Healthcare Data Requirements | Buxton Knowledge Base

Facilities Data Layout

The fields listed below are considered the minimum requirement, unless noted as optional. Additional fields for miscellaneous site characteristics are acceptable and encouraged for the analysis or for display in the platform.

Field Name	Data Type	Required	Impact on Analysis	Notes
EXTRACT_DATE	DATE: MM/DD/YYYY	Optional		File creation date, unnecessary if the date is in the file name.
FACILITY_NBR	CHARACTER	Required	Defines unique facilities.	Unique facility number. Primary Key matches to the visits and encounters files.
FACILITY_NM	CHARACTER	Required		Facility name for display in SCOUT.
ADDRESS1	CHARACTER	Required	Used to identify the geographic location to be used in modeling.	Street address only. No mall names, shopping center names, or PO Boxes. Suite/unit numbers are acceptable.
ADDRESS2	CHARACTER	Optional	Used to identify the geographic location to be used in modeling.	Optional if needed. Street address only. No mall names, shopping center names, or PO Boxes.
CITY	CHARACTER	Required
STATE	CHARACTER	Required		Postal abbreviation
ZIPCODE	CHARACTER	Required
LATITUDE	DECIMAL	Optional		Buxton will geocode facilities to a Lat/Lon if not provided.
LONGITUDE	DECIMAL	Optional		Buxton will geocode facilities to a Lat/Lon if not provided.
FACILITY_TYPE	CHARACTER	Optional	Used to identify differences in performance based on facility type, if applicable.	e.g., Franchise/Corporate, Freestanding/Mall/In-line, etc. Please include full descriptions, no abbreviations. Optional unless required for project scope. See your Buxton team for details.
FACILITY_STATUS	CHARACTER	Required	Used to identify which facilities to include in model sample set.	e.g., Open, Closed, Pipeline
OPEN_DT	DATE: MM/DD/YYYY	Required	Used to measure stabilization or ramp period for new facilities as well as impact on existing facilities when a new one opens nearby.	The original open date of the facility. No acquisition, remodel, or re-open dates (if available, provide as extra fields).
CLOSE_DT	DATE: MM/DD/YYYY	Required	Used to measure impact on existing facilities when a nearby one closes.
Optional Facility Characteristics	CHARACTER	Optional	May be tested as variables to explain differences in performance.	Optional, for SCOUT display or model testing. One variable per column. e.g., Exam rooms, FTE, Open hours, services offered, etc.

Visits Data Layout

The fields listed below are considered the minimum requirement. Additional fields are acceptable if deemed necessary for this analysis or for display in the platform.

This file should be interpreted as monthly visits performance by facility (and by service line, if required).

Example: Facility 354 had 1,263 visits in January 2023.

Field Name	Data Type	Required	Impact on Analysis	Notes
EXTRACT_DATE	DATE: MM/DD/YYYY	Optional		File creation date, unnecessary if the date is in the file name.
FACILITY_NBR	CHARACTER	Required	Used to join to facility file. Any FACILITY_NBRs present in this performance file that are NOT in the facilities file will not be loaded to the Buxton database for visualization and will not be used for any analysis.	Foreign key to FACILITY_NBR on the facility file
VISITS_MONTH	DATE: MM/DD/YYYY	Required	Historic performance data is used to measure the stabilization or ramp period for new facilities as well as measure the impact on existing facilities when nearby ones open or close. 1 year of data is the minimum required. 3-5 years of data is preferred, but we can accept and use as much as you have available.	Use first day of month if visits are reported by calendar month (e.g., 1/1/2018). If visits are reported by fiscal period, use calendar start date of period and provide period calendar. 3-5 years’ worth of data is preferred (if available)
SERVICE_LINE	CHARACTER	Optional	Will be used to define facility performance by service line if necessary for project scope.	Type of service. Optional unless required for project scope. See your Buxton team for details.
TOTAL_VISITS	DECIMAL	Required	Performance data provided in this file will be used as the dependent variable in modeling. This will be the metric by which we train the model to predict performance at future facilities and identify high vs. low performers.	Total number of patient visits.

Encounters Data Layout

The fields listed below are considered the minimum requirement. Additional fields for miscellaneous patient characteristics are acceptable if deemed necessary for the analysis or for display in the platform.

Field Name	Data Type	Required	Impact on Analysis	Notes
EXTRACT_DATE	DATE: MM/DD/YYYY	Optional		File creation date, unnecessary if the date is in the file name.
PATIENT_ID	CHARACTER	Required		Primary key
FIRSTNAME	CHARACTER	Optional	Used to match to Buxton's internal household database to ensure higher matching accuracy.	Optional, but does increase matching accuracy.
LASTNAME	CHARACTER	Optional	Used to match to Buxton's internal household database to ensure higher matching accuracy.	Optional, but does increase matching accuracy.
ADDRESS	CHARACTER	Required	Home address of the patient informs drive time to a facility and behavioral and psychographic traits of the patient.
CITY	CHARACTER	Required	Home address of the patient informs drive time to a facility and behavioral and psychographic traits of the patient.
STATE	CHARACTER	Required	Home address of the patient informs drive time to a facility and behavioral and psychographic traits of the patient.	Postal abbreviation
ZIPCODE	CHARACTER	Required	Home address of the patient informs drive time to a facility and behavioral and psychographic traits of the patient.
FACILITY_NBR	CHARACTER	Required	Used to join to the facilities file. Only encounters that join to the facilities file will be included in analysis. Any FACILITY_NBRs present in the encounters file that are NOT included in the facilities file will not be loaded for visualization or included in analysis.	Foreign key to FACILITY_NBR on the facilities file.
ENCOUNTER_DT	DATE: MM/DD/YYYY	Required		1 year required, but 3-5 years of data is preferred (if available)
SERVICE_LINE	CHARACTER	Optional		Type of service. Optional unless required for project scope. See your Buxton team for details.
TRANS_AMOUNT	DECIMAL	Required	Used to determine the value of different patient segments.	Revenue
PATIENT_TYPE	CHARACTER	Optional	These can be used to analyze differences in profiles (demographic and psychographic characteristics) as well as viewed as separate layers in SCOUT.	e.g., insurance type, membership, specialty. Optional unless required by project scope.

Common Additional Fields

Facilities
- Relocation/Acquisition Dates
- Facility Hours
- FTE by specialty
- Building Characteristics:
  - Square Footage
  - Visibility
  - Signage
  - Exam room count
- Services offered
Encounters
- Insurance type
- Member vs. Non-member

Data Audit Compliance Checklist

The following checklist denotes common points of failure for data audits. By confirming that your data complies with each of the items below, you can help ensure that your data is accepted and moves forward in the data transfer process. If you have any questions or concerns regarding any of the items below, please contact your Buxton team.

General

File headers are included in all files
Abbreviations include a description, either in the file or in a data dictionary

Facilities

Address information is complete and provided for each facility
Open date is provided for each facility

Visits

All open facilities are present in the visits file
Each facility present in the visits file is also present in the facilities file
At least 3 years of visits data is provided
Facilities are not missing any monthly visits data
Data is not provided for future months
Service line breakouts, if required, are included

Encounters

Duplicate patient IDs are not present
Address information is complete for at least 90% of records
All facility numbers in this file join to the facilities file
Facilities are not missing one or more days of encounters
Encounters occur after the facility open date

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