ABSTRACT

Statistical analyses are becoming increasingly utilized within the healthcare industry whether the institutionisconsideredacademicornot,andwhethertheresultsoftheanalysesarepublishedinthe peer-reviewedliteratureorusedsolelyforinternalpurposes.Ÿestructureoftheanalysescanvary dependingonthetypeofquestionorvantagepointoftherequestor.Forthischapter,weassumeahealth system,payor,ormanagedcare-relatedorganizationisthedecisionmakerandaudienceforthefindingsofaparticularanalysis,butsimilareffortscouldbedonetohelpindividualpatientsoragroupof cliniciansintheirdecisionmaking.Wewilldescribeissuesandexamplesofanalyseswithintwobroad categoriesdefinedaccordingtofocus:thosewherethepatientpopulationandtheiroutcomesareof primaryinterest,andthosepertainingtocomparisonsofproviderperformance,commonlyreferenced asprofilesorreportcards.Wewillreviewsomecommonstatisticaltestsutilizedwithinthehealthcare industry,andconcludewithamoredetailedexampleofproviderprofilingtoillustratesomeoftheconcepts.Ÿischaptercannotsubstituteforformalcourseworkinstatisticsandepidemiology,butshould provide a context for applying previous lessons or motivation to pursue additional learning.