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Enhancement Of Claims Data To Improve Risk Adjustment Of Hospital Mortality, Michael Pine, Harmon S. Jordan, Anne Elixhauser, Donald E. Fry, David C. Hoaglin, Barbara Jones, Roger Meimban, David Warner, Junius Gonzales

Publications from Provost Junius J. Gonzales

Context Comparisons of risk-adjusted hospital performance often are important components of public reports, pay-for-performance programs, and quality improvement initiatives. Risk-adjustment equations used in these analyses must contain sufficient clinical detail to ensure accurate measurements of hospital quality.

Objective To assess the effect on risk-adjusted hospital mortality rates of adding present on admission codes and numerical laboratory data to administrative claims data.

Design, Setting, and Patients Comparison of risk-adjustment equations for inpatient mortality from July 2000 through June 2003 derived by sequentially adding increasingly difficult-to-obtain clinical data to an administrative database of 188 Pennsylvania hospitals. Patients were hospitalized for acute myocardial …