The HCUP New Jersey inpatient files were received from the New Jersey Department of Health and Senior Services. The New Jersey files consist of discharge abstract data for all inpatient and same-day stays.

New Jersey supplied discharge abstract data for inpatient stays from general acute care hospitals.

Not all hospitals report a full calendar year of data. Some hospitals close during the year; other hospitals have technical problems that prevent them from reporting a full year.

The documentation provided by New Jersey does not indicate whether stays in special units within the hospital (e.g., psychiatric, rehabilitation, long-term care) are included.

Beginning in 1999, records with a discharge disposition of "still a patient" were excluded from the HCUP inpatient files. Prior to 1999, this type of record was not included in the source data files.

Beginning in 2005, the definition of ambulatory surgery records was based on the UB-92 bill type - the first two digits must be "13" (BillType = 13x) to indicate hospital outpatient services. Inpatient records must have the first two digits of "11" or "12”"(BillType = 11x or BillType = 12x) to indicate hospital inpatient services. Prior to 2005, the definition of ambulatory surgery records supplied by New Jersey was:

• Same-day stay (LOS = 0),
• Non-zero charges to operating room or same-day surgery, and
• Discharged to home (DISP = 1).