New NCHS reports on ambulatory care
NCHS released four new National Health Statistics Reports (NHSR) describing ambulatory care use in the United States. Separate reports present summary data for use of ambulatory care in physician offices (NHSR #3), hospital outpatient departments (NHSR #4), and hospital emergency departments (EDs) (NHSR #7). In addition, a combined report (NHSR #8) summarizes use across all three settings. These reports present annual use estimates for 2006 as well as trends in use over time. Estimates are also reported for ordering, prescribing, or continuing medications during ambulatory care visits, provision of screening and counseling services, frequency of visit diagnoses, and the frequency and differences in use of care according to age, gender, payer source, race, and ethnicity.
Among the more dramatic findings was the 36 percent increase in ED visits between 1996 and 2006. Coupled with the 5 percent decrease in EDs in the United States, this increase has led to greater crowding and increased wait times. Increased visits were also observed at physician offices and hospital outpatients.
Across all three settings, visits increased by 26 percent from 1996 to 2006. The rise in visits, which is faster than the growth in the U.S. population, can be linked to both the aging of the population, as older individuals have higher visit rates than younger individuals in general, and increased use by older persons.
The new reports can be found at: http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/products/pubs/pubd/nhsr/nhsr.htm.
The data for these reports come from the National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey and the National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey. Public use data files and documentation are available at: http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/about/major/ahcd/ahcd1.htm#Micro-data.
AHRQ releases new report on hospital-based care
The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) released HCUP Facts and Figures: Statistics on Hospital-Based Care in the United States, 2006, available online at the HCUP-US Website. This report presents data from the Nationwide Inpatient Sample (NIS) database on hospital care in 2006, as well as trends in care from 1993 to 2006.
The HCUP Facts and Figures report features an overview of numerous hospital-related topics including general characteristics of U.S. hospitals and the patients being treated; the most common diagnoses, conditions, and procedures associated with inpatient stays; the costs and charges associated with hospitalizations; and a special section on selected priority health conditions designated by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS).
Highlights of hospital care in 2006 include the finding that 6 of the 20 most costly conditions associated with hospitalizations were related to the circulatory system. Though these stays accounted for 18 percent of all hospitalization costs–with three diagnoses (coronary artery disease, heart attack, and congestive heart failure) among the most costly in 2006–the growth in costs for these conditions has slowed dramatically since 2003. Examples of trend information presented in the report include findings that, between 1993 and 2006, the total number of Cesarean sections (C-sections) grew nearly 69 percent, while vaginal births remained steady. Maternal complications including hypertension, diabetes, and anemia increased for pregnant women regardless of whether they were undergoing C–sections or vaginal deliveries, but were more common in women who had C–sections. Infant complications also increased during this period, including respiratory problems, "infant of a diabetic mother" syndrome, jaundice, and feeding problems, and were also more common in babies delivered via C–section than vaginally.
HCUP Facts and Figures: Statistics on Hospital-Based Care in the United States, 2006 is located on the Reports page of the HCUP-US Website. For more information, please visit the HCUP-US Website, or contact HCUP User Support at hcup@ahrq.gov.
