Jump to content

Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project

Add links
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Mean as custard (talk | contribs) at 19:27, 15 October 2018 (external link removal per WP:EL). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

The Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project (HCUP, pronounced "H-Cup") is a family of health care databases and related software tools and products from the United States that is developed through a Federal-State-Industry partnership and sponsored by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ).[1]

HCUP Logo

General Information

HCUP provides access to health care databases for research and policy analysis, as well as tools and products to enhance the capabilities of the data.[2]

HCUP databases combine the data collection efforts of State data organizations, hospital associations, private data organizations, and the Federal government to create a national information resource of patient-level health care data. State organizations that provide data to HCUP are called Partners.

HCUP includes the largest collection of multi-year hospital care (inpatient, outpatient, and emergency department) data in the United States, with all-payer, encounter-level information beginning in 1988. These databases enable research on a broad range of health research and policy issues at the national, state, and local market levels, including cost and quality of health services, medical practice patterns, access to health care, and outcomes of treatments.

Additionally, AHRQ has developed a comprehensive set of software tools to be used when evaluating hospital data. AHRQ's free software tools can be used not only with the HCUP databases, but also with other administrative databases. HCUP's Supplemental Files are only for use with HCUP databases.

HCUP User Support Website (HCUP-US)

The HCUP User Support Website is the main repository of information for HCUP. It is designed to answer HCUP-related questions; provide detailed information on HCUP databases, tools, and products; and offer technical assistance to HCUP users. HCUP’s tools, publications, documentation, news, services, and HCUPnet (the free online data query system) may all be accessed through HCUP-US. The Website also provides information on how to obtain HCUP databases.

HCUP Overview Course

To help researchers and policymakers discover and use HCUP’s data, tools, and products to their fullest potential, HCUP developed a free, interactive online course that provides an overview of the features, capabilities, and potential uses of HCUP. The course is modular, so users can either move through the entire course or access exactly the resources in which they are most interested. The Overview Course can work both as an introduction to HCUP data and tools and a refresher for established users.

HCUP Online Tutorial Series

The HCUP Online Tutorial Series is a set of free, interactive training courses that provide users with information about HCUP data, software products, and tools and give guidance on technical methods for conducting research with HCUP data. The online courses are modular, so users can move through an entire course or access the sections in which they are most interested. Available tutorials feature topics such as loading HCUP data, HCUP’s sampling design, weighting the databases, calculating standard errors, producing national estimates, conducting multi-year analysis, and how to use the nationwide readmissions database.

HCUP Databases

Overview of HCUP Databases

HCUP databases bring together the data collection efforts of State data organizations, hospital associations, private data organizations, and the Federal government to create an information resource of patient-level health care data.

HCUP’s databases date back to 1988 data files. The databases contain encounter-level information for all payers compiled in a uniform format with privacy protections in place. Researchers and policymakers can use its records to identify, track, and analyze national trends in health care use, access, charges, quality, and outcomes. The databases are suited for a broad range of analyses—including rare conditions and special patient populations.

HCUP databases are released approximately 6–18 months after the end of a given calendar year, with State databases available earlier than the national dataset. For example, 2014 State data was available beginning in 2015, and nationwide data was available beginning in July 2016.

Currently there are seven types of HCUP databases: four with national- and regional-level data and three with State- and local-level data.

HCUP Tools and Software

To enhance the capabilities of the HCUP databases, HCUP provides a number of tools and software programs that can be applied to HCUP and other similar administrative databases.

HCUP Fast Stats will continue to be updated regularly (quarterly or annually, as newer data become available) for timely, topic-specific national and State-level statistics.

See also

References

  1. ^ What is HCUP?
  2. ^ Fact Sheet: Databases and Related Tools from the Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project (HCUP)
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Healthcare_Cost_and_Utilization_Project&oldid=864204240"