Redesign of the National Hospital Discharge Survey

Conceptual Framework and Feasibility Study: Final Report

Robin Meili, Sandra H. Berry, Marc N. Elliott, Carol P. Roth, Anne Reid Griffin, Kristin J. Leuschner, Denise D. Quigley, Megan K. Beckett, Yimin Lou, Chau Pham, et al.

ResearchPublished Apr 24, 2007

Since its inception more than 40 years ago, the National Hospital Discharge Survey (NHDS) has been a principal source of information on inpatient utilization in short-stay, nonfederal hospitals in the United States. However, it is based on concepts of the health care delivery system and hospital and patient universe of previous decades. For the NHDS to remain relevant, it must reflect the types of care and services now offered in American hospitals. The National Center for Health Statistics, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, asked RAND Health to assist in the first phase of the redesign effort by developing an approach for redesigning the survey and identifying, through a feasibility study, specific data elements to be included and field procedures to be used in that survey. New data elements recommended add clinical and financial depth and breadth, and the ability to link facility structure to process and outcomes of care. The survey also provides a structure for incorporating modules that can focus in detail on selected issues.

This report documents the findings from this study and includes appendixes containing the names of people and institutions involved in the study and the forms and surveys used in the study and revised in light of the findings.

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Document Details

  • Copyright: RAND Corporation
  • Availability: Web-Only
  • Year: 2007
  • Pages: 370
  • Document Number: TR-475-HLTH

Citation

Chicago Manual of Style

Meili, Robin, Sandra H. Berry, Marc N. Elliott, Carol P. Roth, Anne Reid Griffin, Kristin J. Leuschner, Denise D. Quigley, Megan K. Beckett, Yimin Lou, Chau Pham, and Lee H. Hilborne, Redesign of the National Hospital Discharge Survey: Conceptual Framework and Feasibility Study: Final Report. Santa Monica, CA: RAND Corporation, 2007. https://www.rand.org/pubs/technical_reports/TR475.html.
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The research described in this report was prepared for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics and conducted within RAND Health, a division of the RAND Corporation.

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