HCUPnet (Health Care Utilization Project Network)

Mission

HCUPnet allows free and immediate access to health statistics. The system provides health care statistics and information for hospital inpatient, emergency department, and ambulatory settings, as well as population-based health care data on counties.

HCUPnet is an online query system for the Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project (HCUP), the Nation’s most comprehensive source of hospital care data. Sponsored by AHRQ, HCUP enables researchers, insurers, policymakers, and others to study health care delivery and patient outcomes over time, and at the national, regional, State, and community levels.

HCUP’s objectives are to:

• Create and enhance a powerful source of national, State, and all-payer health care data.
• Produce a broad set of software tools and products to facilitate the use of HCUP and other administrative data.
• Enrich a collaborative partnership with statewide data organizations aimed at increasing the quality and use of health care data.
• Conduct and translate research to inform decisionmaking and improve health care delivery.

Visit the HCUPnet Web site.

Relevance

Using HCUPnet, users can run queries on HCUP databases of national and regional statistics and trends for community hospitals in the United States. Data can be refined by type of data and diagnosis or procedure. Users can create data analyses, view and update results in real time, view results in detailed graphs, and export data.

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 encounter-level health care data. 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.

Products

HCUP products include State and nationwide databases, software and online tools, and reports:

• HCUP Databases contain information on inpatient stays, emergency department visits, and ambulatory care.
• HCUP-US is a user support site with complete program information.
• HCUP Tools & Software provide complimentary tools and software to use with HCUP and similar databases.
• HCUP Reports feature findings, publications, and technical reports on HCUP issues.

Audiences

Health professionals, researchers, students, and the general public.

Partners

HCUP would not be possible without the statewide data collection projects that provide data to HCUP.