home | quality in maine | understanding our charts | chart 34

Choose Chart Chart 1: Lumbar Fusion Procedures Chart 01A: Lumbar Fusion Procedures by SSA Chart 01B: Lumbar Disc Surgery w/o Fusion by SSA Chart 2: Lumbar Disc Surgery Chart 3: Back & Neck Procedures Chart 4: Total Knee Replacement Chart 5: Total Hip Replacement Chart 6: Hysterectomy Chart 7: Carotid Endarterectomy Chart 8: Adult Medical Conditions Chart 9: Cardiology Medicine Chart 10: Digestive Medicine Chart 11: Respiratory Medicine Chart 12: ACSC Discharges Chart 13: Mortality Rates 2001 Chart 14: Adverse Effects 2001 Chart 15: Wound Infections 2001 Chart 16: Pneumonia 2001 Chart 17: Urinary Infections 2001 Chart 18: Mechanical Complications 2001 Chart 19: Pulmonary Compromise 2001 Chart 20: OB Complications 2001 Chart 21: Mortality Rates 2002 Chart 22: Adverse Effects 2002 Chart 23: Wound Infections 2002 Chart 24: Pneumonia 2002 Chart 25: Urinary Infections 2002 Chart 26: Mechanical Complications 2002 Chart 27: Pulmonary Compromise 2002 Chart 28: OB Complications 2002 Chart 29: Medical Condiitons vs High Blood Pressure Chart 30: Medical Conditions vs High Cholesterol Chart 31: Medical Conditions vs Asthma Chart 32: Medical Conditions vs Diabetes Chart 33 Demo Quality Chart 34 Demo Variation

Chart 34
Demo Chart Variation

click icon to download PDF version (70K)

We have presented all of the variation charts in the same way. The title describes the surgical procedure or activity displayed in the chart and the date range for the information listed. The data is all obtained in these charts from the hospital inpatient discharge database maintained by the Maine Health Data Organization.

The vertical axis lists the hospital service areas (HSAs). Maine has been divided into 34 HSAs. We do not use the York HSA because too many citizens of that area get their care in New Hampshire. Therefore, for York this method does not work. The horizontal axis is the percent difference or variation of each HSA from the state mean or average (at 0%).  Positive differences are shown in bars to the right of 0% and negative differences are shown to the left of 0%. If the bar is orange, then the difference is very unlikely to be by chance. Another way to say it is that the difference is statistically significant.