Overview

The Patient Diagnostic Mix by Unique Patients table allows you to isolate Major Diagnostic Categories (MDCs) that are a challenge for the facility, so you can present your approach to solving a meaning full challenge within a specific department. In addition to seeing patient counts, you can review hospice utilization, average length of stay, readmission rates, and mortality rates for each diagnostic category. We have included comparative county and state averages to help you easily see where the facility differs from the norm. Once the facility's strengths and weaknesses are known, you can devise an account plan and message that will help you stand out from your competition.

Understanding the Data

Each row contains a single MDC with comparative metrics for the following sections: 

• Percentage per category - This is the percent of patients with diagnoses that fit into the listed MDC with county and state averages for comparison. If the facility has a higher average than the county and state, this suggests an area of specialization.
• Total Medicare Patients - Counts of medicare patients by quarter and hospice patients in the last year helps you understand the potential volume of business available for that MDC.
• Hospice Utilization % - Hospice utilization shows how likely patients within the given MDC are to elect hospice within 30 days of discharge. Comparing utilization with performance metrics in that same MDC helps link the use of hospice to patient outcomes.
• Average Length of Stay (Days) - The average length of stay (ALOS) section provides insight into the ability of the facility to recognize terminal patients and transition them to hospice effectively. Generally, ALOS will be quite low as compared to your overall population because many of these patients had a highly acute diagnosis. We provide comparisons to both county and state benchmarks. ALOS includes patients diagnosed with the given MDC that received hospice within 30 days of discharge.  
• Readmit Rate - Facilities want to keep patients from being readmitted and this section shows you the performance of each MDC with benchmarks, so you can engage on the problematic MDCs for the facility. When a facility is under performing as compared to benchmarks and they are underutilizing hospice, you may have found an opportunity to help the facility improve its approach to promoting hospice.