Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project (H-CUP_HCUPNET)
Topic/Focus: Cost and Utilization, Healthcare Facilities and Services
Year(s): 1988 – present
Source: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality
Study and sample characteristics: Administrative medical records
Universe: Hospitals in participating states
Variables: Varies depending on dataset, see below for more information
Access: Data use agreement is required
Cost: Please check with the EDRC Coordinator
Key weblinks: http://hcupnet.ahrq.gov/
Summary: The Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project (HCUP, pronounced “H-Cup”) is a
family of health care databases and related software tools and products developed
through a Federal-State-Industry partnership and sponsored by the Agency for
Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ). HCUP databases bring together 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 (HCUP Partners). HCUP includes the largest collection of
longitudinal hospital care data in the United States, with all-payer, encounter-level
information beginning in 1988. These databases enable research on a broad range of
health policy issues, including cost and quality of health services, medical practice
patterns, access to health care programs, and outcomes of treatments at the national,
State, and local market levels. HCUP’s objectives are to 1) Create and enhance a
powerful source of national, state, and all-payer health care data, 2) Produce a broad set
of software tools and products to facilitate the use of HCUP and other administrative
data, 3) Enrich a collaborative partnership with statewide data organizations aimed at
increasing the quality and use of health care data and 4) Conduct and translate research
to inform decision making and improve health care delivery. Please see the Nationwide
Inpatient Sample, the Kid’s Inpatient Database, and the Nationwide Emergency
Department Sample descriptions for more detail. Participating state-specific data is also
available.
