Hospital Encounters Involving Drug Use by Urban–Rural Location of Hospital by Month From Selected Hospitals

The National Hospital Care Survey (NHCS), conducted by the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS), collects data on patient care in hospital-based settings to describe patterns of health care delivery and use in the United States. Settings include inpatient facilities and emergency departments (EDs).

NHCS results provided on drug use-associated hospital encounters are from UB–04 administrative claims data from August 1, 2022, through July 31, 2024, from 24 hospitals that submitted inpatient data and 24 hospitals that submitted ED data. The data used in these figures are preliminary, and the results may change with subsequent releases. The data file will be updated every 2 months. The data are not nationally representative but can provide insight on the impact of drug use on various types of hospitals throughout the country.

Results on this page show the percentage of encounters involving all drugs, all opioids, benzodiazepines, cannabis, and stimulants over time among all ED or inpatient encounters by the hospital’s urban–rural location. Data are presented for each setting (inpatient and ED) and for each month.

• These drug categories are defined by any listed International Classification of Diseases, 10th Revision, Clinical Modification (ICD–10–CM) diagnosis code as follows:
  • All Drugs—A hospital encounter involving for all drugs is defined as any listed ICD–10–CM diagnosis code for Indicator ICD-10 Codes.
  • All Opioids—A hospital encounter involving for all opioids is defined as any listed ICD–10–CM diagnosis code for Indicator ICD-10 Codes.
  • Benzodiazepines—A hospital encounter involving the use of benzodiazepines is defined as any listed ICD–10–CM diagnosis code for Indicator ICD-10 Codes.
  • Cannabis—A hospital encounter involving for cannabis is defined as any listed ICD–10–CM diagnosis code for Indicator ICD-10 Codes.
  • Stimulants—A hospital encounter involving for all stimulants is defined as any listed ICD–10–CM diagnosis code for Indicator ICD-10 Codes.
• The hospital urban–rural classification is based on the NCHS urban-rural classification scheme for counties. Three categories of urban–rural are shown:
  • Large central and fringe metropolitan areas: Metropolitan statistical area (MSA) with a population of 1 million or more people.
  • Medium and small metropolitan areas: MSA with a population less than 1 million people.
  • Rural areas: Micropolitan (urban clusters with a population of at least 10,000 but less than 50,000) and noncore (everything else considered non-micropolitan) areas.