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Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project (HCUP). HCUP Facts and Figures: Statistics on Hospital-Based Care in the United States, 2005 [Internet]. Rockville (MD): Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (US); 2007.
The mission of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) is to improve the quality, safety, efficiency, and effectiveness of health care for all Americans. To help fulfill this mission, AHRQ develops a number of databases, including the powerful Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project (HCUP). HCUP is a Federal-State-Industry partnership designed to build a standardized, multi-State health data system. HCUP features databases, software tools, and statistical reports to inform policymakers, health system leaders, researchers, and the public.
For data to be useful, they must be disseminated in a timely, accessible manner. To meet this objective, AHRQ launched HCUPnet, an interactive, Internet-based tool for identifying, tracking, analyzing, and comparing statistics on hospital utilization, outcomes, and charges (http://hcupnet.ahrq.gov/). The HCUPnet user-friendly interface guides users in tailoring specific queries about hospital care online; with a click of a button, users receive answers within seconds.
To make HCUP data even more accessible, AHRQ disseminates HCUP Fact Books and online Statistical Briefs to present statistics about hospital care in easy-to-use and accessible formats (http://www.hcup-us.ahrq.gov/reports.jsp). Fact Books provide information on broad aspects of hospital care. The most recent editions cover topics of mental health and substance abuse disorders, procedures performed in hospitals, ambulatory surgeries, and safety-net hospitals. Statistical Briefs provide information on more focused health care topics. The most recent editions address issues of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infections, musculoskeletal procedures, emergency department admissions for children and adolescents, childbirth-related hospitalizations among adolescent girls, and prostate cancer.
The most recent addition to HCUP information sources is HCUP Facts and Figures, designed to showcase the wealth of statistics available from HCUP. This edition of HCUP Facts and Figures presents an overview of the information accessible through HCUP and illustrates the types of analyses that HCUP can address. This report also provides updates on many topics presented in previously published Fact Books and Statistical Briefs. New to this report are downloadable tables and graphs to make this information even more readily available.
We invite you to tell us how you are using HCUP Facts and Figures and other HCUP data and tools, and to share suggestions on how HCUP products might be enhanced to further meet your needs. Please e-mail us at vog.qrha@puch or send a letter to the address below.
Irene Fraser, Ph.D.
Director
Center for Delivery, Organization, and Markets
Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality
540 Gaither Road
Rockville, MD 20850