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Weekly Q&A: Case mix index

HCPro's Weekly Update on the ANCC Magnet Recognition Program®*, September 6, 2005

This week, a reader asks for advice on submitting case-mix index data in their documentation. Read the response below from our advisor, Suzanne C. Beyea, RN, PhD, FAAN, director of nursing research, Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center, Lebanon, NH.

Q: In the ANCC's 2005 Magnet Recognition Program® Application Manual, the fifth requirement in the "organizational overview documents" section requests case mix index information by service/product line for each of the two preceding years. Our organization does not use product lines and has only collected overall case mix data. Can anyone advise on how to meet this requirement?

A: In obtaining data such as case mix, check with all the right departments in your facility to see whether they have more specific information about case mix. It is not uncommon for hospitals to report overall case mix data, but more detailed information is often available in the finance department or from an analyst group. Often, specialty- or product-line case mix index data are helpful to the budget planning and forecasting processes, and one those groups may analyze the overall case mix for more specific information. The medical record coders often record case mix in some type of software, so further analysis may also be possible.

If there are no other possible ways of reporting service- or product-line case mix, simply report the data that your organization has collected and include an explanation as to why your healthcare organization has decided not to collect more detailed information. Convey the reason(s) why an overall case mix might simply be more helpful to your organization.

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