Maintained/created by: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality
Website: http://www.ahrq.gov/data/hcup/
Geographic unit of data: U.S. national, U.S. state
Keywords: access to care, Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, ambulatory services, cost of care, diagnosis, emergency department, HCUPnet, health care, health policy, healthcare, hospital admission, hospital characteristics, hospital discharge, inpatient, Kids' Inpatient Database, length of hospital stay, Medicaid, medical practice patterns, medical procedure, Medicare, Nationwide Emergency Department Sample, Nationwide Inpatient Sample, patient demographics, payment source, private health insurance, quality of care, State Ambulatory Surgery Databases, State Emergency Department Databases, State Inpatient Databases, treatment outcomes, uninsured
Abstract:
Users can use the online interactive tool (HCUP-net) to gather national, state and all-payer patient health care data or users can purchase the data from the HCUP databases.
Background
HCUP is sponsored by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. It is a collection of databases that provide information on patient health care data, including information typically found on a hospital discharge form. Topics include: cost of care, access to care, and treatment outcomes. The HCUP databases include: The National Inpatient Sample, The Kids’ Inpatient Database, The State Ambulatory Surgery Database, and The State Emergency Department Databases. Many of these are available for purchase.
Database Capabilities
Users can purchase any of the aforementioned databases from the HCUP Central Administrator. Directions and contact information are readily available from the HCUP website. Users can also access the HCUP interactive tool, HCUP-net. Please click the appropriate link in the keywords to access this tool.
Data Notes
HCUP began collecting health care data in 1988. Specific information about a particular database can be found on the website.