Table 1.
Variables and operational definitions.
| Variable | Original Source | Definition |
|---|---|---|
| Total Performance Score | Definitive Healthcare (via Medicare website) | The total performance score is the quality score used by CMS to adjust Medicare reimbursement and is an aggregate of equally weighted quality metrics from four domains in 2018: 25% safety, 25% clinical care, 25% efficiency, and 25% cost reduction, and patient and caregiver-centered experience of care/care coordination. |
| Hospital Compare Score | Definitive Healthcare (via Medicare website) | Hospital Compare is a consumer-oriented website owned by Medicare that provides relative scoring information on how well hospitals provide recommended care to their patients. Scored on a five-point scale. |
| Occupancy Rate | Definitive Healthcare | The occupancy rate is a calculation used to reflect the actual utilization of an inpatient health facility for a given time period. Occupancy rate = total number of inpatient days for a given period × 100/available beds × number of days in the period. |
| Payer Mix | Definitive Healthcare | Payer mix refers to the percentage of patients with government health plans—Medicare and Medicaid —vs. commercial or “private” insurance. |
| Natural Logarithm of Operating Expenses /Bed | Definitive Healthcare | The mean cost for each bed in the facility, a measure of cost. |
| Rural Status | Definitive Healthcare | A hospital located in a non-metropolitan county, or a hospital within a metropolitan county that is far away from the urban center, as defined by the Health Resource Services Administration (HRSA) |
| For Profit Status | Definitive Healthcare | Hospitals operated by investor-owned organizations |
| Teaching Status | Definitive Healthcare | Hospitals affiliated with universities, colleges, medical schools, or nursing schools. |