At what level of detail should an analyst extract data from an information warehouse when analyzing changes in a hospital's Medicare case-mix index over time?

Extracting data at the discharge level is the most suitable approach for analyzing changes in a hospital's Medicare case-mix index over time. This level of detail allows an analyst to examine individual patient admissions and discharges, which is essential because the case-mix index is determined by the types of diagnoses and treatments patients receive during their hospital stay. By analyzing data at this granular level, the analyst can accurately identify shifts in case mix, understand how different patient demographics or conditions affect the index, and provide a clearer picture of the hospital's performance within the Medicare program.

The discharge level captures critical details such as diagnoses, procedures, and patient demographics which contribute to the Medicare reimbursement process. This specificity is crucial when evaluating case-mix changes, as aggregating data at higher levels may overlook important variability within individual patient cases. Therefore, focusing on discharge-level data enables more precise insights into the factors influencing the hospital’s Medicare case-mix index over time.

This targeted approach becomes significantly valuable for trend analysis and for developing strategies to optimize the hospital's services and reimbursement processes based on the insights derived from the case-mix index.