The HCUP Supplemental Files augment the information available in the HCUP databases. They are part of a family of databases and software tools developed as part of the Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project (HCUP), a Federal-State-Industry partnership sponsored by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. HCUP databases, tools, and software inform decision making at the national, State, and community levels.

Contents:

• Overview
• American Hospital Association (AHA) Linkage Files
• Cost-to-Charge Ratio (CCR) Files
• Hospital Market Structure (HMS) Files
• Kids’ Inpatient Database Trends (KID-Trends) File
• Nationwide Inpatient Sample Trends (NIS-Trends) Files
• Supplemental Files for Revisit Analyses

HCUP Supplemental Files provide various types of additional information that is valuable to users of HCUP data for research and reporting. In many cases it is more efficient and timely to supply supplemental hospital-level or discharge-level data files separately, rather than inserting such data directly in HCUP databases. For example, the HCUP Cost-to-Charge Ratio (CCR) Files which include data elements that can be linked to the HCUP NIS, KID, and SID files are made available several months after the release of the corresponding database because of delays in acquiring the necessary information to produce them.

Each type of HCUP Supplemental Files is appropriate for use with specific HCUP databases. Information provided below includes relevant databases, availability, and links to detailed information.

The AHA Linkage Files are hospital-level files that contain a small number of data elements that allow researchers to link hospital identifiers on the HCUP state databases to the American Hospital Association Annual Survey Databases (Health Forum, LLC © 2012). Linkage is only possible in States that allow the release of hospital identities.

• Relevant HCUP Databases: AHA Linkage files are appropriate for use with the SID, SASD, and SEDD. No AHA linkage files are available for the NIS and KID because this information is already part of the NIS or KID Hospital Weights File. Currently, AHA hospital identifiers are not available for the NEDS.
• Availability: The AHA Linkage Files are available for download from the HCUP-US website. These files are free of charge. However, the user must agree to specific terms and conditions of use.

Select to access more information on the AHA Linkage Files.

The HCUP Cost-to-Charge Ratio (CCR) Files are hospital-level files that facilitate the conversion of inpatient total charges to total costs. The total charge on an inpatient discharge record represents the amount that a hospital billed for services, but does not reflect how much hospital services actually cost or the specific amounts that hospitals received in payment. In some cases, users may be interested in seeing how hospital charges translate into actual costs.

• Relevant HCUP Databases: The HCUP CCR Files are appropriate for use with the HCUP inpatient databases: NIS, KID, and SID. Currently, cost-to-charge ratios are not available for use with the HCUP outpatient databases.
• Availability: The HCUP CCR Files are available free of charge from the HCUP Central Distributor to data users who have purchased the corresponding HCUP inpatient databases and completed the required Data Use Agreements and DUA Online Training.

Select to access more information on the CCR files.

The HCUP Hospital Market Structure (HMS) Files are hospital-level files that contain various measures of hospital market competition. These measures are aggregate and are meant to broadly characterize the intensity of competition that hospitals may be facing under various definitions of market area.

• Relevant HCUP Databases: The HCUP HMS Files are appropriate for use with the HCUP inpatient databases: NIS, KID, and SID. Currently, similar files are not available for use with the HCUP outpatient databases.
• Availability: The HCUP HMS Files are available free of charge from the HCUP Central Distributor to data users who have purchased the corresponding HCUP inpatient databases and completed the required Data Use Agreements and DUA Online Training.

Select to access more information on the HMS files.

The Kids’ Inpatient Database Trends (KID-Trends) File is a discharge-level file that provides KID data users with trend weights consistently defined between 1997 and later years.

• Relevant HCUP Databases: The KID-Trends Files are appropriate for use with the KID.
• Availability: The HCUP KID-Trends File is available for download from the HCUP-US website. This file is free of charge.

Select to access more information on the KID-Trends File.

The Nationwide Inpatient Sample Trends (NIS-Trends) Files are discharge-level files that provide the NIS data user with both the trend weights and data elements that are consistently defined across data years. The purpose of the NIS-Trends Files is to ease the burden on researchers conducting analyses that span multiple years and account for sample design changes.

• Relevant HCUP Databases: The NIS-Trends Files are appropriate for use with the NIS.
• Availability: The HCUP NIS-Trends Files are available free of charge from the HCUP Central Distributor to data users who have purchased the corresponding HCUP NIS and completed the required Data Use Agreements and DUA Online Training.

Select to access more information on the NIS-Trends Files.

The HCUP Supplemental Files for Revisit Analyses are discharge-level files designed to facilitate analyses that need to track patients within a state and across time and hospital settings (inpatient, emergency department, and ambulatory surgery) while adhering to strict privacy guidelines.

• Relevant HCUP Databases: The HCUP Supplemental Files for Revisit Analyses are appropriate for use with the HCUP state-level databases: SID, SASD, and SEDD. Similar files are not available for the HCUP nationwide databases: NIS, KID, and NEDS.
• Availability: The HCUP Supplemental Files for Revisit Analyses are available free of charge from the HCUP Central Distributor to data users who have purchased the corresponding HCUP state-level databases and completed the required Data Use Agreements and DUA Online Training.

Select to access more information on the HCUP Supplemental Files for Revisit Analyses.