HCFA Hospital Wage Index Survey File
Study Number	A02_97
Background of Dataset
Purpose of the Data Set	The hospital hours and salaries for FY1997 used to create the wage indices used in the Medicare Hospital Prospective Payment System (PPS). This file compares hourly wages for hospitals in each area using FY 1997 wage data compared to FY 1996 wage data (which was used to calculate the FY 2000 wage index). The calculations used to compute the average hourly wages are based on the policies employed to calculate the FY 2000 wage index.
Criteria(s) for Inclusion/Exclusion	Includes all Medicare hospitals.
Age Range Included	N/A
Method(s) of Data Gathering	Data on hourly wages for hospitals were collected via survey.
Sampling Frame/Design	N/A
Limitation(s) of Study	No
Year(s) Available	1997
Number of Observations	4953
Unit of Observation	Hospitals
Publisher	Health Care Financing Administration
Contact Information/Web Address	http://www.hcfa.gov/stats/pufiles.htm
Condition of Use	Publicly Available
Contents of Database
Key Linking Variables
•Patient identifier
•Physician identifier
•Health facility identifier	Hospital number
•Geographic identifier	MSA
•Other identifier
Demographics Information
•Sex
•Race
•Geographic location	Yes
•Income
•Education
•Employment status
•Others
Access/Utilization Information	N/A
Health Care Facility Information	N/A
Physician Information	N/A
Cost/Expenditure Information	N/A
Other Information
•Wage information	By health professions