The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) is pleased to announce the initial release of State data for the 2007 data year from the Agency’s Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project (HCUP). HCUP is a Federal-State-Industry partnership that brings together the data collection efforts of state data organizations, hospital associations, private data organizations, and the Federal government to create a national information resource of encounter-level health care data.

In the past, State data was typically available 12 to18 months following the end of a calendar year. Thanks to new process improvements and strong relationships with HCUP State Partners, AHRQ is able to begin releasing 2007 databases in half that time. This most recent database release includes the State Inpatient Databases (SID) and State Emergency Department Databases (SEDD) of selected states. Researchers and policy makers can use these state-specific HCUP databases to investigate questions unique to one state, compare data from two or more states, conduct market area research or small area variation analyses, and identify state-specific trends in utilization, access, quality, charges, and outcomes. More State databases will be released throughout the year.

The State Inpatient Databases contain the universe of inpatient discharge abstracts for participating states. Currently, SID data from the 2007 data year are available for Arizona, Iowa, Nevada, and Oregon. These new additions complement the numerous SID files that are already available for the years 1994-2006.

The State Emergency Department Databases contain discharge information on all emergency department visits that do not result in a hospital admission. AHRQ is pleased to add 2007 data files for Nevada to the existing collection of SEDD files that are already available for the years 1999-2006.

As with all HCUP databases, the SID and SEDD contain uniformly formatted data built around a core set of more than 100 clinical and non-clinical variables for all patient encounters, regardless of payer (i.e., Medicare, Medicaid, private insurance, self-pay). The core variables include all-listed diagnoses and procedures, patient demographics, expected payment source, and total hospital charges. The files include safeguards to protect the privacy of individual patients, physicians, and hospitals. Complete descriptions of the HCUP databases are available on the HCUP User Support (HCUP-US) Website.

As the year progresses, additional 2007 databases will be released and can be purchased through the HCUP Central Distributor. Release notifications will be listed in the HCUP Online Product Release Calendar, located on the HCUP-US Website. For more information or to obtain HCUP databases (including the necessary Data Use Agreement forms and application kits), please visit the HCUP Central Distributor page on the HCUP-US Website, or contact the Central Distributor by e-mail at HCUPDistributor@ahrq.gov.