[StATS]: The Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project (April 11, 2006).
On April 20, I will be attending a webcast sponsored by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) on a large data set they collected, the Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project. The acronym for this data set is HCUP, which I always pronounced HICCUP, but apparently, you are supposed to pronounce it H-CUP. That’s not the first time I mispronounced an important acronym. I use a program called STATA, and I used to use a soft A (STAH-TA). But it is actually a hard A (STAY-TA).
You can find a nice overview of HCUP on the web at www.hcup-us.ahrq.gov/home.jsp.<U+FFFD>
HCUP Databases provide data beginning in 1988 and contain encounter-level information for all payers compiled in a uniform format with privacy protections in place. HCUP databases include: The Nationwide Inpatient Sample (NIS) with inpatient data from a national sample of over 1,000 hospitals. The Kids' Inpatient Database (KID) is a nationwide sample of pediatric inpatient discharges. The State Inpatient Databases (SID) contain the universe of inpatient discharge abstracts from participating states. The State Ambulatory Surgery Databases (SASD) contain data from ambulatory care encounters from hospital-affiliated and sometimes freestanding ambulatory surgery sites. The State Emergency Department Databases (SEDD) contain data from hospital-affiliated emergency departments for visits that do not result in hospitalizations.
I have worked in the past with other AHRQ data sets. I will try to document how to work with these large databases as well as large databases at CDC (NAMS and NHAMCS, for example) when I have some time.
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This page was written by Steve Simon while working at Children’s Mercy Hospital. Although I do not hold the copyright for this material, I am reproducing it here as a service, as it is no longer available on the Children’s Mercy Hospital website. Need more information? I have a page with general help resources. You can also browse for pages similar to this one at
for pages similar to this one at with general help resources. You can also browse Children’s Mercy Hospital website. Need more information? I have a page reproducing it here as a service, as it is no longer available on the Hospital. Although I do not hold the copyright for this material, I am This page was written by Steve Simon while working at Children’s Mercy