Journal of health services research & policy
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J Health Serv Res Policy · Apr 2015
Comparative StudyImpact of case-mix on comparisons of patient-reported experience in NHS acute hospital trusts in England.
To examine the impact of patient-mix on National Health Service (NHS) acute hospital trust scores in two national NHS patient surveys. ⋯ More comprehensive case-mix adjustment of patient survey data than the current limited adjustment reduces performance variation between NHS acute hospital trusts and alters the comparative performance bands of some trusts. Given the use of these data for high-impact purposes such as performance assessment, regulation, commissioning, quality improvement and patient choice, a review of the long-standing method for analysing patient survey data would be timely, and could improve rigour and comparability across the NHS. Performance comparisons need to be perceived as fair and scientifically robust to maintain confidence in publicly reported data, and to support their use by both the public and the NHS.