National Hospital Care Survey Demonstration Projects: Stroke Inpatient Hospitalizations.

Objective-This report shows the analytical potential of the National Hospital Care Survey (NHCS) through a demonstration of the use of its data to examine inpatient (IP) discharges and ambulatory visits for stroke. Unweighted data of IP and ambulatory encounters from the 2014 NHCS are linked to records from the 2014 and 2015 National Death Index (NDI). Methods-For the 2014 NHCS, 94 hospitals provided IP administrative claims data and 88 provided ambulatory (emergency and outpatient department) claims data. Although these data are not nationally representative, the survey provides unique opportunities to study health conditions such as stroke, because all IP discharges and ambulatory encounters from participating hospitals are collected for a 12-month period. The collection of patient identifiers (e.g., patient name, Social Security number, and date of birth) allows for linkage to outside data sources such as NDI, providing information on patient mortality after hospital discharge. Analyses examined stroke encounters across various hospital settings. Results-Approximately two-thirds of stroke IP discharges originated from hospital emergency departments. IP visits for stroke tended to originate from the IP department among younger patients, and from the emergency department for older patients. The likelihood of postdischarge mortality was higher for stroke patients aged 85 and over. Thirteen percent of stroke patients aged 85 and over died within 30 days of an IP discharge compared with almost 6% of stroke patients aged 75-84. This study highlights the unique analytical capabilities of NHCS.

National Hospital Care Survey Demonstration Projects: Traumatic Brain Injury.

Purpose-This report demonstrates the analytical potential of the National Hospital Care Survey (NHCS) through a case study of inpatient discharges and ambulatory visits for traumatic brain injury (TBI) based on unweighted data from the 2013 NHCS of inpatient and emergency department (ED) encounters and the 2013 and 2014 NHCS for outpatient department (OPD) encounters.

National Survey of Prison Health Care: Selected Findings.

OBJECTIVES: This report presents selected findings on the provision of health care services in U.S. state prisons. Findings on admissions testing for infectious disease, cardiovascular risk factors, and mental health conditions, as well as the location of the provision of care and utilization of telemedicine are all included.

Hospitalizations for patients aged 85 and over in the United States, 2000-2010.

KEY FINDINGS: Data from the National Hospital Discharge Survey. In 2010, adults aged 85 and over accounted for only 2% of the U.S. population but 9% of hospital discharges. From 2000 through 2010, the rate of hospitalizations for adults aged 85 and over declined from 605 to 553 hospitalizations per 1,000 population, a 9% decrease. The rate of fractures and other injuries was higher for adults aged 85 and over (51 per 1,000 population) than for adults aged 65-74 (9 per 1,000 population) and 75-84 (23 per 1,000 population). Adults aged 85 and over were less likely than those aged 65-74 and 75-84 to be discharged home and more likely to die in the hospital. From 2000 through 2010, the number of adults aged 85 and over in the United States rose 31%, from 4.2 million to 5.5 million, and in 2010, this age group represented almost 14% of the population aged 65 and over (1). It is estimated that by 2050, more than 21% of adults over age 65 will be aged 85 and over (2). Given this increase, adults aged 85 and over are likely to account for an increasing share of hospital utilization and costs in the coming years (3). This report describes hospitalizations for adults aged 85 and over with comparisons to adults aged 65-74 and 75-84.