Hospital Discharge Data
Purpose
To monitor and understand healthcare utilization, pertaining to hospital-based emergency departments and inpatient care, among Rhode Island residents, using data collected from hospitals in the state.
Key Information
Hospital Discharge Data (HDD), a major source of healthcare data in the state, provide information on the hospital-based clinical services for all patients regardless of payer, including the uninsured, as well as quality, outcomes and charges of care provided for their patients.
All hospitals licensed by the Rhode Island Department of Health (RIDOH) under R.I. Gen. Laws § 23-17, are required to report detailed discharge information on a quarterly basis. In a partnership with the Hospital Association of Rhode Island, data are received from ten acute care (11 prior to 2018) hospitals, two psychiatric hospitals, and one rehabilitation hospital in Rhode Island, through a third-party vendor. Reporting hospitals use uniform standards defined by RIDOH, that enable cross-provider and cross-payer data analyses and summaries.
Datasets contain information on emergency department visits and inpatient hospitalizations with the following elements: clinical reasons/diagnoses for visits, procedures performed, length of stay, expected primary payer, charges for services, and selective provider and patient related information. All submitted records are systemically reviewed, processed and validated by internal and external audits and quality assurance procedures.
Information about Data Requests
The HDD Program provides statewide aggregate reports, downloadable summary data, and a web query search tool (for specific diagnosis) on this webpage.
The HDD Program creates and disseminates complete datasets with yearly files (Quarterly files may be available by special request). Public Use Datasets are released for data users who do not need patient identifying information and other restrictive contents. Limited Use Datasets are suitable for research investigators or requestors who want to obtain confidential or sensitive information on hospital discharges. Confidential information is strictly protected by federal and state laws and not for public disclosure. To obtain confidential data for research and other purposes, requestors need to obtain appropriate approvals from the HDD Program and RIDOH’s Institutional Review Board. Please complete the Data Request and Release Assurances Form and note the detailed terms and conditions set forth in the agreement.
Please note:
Rhode Island Department of Health