Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project (HCUP): Using administrative data for disease surveillance

The purpose of this session is to introduce attendees to the Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project (HCUP) and discuss how HCUP can be used in disease surveillance efforts. Sponsored by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, HCUP captures information on 90 percent of all hospital stays in the U.S., and is the largest collection of multi-year, all-payer, encounter-level data available to researchers. It is a family of databases, software tools, and products that enable health services research and policy analysis focusing on hospital, ambulatory surgery, and emergency department encounters.

One critical manner in which HCUP can be utilized is in disease surveillance efforts. To showcase this application of HCUP, we will present the methods and results of three HCUP Statistical Briefs on the topics of influenza, obesity, and birth defects. Highlights of these briefs include the following facts for 2004:

*Influenza: There were over 37,000 hospitalizations in which influenza was noted during the hospital stay, and more than 21,100 hospital admissions resulted principally from influenza—a 62 percent decrease from 2003, but twice the number in 2001.

*Obesity: There were 1.7 million hospital stays during which obesity was noted, accounting for about 6 percent of all hospital stays—an increase of 112 percent since 1996.

*Birth Defects: There were more than 139,000 hospitalizations, representing 47.4 stays per 100,000 persons. Between 1997 and 2004, hospitalization rates increased by over 25 percent for cardiac, circulatory, and digestive congenital anomalies.

Learn more about the diverse applications of HCUP at this scientific session.