The The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) has released the Nationwide Readmissions Database (NRD), a new annual database designed to support various types of analyses of national readmission rates for all payers and the uninsured. This database addresses a large gap in healthcare data—the lack of nationally representative information on hospital readmissions for all ages. The NRD uses Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project (HCUP) State Inpatient Databases (SID) with verified patient linkage numbers and includes discharges from community hospitals, excluding rehabilitation and long-term acute care hospitals. The database includes discharges for patients with and without repeat hospital visits and those who have died in the hospital.

AHRQ is hosting a two-part webinar series on the HCUP NRD on December 9 and 16, 2015. Registration for both Webinars will open on Wednesday, December 2, 2015 at 12:00 PM ET.