Glossary

A ratio is a score derived by dividing a count of one type of data by a count of another type of data. For example, the number of patients with central lines who develop infection divided by the number of central line days. The key to the definition of a ratio is the numerator is not in the denominator.

A resource use measure, also called a cost and resource use measure, is a measure of health services counts (in terms of units or dollars) applied to a population or event (including diagnoses, procedures, or encounters). A resource use measure counts the frequency of use of defined health system resources. Some may further apply a dollar amount (e.g., allowable charges, paid amounts, or standardized prices) to each unit of resource use.

A respecified measure is an existing measure changed to fit the current purpose or use. This may mean changing a measure to meet the needs of a different care setting, data source, or population. It can also mean changes to the numerator, denominator, or adding specifications to fit the current use.