250 beds | 3.71 (1.03) | 4.00 (27.54) | ||
| >250 beds | 2.54 (1.38) | <0.001 | −25.97 (37.27) | <0.001 |
| Teaching status* | ||||
| Non-teaching | 3.83 (1.09) | 8.97 (28.41) | ||
| Small teaching | 3.47 (1.14) | −4.43 (27.71) | ||
| Large teaching | 2.88 (1.85) | 0.001 | −17.19 (47.24) | <0.001 |
| Ownership | ||||
| Non-profit | 3.55 (1.35) | 0.68 (34.88) | ||
| For profit | 3.48 (1.23) | 0.83 | −4.65 (29.72) | 0.55 |
| MSA size | ||||
| <100,000 or non-MSA | 4.14 (1.30) | 16.48 (28.99) | ||
| 100,000 – 1 million | 3.29 (0.92) | −6.11 (25.90) | ||
| <1 million | 3.46 (1.52) | 0.076 | −2.79 (39.25) | 0.042 |
| Medicaid penetration | ||||
| Lowest tertile | 3.46 (1.02) | −0.11 (26.70) | ||
| Middle tertile | 3.84 (1.27) | 8.78 (34.26) | ||
| Highest tertile | 3.32 (1.61) | 0.62 | −8.67 (38.89) | 0.23 |
| HMO penetration | ||||
| Lowest tertile | 3.89 (1.02) | 11.44 (23.07) | ||
| Middle tertile | 3.57 (1.24) | −1.13 (30.10) | ||
| Highest tertile | 3.15 (1.60) | 0.009 | −10.55 (43.55) | 0.002 |
| LTAC beds in HRR | ||||
| 0 | 4.05 (1.30) | 12.84 (36.50) | ||
| 1–200 | 3.34 (0.89) | −3.40 (24.72) | ||
| >200 | 3.55 (1.59) | 0.41 | −1.06 (39.50) | 0.27 |
MSA = metropolitan statistical area size; HMO = health maintenance organization; LTAC = long-term acute care hospital; HRR = Dartmouth Atlas hospital referral region; SD = standard deviation
*
Teaching status categorized by resident-to-bed ratio (non-teaching 0, small teaching >0 to <0.25, large teaching ≥0.25)