Key points
- The National Hospital Care Survey (NHCS) collects data from a sample of hospitals to make nationally representative estimates.
- Participating hospitals represent many other facilities in the same geographic region and medical specialty.
- Selected hospitals cannot be replaced in the NHCS sample.
Overview
The National Hospital Care Survey (NHCS) collects data about patient care from a sample of U.S. hospitals. Selected hospitals provide information about patients seen in their inpatient, outpatient, and emergency departments. NHCS also collects data about those hospitals.
Together these data can describe trends in patient care, hospital operations, and the healthcare system.
Why participate?
It is essential that we collect hospital care data for—
- Hospitals to understand changes in patient needs and the healthcare system
- Policymakers to make solid, evidence-based decisions about healthcare programs and policies
- Researchers to analyze NHCS data with data from other sources to identify trends in patient care and outcomes
If selected, your voluntary participation in NHCS is important because you represent other similar hospitals. If too few hospitals participate, NHCS cannot produce nationally representative estimates based on the collect data.
Participating also can provide many benefits for your facility. For more detailed information about these benefits, visit Why Participate in NHCS.
Who can participate
Only hospitals that are invited to join can participate in the National Hospital Care Survey. NHCS includes a scientifically selected, nationally representative sample of more than 600 hospitals operating in the United States. Those selected represent not only their hospitals, but also other comparable facilities of the same size and in the same part of the country.
Invited hospitals that want to join NHCS must participate in a one-time interview to confirm they are eligible to take part in the survey. After that, eligible hospitals participate in NHCS every year. Participation is voluntary and hospitals can withdraw from NHCS at any time.
How data are collected
We collect patient data in one of three ways:
- Electronic health records
- Uniform Bill (UB)-04 administrative claims
- Copy of the file sent to the state health department
We collect hospital characteristics data through the Annual Hospital Interview. Hospital characteristics include things like ownership status, trauma level rating, teaching hospital status, total admissions, and total births.
The National Center for Health Statistics contracts with Westat to collect NHCS data. Westat is a corporation that provides research services to government agencies and businesses. Westat is a designated agent of the National Center for Health Statistics.
Interested in joining NHCS?
How findings are used
Objective and timely data are essential to assess the nation's health and wellbeing, as well as how and how well the U.S. healthcare system operates. NHCS provides important information for healthcare and public health professionals, researchers, and policymakers. They can use NHCS data to track—
- National patterns of healthcare delivery in hospital-based settings
- Factors that influence the use of healthcare resources
- Disparities in health care services provided to different groups
Detailed NHCS patient information linked with data from other sources can provide a more complete picture of patient care in the United States. For example, linking NHCS data with data from the National Death Index provides more information about mortality after patients are discharged. The National Center for Health Statistics restricts access to these linked data to protect patients' personal and health information.
Drug-related ED visits
Research ethics
Under the 2018 requirements of the Common Rule ((45 CFR 46.102(l)(2)), the National Hospital Care Survey is designated as a public health surveillance activity, rather than a research project. Hospital Institutional Review Boards do not need to review or approve public health surveillance activities.
The National Center for Health Statistics Ethics Review Board (ERB) has reviewed and approved NHCS. You can review the NHCS ERB approval letter and share it with your hospital's Institutional Review Board to verify that the letter meets the requirements of the HIPAA Privacy Rule. We also can send you a copy of the materials submitted to the ERB.