National Hospital Discharge Survey: 2000 annual summary with detailed diagnosis and procedure data.

Abstract

Objectives: This report presents national estimates for 2000 and selected trend data on the use of non-Federal short-stay hospitals in the United States. Estimates are provided by demographic characteristics of patients discharged, geographic region, ownership and bed size of hospitals, principal expected source of payment, conditions diagnosed, and surgical and nonsurgical procedures performed.

Methods: The estimates are based on data collected through the National Hospital Discharge Survey. The survey has been conducted annually by the National Center for Health Statistics since 1965. In 2000, data were collected for approximately 313,000 discharges. Of the 481 eligible non-Federal short-stay hospitals in the sample, 434 (90 percent) responded to the survey. Measurements of hospital use include number and rate of discharges and days of care, and the average length of stay. The population estimates used to compute rates were based on the 1990 Census. Estimates of first-listed diagnoses, days of care, all-listed diagnoses, and all-listed procedures are presented according to their code number in the International Classification of Diseases, 9th Revision, Clinical Modification (ICD-9-CM).

Results: An estimated 31.7 million inpatients were discharged from non-Federal short-stay hospitals in 2000. These patients used an estimated 155.9 million days of care. Females had 19.2 million discharges compared with 12.5 million for males. Fifty-four percent of all discharges under age 65 years had a principal expected source of payment from a private source, and 22 percent were covered by Medicaid. Discharge rates per 1,000 population ranged from 85.4 in the West to 135.5 in the Northeast. The leading discharge diagnosis was delivery for patients under age 65 years and heart disease for those 65 years of age and over. The rate of discharges with coronary artery bypass graft for males was 2.4 times the rate for females, and males had almost twice the female rate for discharges with removal of coronary artery obstruction. Hospital stays were 1 day or less for 15 percent of women with deliveries in 2000, compared with 37 percent in 1995.