Source Files

The HCUP Alaska inpatient files were constructed from the Alaska Department of Health and Social Services inpatient stay files.

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

Beginning with 2015 data, Alaska supplies discharge abstract data for inpatient stays from Alaska general acute care and specialty hospitals (e.g., children's hospitals, rehabilitation hospitals, state psychiatric facilities, and cancer hospitals). Also included are data from Federal, small Indian Health Services, and small critical access hospitals. Prior to 2015 data, Alaska supplied discharge abstract data for inpatient stays from Alaska general acute care and specialty hospitals. Data from Federal, small Indian Health Services, and small critical access hospitals were not included.

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

Hospitals do not always report data for a full calendar year. Some hospitals open or close during the year; other hospitals have technical problems that prevent them from reporting data for all months in a year.

Inclusion of Stays in Special Units

Alaska supplied discharges from special units within hospitals including psychiatric, rehabilitation, skilled nursing, intermediate care, other long-term care, sub-acute, swing-bed, and other unspecified inpatient units. These records can be identified with the HCUP variable HOSPITALUNIT.

Exclusion of Records During HCUP Data Processing

Records with a discharge disposition of "still a patient" or "admitted as an inpatient" were excluded from the HCUP Alaska inpatient data.