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INSTRUCTIONS FOR COMPREHENSIVE QUERY
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Select a Hospital.
You may do so by choosing a county or a city from the drop-down menu. Your
selection of a county or a city will reveal another drop-down menu that lists
all hospitals in that county or city. Please be aware that some facilities are
in communities that are divided by a county border. Examples are Watertown and
Waupun. The hospitals in those communities are both listed under Dodge County.
If you do not know the county or city of the hospital you want to select, you
may choose “* Show all facilities” in the County or City selections boxes and
select a hospital from the drop-down menu that lists facilities in alphabetical
order.
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Select a Major Diagnostic Category (MDC).
After you select a hospital, a list of MDCs will appear. An MDC is a general
classification of diseases or conditions treated in an inpatient setting. Click
on the MDC that most closely reflects the general type of hospitalization you
would like to research.
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Select a Medicare-Severity Diagnosis Group (MSDRG)
After you select an MDC, a drop-down list of DRGs will appear. A DRG is a more
specific classification of hospitalization types based on the patient’s medical
condition, procedures performed (if any), and, in some cases, the age and/or
sex of the patient. Choose the DRG that most closely reflects the specific type
of hospitalization you would like to research. Please note that the only DRGs
that will display for a specific hospital are those for which the hospital had
at least five discharges.
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Receive the results.
After you select a specific type of hospitalization, the following information
will be displayed:
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The name, address and telephone number of the hospital you selected.
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The number of discharges, the average length of stay, and information about the
average and median charges for (1) the selected hospital; (2) all hospitals in
the selected county; and (3) all hospitals with similar patient volume as the
selected hospital:
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Overall information about payments to the selected hospital from different
types of insurers. Each pie graph represents the percentage of charges paid on
behalf of patients with private insurance, Medicaid, or Medicare coverage. This
information is not specific the selected service. It is for all services
delivered at the selected hospital.
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A table detailing the health care charges for which the hospital did not
receive payment because the patient qualified for free or reduced-charge care
or because the patient failed to pay what was owed.
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