National hospital discharge survey

Area of Science:

• Health Services Research
• Epidemiology
• Public Health

Background:

• Non-Federal short-stay hospitals are critical components of the U.S. healthcare system.
• Understanding patient discharge patterns and resource utilization is essential for healthcare planning.
• National data on hospital use provides insights into population health trends.

Purpose of the Study:

• To present national estimates of hospital utilization in U.S. non-Federal short-stay hospitals for 1995.
• To analyze hospital use based on patient demographics, geographic region, diagnoses, and procedures.
• To report key metrics including discharge rates, days of care, and average length of stay.

Main Methods:

• Data derived from the 1995 National Hospital Discharge Survey.
• Survey included approximately 263,000 discharges from 466 responding hospitals (92% response rate).
• Diagnoses and procedures coded using the International Classification of Diseases, 9th Revision, Clinical Modification (ICD-9-CM).

Main Results:

• An estimated 30.7 million discharges occurred in 1995.
• Total days of care amounted to 164.6 million.
• The average length of stay was 5.4 days.

Conclusions:

• The 1995 National Hospital Discharge Survey provides a comprehensive overview of U.S. hospital utilization.
• Findings highlight significant patient volumes and resource consumption within short-stay hospitals.
• Data supports ongoing analysis of healthcare delivery and patient outcomes.