Table 5. County data: Variable means

Impact of State Laws Limiting Malpractice Awards on Geographic Distribution of Physicians

(1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, and 2000 data; N =14,640)

Description of variable	Mean
Number of physicians per 100,000 residents	116.84
Residency = 0/1, =1 if county had a hospital with a residency training program in 2000	.10
Percent of population unemployed	5.33
Births = number of births per 100,000 residents	1305.80
Rural, measures degree of "ruralness" of county on scale (0 = least rural, 9 = most rural)	5.43
High HMO penetration (above 30 percent) (1=yes, 0=no)	21.7
Temperate climate (average temp>70 degrees) (1=yes, 0=no)	.04
State law capping damage awards in malpractice cases (1=yes, 0=no)	.37

Current as of July 2003

Internet Citation: Table 5. County data: Variable means: Impact of State Laws Limiting Malpractice Awards on Geographic Distribution of Physicians. July 2003. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, Rockville, MD. http://www.ahrq.gov/research/findings/final-reports/tortcaps/torttab5.html