DISCWT_S contains the weight to the discharges in the same state. To produce state estimates when analyzing discharges from only one state, use DISCWT_S. This weights the sampled discharges to the total population of discharges from all community hospitals in the state. Beginning in the 1998 NIS, this data element is not included in the data set.

For detailed information about the development and use of discharge and hospital weights, see the year-specific report on the Design of the HCUP Nationwide Inpatient Sample.