Winter 2011
Issue #29
Contents
News and Announcements: Notable news from HCUP
Databases and Products: New database and product releases
Publication Spotlights: Recent works incorporating HCUP data and tools
HCUP Q&A: Answers to your HCUP questions
HCUP Events: Upcoming HCUP conferences and meetings
Missed the last e-News? Read it on the HCUP-US Website.
Alaska Joins HCUP Partnership as 45th State
HCUP welcomes the Alaska State Hospital and Nursing Home Association as our newest State Partner! Beginning with the 2010 data year, Alaska will contribute to the Nationwide Inpatient Sample (NIS) and State Inpatient Databases (SID). With this addition, 45 States now participate in HCUP, making it a powerful data resource.
Announcing HCUP's Outstanding Articles of the Year
Two studies received HCUP's Outstanding Article of the Year Award at the 2011 AHRQ Annual Meeting. The awards honored articles published in peer-reviewed journals in 2010 that used HCUP data to explore and address health care research topics and issues.
Abstracts for this year's winning articles are featured below. Congratulations to the award recipients!
Now Available: The 2009 NEDS
The 2009 Nationwide Emergency Department Sample (NEDS) has been released. Yielding national estimates of emergency department (ED) visits, the NEDS is the largest all-payer ED database in the United States and contains information about geographic, hospital, patient, and visit characteristics.
The 2009 NEDS contains data from nearly 29 million ED visits from more than 950 hospital-based EDs in 29 states. It approximates a 20-percent stratified sample of EDs from community hospitals. Weights are provided to calculate national estimates pertaining to the almost 130 million ED visits that took place in 2009
The 2009 NEDS can be purchased through the HCUP Central Distributor, and select aggregated statistics are available on HCUPnet. Additional information on the NEDS is available on the HCUP-US Website.
Recently Released: Additional 2010 State Databases
Since September 2011, the following 2010 state databases have been released:
Complete listings of available databases by year can be found in the HCUP Database and Product Release Calendar and the SID/SASD/SEDD Application Kit (beginning on page 6). Databases can be purchased through the HCUP Central Distributor, and aggregated statistics for selected states can be accessed via HCUPnet.
For database purchasing questions, please contact the HCUP Central Distributor.
Just Released: HCUP Facts and Figures, Updated for 2009
HCUP has released its new statistical report, HCUP Facts and Figures: Statistics on Hospital-Based Care in the United States, 2009. The report is an update and expansion of the HCUP Facts and Figures, 2008 report and uses the Nationwide Inpatient Sample (NIS) to present information about hospital care in 2009 and trends in care between 1993 and 2009. This year's report features a special chapter on women's health.
The 2009 HCUP Facts and Figures report can be found in the Reports section of the HCUP-US Website. Facts and Figures reports from previous years can also be accessed on this page.
Present-on-Admission Methods Report Now Available
HCUP released a new Methods Series report entitled The Case for the Present-on-Admission (POA) Indicator: Update 2011 Methods Report (Methods Report #2011-05). The report discusses POA-related information and developments that have occurred over the past five years, including uniform bill (UB) data-reporting standards for the POA indicator, CMS requirements for POA reporting, implementation of the POA indicator in software, and an updated literature review.
This and other Methods Series reports are available on the HCUP-US Website.
New HCUP Statistical Briefs Posted on HCUP-US
HCUP Statistical Briefs are short, focused reports on topics related to specific conditions, procedures, or populations.
Since September 2011, Statistical Briefs releases include:
These and other HCUP Statistical Briefs can be found on the HCUP-US Website.
Publications Using HCUP Data
Curns, A.T., Steiner, C.A., Barrett, M., Hunter, K., Wilson, E., Parashar, U.D. Reduction in Acute Gastroenteritis Hospitalizations in US Children After Introduction of Rotavirus Vaccine - Analysis of Hospital Discharge Data from 18 States. The Journal of Infectious Diseases. 2010; 201:1617-24.
A recipient of HCUP's Outstanding Article of the Year Award, this study used quarterly HCUP State Inpatient Databases (SID) from 18 HCUP State Partners and showed a dramatic decrease in hospitalizations for acute gastroenteritis among U.S. children during the 2008 rotavirus season. During the year, gastroenteritis hospitalization rates decreased from pre-vaccination levels by 45% among children younger than five years of age, translating into approximately 55,000 fewer gastroenteritis hospitalizations and the elimination of 1 in every 20 of all hospitalizations in this age group. The article abstract is available via Pubmed.
Almond, D., Doyle, J.J., Kowalski, A.E., Williams, H. Estimating Marginal Returns to Medical Care: Evidence from At-risk Newborns. Quarterly Journal of Economics. 2010; 125: 2: 635-673.
A recipient of HCUP's Outstanding Article of the Year Award, this study used the HCUP State Inpatient Database (SID) from 1995-2006 from four states to analyze the benefits of medical treatments for newborns of very low birth weight (VLBW). The study concluded that infants categorized as VLBW may have a lower mortality rate when they receive additional treatment. This article abstract is available via Pubmed.
To read additional recently-published articles featuring HCUP data, please visit the Research Spotlights page on the HCUP-US Website.
Question: How do I link the HCUP databases with the American Hospital Association (AHA) Survey Data using the AHA Linkage File?
Answer:
If you have the State Inpatient Databases (SID), State Ambulatory Surgery Databases (SASD) or State Emergency Department Databases (SEDD):
If you have the Nationwide Inpatient Sample (NIS) or Kids' Inpatient Databases (KID):
No AHA Linkage files are available for the NIS and KID. However, HOSPID and AHAID are included in the NIS or KID Hospital Weights Files, which can be linked to the AHA Annual Survey database.
Please note that the availability of AHAID in the Hospital Weights Files varies depending on state, as some states restrict the release of the element. Without AHAID, data in the NIS and KID cannot be linked to any data for hospitals included in the AHA Annual Survey database. Refer to Table 2 in the documents Introduction to the NIS, 2009 and Introduction to the KID, 2009 for a list of states restricting AHAID for the 2009 NIS and KID.
The Nationwide Emergency Department Sample (NEDS) cannot be merged with the AHA Annual Survey database.
For other HCUP questions, please contact HCUP User Support.
For a complete list of HCUP presentations and events, visit the HCUP Events Calendar.
The HCUP e-News is available online at the HCUP-US Website and distributed via the HCUP Mailing List.
For more information and questions regarding the HCUP e-News, please contact P. Hannah Davis, M.S., at hannah.davis@ahrq.hhs.gov