Errors in data on hospital ownership.
In recent years, there has been increased public concern about changes in hospital ownership and consolidation in the hospital market. Numerous studies have examined the relationship between hospital ownership and prices, costs, organization, service mix, access to care and quality of care. However, the data on which these studies are based are often incomplete and inaccurate. In this paper, we examine several sources of data employed by researchers examining hospital ownership and discuss the degree of inaccuracy we found in each source. Substantial primary data collection is necessary to accurately account for changes in ownership and system affiliation.
Mitchell
S
S
Department of Health Policy, Yale University, School of Public Health and Epidemiology, New Haven, CT 06520, USA.
Spetz
J
J
Seago
J A
JA
D000573:American Hospital Association; D002140:California; D003625:Data Collection / Q000592:standards*; D006302:Health Services Research; D006739:Hospital Administration / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006777:Hospitals, Proprietary / Q000458:organization & administration; D006788:Hospitals, Voluntary; D009096:Multi-Institutional Systems / Q000458:organization & administration; D009935:Organizational Affiliation / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D010067:Ownership / Q000706:statistics & numerical data* / Q000639:trends; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D013220:State Health Planning and Development Agencies; D014481:United States