Source Files

The HCUP Arkansas inpatient files were constructed from inpatient discharge files provided by the Arkansas Department of Health and Human Services.

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

Arkansas supplied discharge data for inpatient stays from all acute care hospitals in the state, including pediatric, specialty, and rehabilitation hospitals.

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

The documentation supplied by Arkansas does not indicate whether stays in special units within the hospital (e.g., psychiatric, rehabilitation, long-term care) are included in the file.

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 Arkansas inpatient data.