Source Files

The HCUP Nevada outpatient files were constructed from outpatient billing data received from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV), Center for Health Information Analysis (CHIA) under the authority of the Nevada Division of Healthcare Financing and Policy (DHCFP). CHIA provides one outpatient file to HCUP that includes encounter-level data for emergency department (ED) services, outpatient surgery, ambulatory surgery, and other outpatient.

CHIA uses the following hierarchy to identify each outpatient record with a place of service:

• Emergency department (value ED)
• Outpatient surgery (value OS)
• Ambulatory surgery center (value AS)
• Other outpatient (value TH).

Records for patients treated in the ED, and then treated and released from observation care are also included in the ED data.

Selection of Records for Inclusion in the SEDD

CHIA provides HCUP with one outpatient file in which ED records are included with records for other nonemergent outpatient services. All records identified by CHIA as ED are included in the SEDD (HCUP data element STATE_ED=1 based on a place of service value of ED).

Additionally, any other records with evidence of ED services that are flagged by the variable HCUP_ED (i.e., HCUP_ED>0) during HCUP processing are included in the SEDD. If a record in the SASD also has evidence of ED services based on the HCUP criteria (HCUP data element HCUP_ED not equal to 0), then the SASD record is also included in the SEDD. These records will have the same value for the HCUP data element KEY.

ypes of Facilities Included in the Files Provided to HCUP by the Partner

CHIA collects ED data from all licensed hospital-owned EDs in the State.

A comparison of the number of hospitals included in the SEDD and the number of hospitals reported in the AHA Annual Survey is available starting in data year 2010.

Hospital-owned EDs do not always report data for a full calendar year. Some open or close during the year; others have technical problems that prevent them from reporting data for all months in a year.

Exclusion of Records During HCUP Data Processing

Beginning with 2016 data, records with a discharge disposition of "still a patient" are retained in the HCUP SEDD. Prior to 2016 data, these records were excluded. Beginning in 2010, records with a designation of "admitted as an inpatient" are retained in the SEDD, even though this rarely occurs. Prior to 2010, records with a designation of "admitted as an inpatient" were excluded from the files.