Overview
Dataset Summary
The National Hospital Care Survey (NHCS), conducted by the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS), began data collection in 2011 and integrates elements of the former National Hospital Discharge Survey and National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey.
NHCS captures inpatient, emergency department (ED), and outpatient utilization across participating U.S. hospitals. Hospital-level data are collected through the Annual Hospital Interview (AHI), including metrics such as total visits and births. Patient-level data are transmitted via electronic health records, standardized medical claims, or comparable state-submitted files. NHCS enables linkage across hospital settings to provide a more comprehensive picture of healthcare utilization, outcomes, and transitions of care.
Caveats
- Participation is voluntary; coverage may not be nationally representative.
- Public-use files contain limited variables.
- Access to detailed, individual-level data requires application and approval through secure research environments (e.g., the NCHS Research Data Center).
- Analyses require familiarity with complex survey design and multi-setting data linkage.
- Sample size and participating hospitals vary by year (e.g., 2021 included 108 hospitals for inpatient data and 95 hospitals for ED claims).
Examples of Outcomes Examined
- Mortality
- Emergency department visit patterns
- Hospital readmissions
- Utilization of clinical services
- Disease surveillance
- Insurance and payer-related outcomes
- Transitions of care across hospital settings
Topic
Clinical Epidemiology, Population Health, Quality and Outcomes
Resource Type
Dataset
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