Chapter 7 review what is the adjusted hospital autopsy rate

Study Guide

Healthcare Statistics By

Jacqueline K. Wilson, RHIA

About the Author

Jacqueline K. Wilson is a Registered Health Information Administrator (RHIA) who has more than ten years of experience consulting, writing, and teaching in the health care industry. She’s a professional writer who has authored training manuals, study guides/materials, online courses, and articles on a variety of topics. In addition, Ms. Wilson develops curricula and teaches both traditional and online college courses in health information technology, anatomy and medical terminology, and standards in health care. In 2005, she received the distinguished national award of being included in Who’s Who Among America’s Teachers.

Copyright © 2012 by Penn Foster, Inc.

All rights reserved. No part of the material protected by this copyright may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

Requests for permission to make copies of any part of the work should be mailed to Copyright Permissions, Penn Foster, 925 Oak Street, Scranton, Pennsylvania 18515.

Printed in the United States of America

11/3/14

All terms mentioned in this text that are known to be trademarks or service marks have been appropriately capitalized. Use of a term in this text should not be regarded as affecting the validity of any trademark or service mark.

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INSTRUCTIONS TO STUDENTS 1

LESSON ASSIGNMENTS 5

LESSON 1: UNDERSTANDING HEALTHCARE STATISTICS 7

LESSON 2: COMPILING AND PRESENTING HEALTHCARE STATISTICS 25

RESEARCH PROJECT 51

SELF-CHECK ANSWERS 57

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INTRODUCTION

Statistics are used in a wide variety of fields, including business, academics, science, government, and of course, healthcare. Individuals and organizations use statistics to interpret data and make informed decisions based on those interpretations. As you’ve probably guessed, statistics play a very important role in the healthcare field, since they have a great impact on the types and quality of healthcare services offered to patients.

No matter what career you choose within the field of health information management, you’ll likely deal with statistics regularly. Therefore, this course provides an overview of the basic types of healthcare statistics and describes how this information is used within the healthcare industry.

OBJECTIVES

When you complete this course, you’ll be able to

n Apply basic statistical principles

n Define data elements for institute-wide collection

n Calculate and report institutional healthcare quality indicators

n Calculate routine institutional statistics, such as length of stay, death rates, autopsy rates, occupancy rates, bed turnover rates, and morbidities

n Prepare and present research data

n Distinguish between descriptive statistics and inferential statistics

n Explain percentage of occupancy

n Analyze patient data with quality improvement tools

n Design reports using database information

n Perform statistical analysis of patient information

n Participate in committees utilizing health record information

YOUR TEXTBOOK

Your textbook, Calculating and Reporting Healthcare Statistics, Fourth Edition, by Loretta A. Horton, contains the material on which you’ll be tested. You need to become familiar with this textbook prior to beginning your course. Begin by reading the contents on page iii. This will give you an overview of the entire textbook. Appendix A begins on page 263 and lists all the statistical formulas discussed in the textbook, along with the corresponding page number references. Appendix B begins on page 271 and is a complete glossary of health- care services and statistical terms. Following Appendix C is an index on page 323.

YOUR STUDY GUIDE

This study guide is intended to be used as a supplement to the textbook. Therefore, it shouldn’t replace your textbook reading. The study guide is designed to follow the topics in your textbook, so it’s arranged in an outline format based on the textbook headings and subheadings.

Each assignment in the study guide lists the page numbers of the corresponding assignment in the textbook. When you approach each assignment, you should first read the infor- mation in the study guide and then study the corresponding assignment in the textbook. The study guide provides an overview of the information in the textbook and highlights important passages that you should examine carefully. If you don’t understand a topic or section in the textbook, take the time to reread the information. Because much of the material discussed in this course will be new to you, it’s natural that you may need to read some sections more than once.

Throughout your study guide, you’ll come across small sec- tions of text that are set apart from the main text material. These sidebars are included to provide additional information, to suggest readings, and to clarify or emphasize important points. Whenever you see one of these sidebars, refer to the corresponding passage in the textbook to be sure you fully understand the material presented.

Instructions to Students2

COURSE MATERIALS

This course includes the following materials:

1. This study guide, which contains an introduction to your course, plus

n A lesson assignments page with a schedule of study assignments as well as exams for the two lessons you’ll complete during this course

n Assignment lessons emphasizing the main points in the textbook

n Self-checks and answers to help you assess your understanding of the material

2. Your course textbook, Calculating and Reporting Healthcare Statistics, which contains the assignment reading material

A STUDY PLAN

As mentioned, you’ll use two texts for this course: Calculating and Reporting Healthcare Statistics and this study guide. For each lesson in this course, follow these steps:

Step 1: Carefully note the pages where your assigned read- ing begins and ends. These pages are identified in the Lesson Assignments section of this study guide.

Step 2: Skim through the assigned pages (in both the study guide and the textbook) to get a general idea of their content. Try to develop an overall perspective on the concepts and skills being taught and practiced in each assignment.

Step 3: Carefully read through the study guide’s assigned pages. These pages contain background informa- tion about the material covered in the textbook.

Step 4: Study the assigned pages in your textbook, and take notes on any important points or terms that you feel are especially significant.

Instructions to Students 3

Step 5: Complete the self-check exercises at the end of each assignment in the study guide. You don’t have to send any of the answers to the school. These exercises are intended for your personal use in evaluating and directing your progress.

Step 6: When you feel you’ve mastered all of the material presented in each assignment, complete the exami- nation at the end of each lesson.

Instructions to Students4

Lesson 1: Understanding Healthcare Statistics For: Read in the Read in

study guide: your textbook:

Assignment 1 Pages 7–10 Pages 1–7

Assignment 2 Page 11 Pages 9–20

Assignment 3 Pages 12–14 Pages 23–39

Assignment 4 Pages 14–15 Pages 43–54

Assignment 5 Pages 15–18 Pages 57–67

Assignment 6 Pages 18–19 Pages 71–91

Assignment 7 Pages 20–21 Pages 95–109

Assignment 8 Pages 21–23 Pages 115–133

Examination 409411 Material in Lesson 1

Lesson 2: Compiling and Presenting Healthcare Statistics For: Read in the Read in

study guide: your textbook:

Assignment 9 Pages 25–29 Pages 137–165

Assignment 10 Pages 30–35 No textbook reading

Assignment 11 Pages 35–42 Pages 171–191

Assignment 12 Pages 42–45 Pages 195–225

Assignment 13 Pages 45–47 Pages 249–257

Assignment 14 Pages 48–50 Pages 227–245

Examination 409412 Material in Lesson 2

Research Project 40941300

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Lesson Assignments6

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Understanding Healthcare Statistics

INTRODUCTION

Healthcare statistics come from a number of different sources, and they’re used by many organizations within the health- care field. As you’ll learn in this lesson, your role as a health information management professional is to familiarize yourself with the types of statistics available and to use that information to better serve the patients within your healthcare facility.

ASSIGNMENT 1: INTRODUCTION TO HEALTHCARE STATISTICS Read through the following material in your study guide. After you’ve read the study guide commentary, read pages 1–7 of your textbook, Calculating and Reporting Healthcare Statistics.

The Importance of Healthcare Statistics

Statistics play an important role in all aspects of health infor- mation management. They provide information that’s essential to the quality, prioritization, effectiveness, cost, and reimburse- ment of patient care. For example, population statistics inform healthcare facilities about the types of services needed for patients in their area. Statistics from patient surveys help healthcare facilities improve their levels of service. Statistics from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) provide important information about contagious diseases and how they’re controlled.

Healthcare Statistics8

Nationwide, healthcare statistics allow facilities to identify trends and collect information regarding different groups within the population. According to the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS), healthcare statistics allow facilities to

n Document the health status of the population and of important subgroups

n Identify disparities in health status and the use of healthcare by race, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, religion, and other population characteristics

n Monitor trends in health status and healthcare delivery

n Identify health problems

n Support biomedical and health services research

n Provide information regarding changes to public policies and programs

n Evaluate the impact of health policies and programs

Who Uses Healthcare Statistics?

Each department within a healthcare facility relies on infor- mation from healthcare statistics. In a hospital, for example, administrators use healthcare statistics to analyze the costs of patient care and to create opportunities to introduce cost- saving measures. Nurses use statistics to keep track of the types of patients they treat and the frequency with which they treat them. These statistics help nurses with supply orders and staff schedules.

The use of healthcare statistics isn’t limited to patient care facilities. For example, government agencies maintain health- care statistics to determine which coverage services are needed and to identify specific areas of outbreak within the population. National registries, such as cancer registries, collect information about the available treatments and survival rates for diseases. This information affects federal funding for research and vaccine development.