Source Files

The HCUP South Dakota inpatient files were constructed from confidential hospital discharge files received from the South Dakota Association of Healthcare Organizations.

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

The South Dakota Association of Healthcare Organizations (SDAHO) collect inpatient data from acute care general hospitals in South Dakota. Specialty hospitals and a few smaller hospitals do not submit data to the SDAHO.

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

Beginning in 2004, South Dakota documentation indicate that the SDAHO source data include discharges from: Acute Care; Newborns; Medical Rehabilitation; Skilled Nursing Care (including swing beds and designated units); Behavioral Health, which includes Psychiatric Care and Chemical Dependency Care. 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" and "admitted as an inpatient" were excluded from the HCUP South Dakota inpatient data.