Source Files

The Alaska Department of Health and Social Services collects data on ambulatory surgery and other outpatient services such as outpatient clinic and emergency department (ED) visits.

Alaska uses the following hierarchy to identify each outpatient record with a patient type:

• Emergency room (value 1)
• Outpatient surgery/ASC Patients (value 2)
• Observation only (value 3)
• Other outpatient (value 4)

Selection of Records for Inclusion in the SEDD

Alaska provides HCUP with one outpatient file in which ED records are included with records for other nonemergent outpatient services. All records identified by the Partner as ED are included in the SEDD (STATE_ED=1 based on patient type).

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_ED >0), then the SASD record is also included in the SEDD. These records will have the same value for the HCUP data element KEY.

SEDD records with evidence of other types of outpatient service, such as outpatient surgery can be identified by the data element OPService.

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

Alaska provides HCUP with ED data from 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 2019.

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

Records with a discharge disposition of "still a patient" are retained in the HCUP SEDD.