Risk-adjusted rates are estimated for individual hospitals based on information taken from a particular time period. If a slightly different time period had been chosen, chances are that each hospital's results would have been somewhat different.

Users can compare the expected rate to the population rate reported in the Comparative Data document to determine how their case-mix compares to the reference population. The population rate refers to the overall rate for the reference population. The reference population is defined in the Comparative Data Document. If the population rate is higher than the expected rate, then the provider's case-mix is less severe than the reference population. If the population rate is lower than the expected rate, then the provider's case-mix is more severe than the reference population.

We use this difference between the population rate and the expected rate to "adjust" the observed rate to account for the difference between the case-mix of the reference population and the provider's case-mix. This is the provider's risk-adjusted rate.

If the provider has a less severe case-mix, then the adjustment is positive (population rate > expected rate) and the risk-adjusted rate is higher than the observed rate. If the provider has a more severe case-mix, then the adjustment is negative (population rate < expected rate) and the risk-adjusted rate is lower than the observed rate. The risk-adjusted rate is the rate the provider would have if it had the same case-mix as the reference population given the provider's actual performance.

If historical data exists in the database for your selected facility, you can view it by navigating to the measure and changing to table view. Historical data for each value can be displayed by clicking the double chevron icon next to their name.

The facility search function can be found by selecting the search icon in the menu bar. This is a multi-function search where you can search for names of facilities, cities, counties or even zip codes. For a list of the closest facilities to your current location, select “Use My Location” button. Searches which utilize location will be sorted by distance as a default.

Add facilities to your compare list by selecting the “Add to Facility Comparison” button for each hospital on their individual report card or from within search results.

Facilities that you select for comparison will appear in the Facility Comparison Panel. Once you have selected your facilities, select the “Compare” button at the bottom of the panel. You will be presented with a list of your selected facilities. Below this list is a measure search, where you can search for, or select a measure via dropdown.

To view HAI data for a facility, add them to the facility comparison list and then navigate to the HAI page. Individual links to each hospital’s HAI data will appear below each facility at the top of the page. If you have no hospitals in your facility comparison list, the message “No facilities selected” will appear with a link to add facilities.

When viewing an individual measure on the HRC, data sources are listed in the description of the measure when possible.

A complete list of data sources can be found on the Data Sources page .

Hospital beds are used to indicate the availability of inpatient services. This is an indicator of the overall size of the facility which should be taken into consideration when comparing hospitals.