The Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project (HCUP) comprises a family of administrative databases and tools for using administrative data. This session will describe three HCUP tools: HCUPnet, Quality Indicators, and Clinical Classification Software. HCUPnet is an interactive, online service (www.ahrq.gov) to quickly answer questions about hospital care use, outcomes, and charges. Queries can be national, regional, or specific to participating HCUP states. Menu-driven HCUPnet guides users in tailoring specific queries such as: What is the mean length of stay for patients with diabetes? What percent of patients with septicemia die in the hospital? Does this vary by age group? Does it vary by type of insurance? Does it vary by type of hospital or region of the country? What are the top 25 most expensive reasons for hospitalization? The HCUP Quality Indicators software comprise a set of clinical performance measures based on hospital data. The QIs have recently been updated and now include severity adjustment and population-based denominators. The QIs software was written to use with HCUP data, but simple software changes can accommodate any hospital administrative dataset. The Clinical Classifications Software (CCS) is a tool for clustering patient diagnoses and procedures into a manageable number of clinically meaningful categories. CCS is used for grouping ICD-9-CM conditions and procedures without having to wade through thousands of codes. This "clinical grouper" makes it easier to quickly understand patterns of diagnoses and procedures so that health plans, policymakers, and researchers can analyze costs, utilization, and outcomes associated with particular illnesses and procedures.
Learning Objectives: This session will provide an overview of HCUP tools -- software and Internet applications designed to let researchers make better use of administrative data
Keywords: Data Collection, Research
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
Organization/institution whose products or services will be discussed: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), Department of Health and Human Services
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.