NC Hospital Discharge Data
The Cecil G. Sheps Center for Health Services Research is under contract with the Division of Health Service Regulation (DHSR) to maintain, for use in research and state health planning, the NC Hospital Discharge Data (Inpatient, Ambulatory Surgery/Outpatient and Emergency Department Databases) collected by an approved state data processor. Yearly updates keep the research database current.
HCUPnet Data Access
Many basic NC hospital discharge statistics are now available through a query tool on HCUPnet. HCUPnet data are publicly available at no charge.
Prior to 1995, the Medical Database Commission (MDC) collected hospital discharge data. On September 31, 1995, the North Carolina General Assembly eliminated the MDC and set up an alternative system for the reporting of discharge data. Since 1996, hospitals have reported data to a Statewide Data Processor (currently Truven Health Analytics) as set forth by the Medical Care Data Act of 1995 (Article 11a of Chapter 131E of the North Carolina General Statutes).
Since 1996, the Cecil G. Sheps Center for Health Services Research has worked under contract with the North Carolina Division of Health Services Regulation (DHSR) to store, maintain and analyze the NC Discharge databases. These databases are not public records, but are available for research.
Data variables include patient characteristics, clinical information such as diagnosis and procedure codes and length of stay, payer information, charge information, admission source and patient status.
Variables are not always consistent from year to year. Hospitals were not required to report race and ethnicity data until 2011; concerns remain about the accuracy of these data.
Years Available through the Cecil G. Sheps Center for Health Services Research (fiscal year files):
Fiscal Year goes to September of the named year (e.g.,
FY2020 = 10/1/2019 – 9/30/2020).
NC Inpatient Discharge Database
- FY 1989-1994: data from the Medical Database Commission
- FY 1995: data not available
- FY 1996-2022: data from State data processor
NC Hospital Outpatient & Ambulatory Surgery Discharge Data
- FY 1997-2022: data from State data processor (beginning 2012 this data includes expanded collection of all hospital outpatient procedures)
NC Emergency Room Discharge Data
- FY 2007-2022: data from State data processor
Years Available through HCUP/AHRQ (annual year files):
North Carolina data, along with many other state’s data, can also be obtained from the Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project (HCUP), a state-federal-industry database partnership conducted through the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ). See The HCUP Central Distributor for fees and ordering information. HCUP has additional tools and software available free of charge.
NC State Inpatient Database (SID) availability of data elements by year
- Annual Year 2000-2016
NC State Ambulatory Surgery Database (SASD) availability of data elements by year
- Annual Year 2000-2016
NC State Emergency Department Database (SEDD) availability of data elements by year
- Annual Year 2007-2016
HCUPnet is a free, on-line query system based on data from the Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project (HCUP). It provides access to health statistics and information on hospital inpatient, ambulatory surgery and emergency department utilization. Search on national or state data.
Data dictionaries are available at the links below for the most recent years of North Carolina Hospital Discharge Data for our Standard Research File. Dictionaries for prior years can be requested from Sheps Staff. Please note that variables may vary from year to year. Hospitals were not required to report race and ethnicity prior to 2011; concerns remain about the accuracy of the race and ethnicity data.
Beginning FY2016 (October 1, 2015 to September 30, 2016) the NC Discharge Data will have ICD10 diagnosis and Procedure codes rather than ICD9 codes. For more information on this transition and links to comparison information please visit this link at NCTracks.
- NC Inpatient Discharge Summary by Hospital 2021
- NC Inpatient Patient Characteristics by Hospital 2021
- NC Inpatient MDC by Hospital 2021
- NC Inpatient DRG by Hospital 2021
- NC Patient Origin Hospital by Patient County 2021
- NC Patient County by Hospital 2021
- NC Inpatient Payer 2021
- NC Emergency Department Patient Characteristics by Hospital 2021
- NC Emergency Department Diagnoses by Hospital 2021
- NC Emergency Department Payer 2021
- NC Emergency Department Payer 2021 – Treat and Release
- NC Outpatient Patient Characteristics by Facility 2021
- NC Outpatient Patient Characteristics by Facility 2021 – Ambulatory Surgery Excluded
- NC Outpatient Patient Characteristics by Facility 2021 – Ambulatory Surgery Only
- NC Outpatient Patient Characteristics by Facility 2021 – Endoscopy Centers Excluded
- NC Outpatient Payer 2021
- NC Outpatient Payer 2021 – Emergency Only
- NC Outpatient Payer 2021 – Non-Emergency Only
- NC Inpatient Discharge Summary by Hospital 2020
- NC Inpatient Patient Characteristics by Hospital 2020
- NC Inpatient MDC by Hospital 2020
- NC Inpatient DRG by Hospital 2020
- NC Patient Origin Hospital by Patient County 2020
- NC Patient County by Hospital 2020
- NC Inpatient Payer 2020
- NC Emergency Department Patient Characteristics by Hospital 2020
- NC Emergency Department Diagnoses by Hospital 2020
- NC Emergency Department Payer 2020
- NC Emergency Department Payer 2020 – Treat and Release
- NC Outpatient Patient Characteristics by Facility 2020
- NC Outpatient Patient Characteristics by Facility 2020 – Ambulatory Surgery Excluded
- NC Outpatient Patient Characteristics by Facility 2020 – Ambulatory Surgery Only
- NC Outpatient Patient Characteristics by Facility 2020 – Endoscopy Centers Excluded
- NC Outpatient Payer 2020
- NC Outpatient Payer 2020 – Emergency Only
- NC Outpatient Payer 2020 – Non-Emergency Only
- NC Inpatient Discharge Summary by Hospital 2019
- NC Inpatient Patient Characteristics by Hospital 2019
- NC Inpatient MDC by Hospital 2019
- NC Inpatient DRG by Hospital 2019
- NC Patient Origin Hospital by Patient County 2019
- NC Patient County by Hospital 2019
- NC Inpatient Payer 2019
- NC Emergency Department Patient Characteristics by Hospital 2019
- NC Emergency Department Diagnoses by Hospital 2019
- NC Emergency Department Payer All 2019
- NC Emergency Department Payer Treat and Release 2019
- NC Inpatient Discharge Summary by Hospital 2018
- NC Inpatient Patient Characteristics by Hospital 2018
- NC Inpatient MDC by Hospital 2018
- NC Inpatient DRG by Hospital 2018
- NC Patient Origin Hospital by Patient County 2018
- NC Patient County by Hospital 2018
- NC Inpatient Payer 2018
- NC Emergency Department Patient Characteristics by Hospital 2018
- NC Emergency Department Diagnoses by Hospital 2018
- NC Emergency Department Payer All 2018
- NC Emergency Department Payer Treat and Release 2018
- NC Inpatient Discharge Summary by Hospital
2017 - NC Inpatient Patient Characteristics by Hospital
2017 - NC Inpatient MDC by Hospital 2017
- NC Inpatient DRG by Hospital 2017
- NC Patient Origin Hospital by Patient County
2017 - NC Patient Origin Hospital Patient County by
Hospital 2017 - NC Inpatient Payer 2017
- NC Emergency Department Patient Characteristics by
Hospital 2017 - NC Emergency Department Diagnoses by Hospital
2017 - NC Emergency Department Payer All 2017
- NC Emergency Department Payer Treat and Release
2017
- NC Inpatient Discharge Summary by Hospital
2016 - NC Inpatient Patient Characteristics by Hospital
2016 - NC Inpatient MDC by Hospital 2016
- NC Inpatient DRG by Hospital 2016
- NC Patient Origin Hospital by Patient County
2016 - NC Patient Origin Hospital Patient County by
Hospital 2016 - NC Inpatient Payer 2016
- NC Emergency Department Patient Characteristics by
Hospital 2016 - NC Emergency Department Diagnoses by Hospital
2016 - NC Emergency Department Payer All 2016
- NC Emergency Department Payer Treat and Release
2016
- NC Inpatient Discharge Summary by Hospital 2015
- NC Inpatient MDC by Hospital 2015
- NC Inpatient Patient Characteristics by Hospital 2015
- NC Patient Origin Hospital by Patient County 2015
- NC Patient Origin Patient County by Hospital 2015
- NC Inpatient DRG by Hospital 2015
- NC Inpatient Payer 2015
- NC Emergency Department Patient Characteristics by Hospital 2015
- NC Emergency Department Diagnoses by Hospital 2015
- NC Emergency Department Payer All 2015
- NC Emergency Department Payer Treat and Release 2015
- NC Inpatient Discharge Summary by Hospital 2014
- NC Inpatient MDC by Hospital 2014
- NC Inpatient Patient Characteristics by Hospital 2014
- NC Inpatient DRG by Hospital 2014
- NC Patient Origin Hospital by Patient County 2014
- NC Patient Origin Patient County by Hospital 2014
- NC Inpatient Payer 2014
- NC Emergency Department Patient Characteristics by Hospital 2014
- NC Emergency Department Procedures by Hospital 2014
- NC Emergency Department Payer All 2014
- NC Emergency Department Payer Treat and Release 2014
- NC Inpatient Discharge Summary by Hospital 2013
- NC Inpatient MDC by Hospital 2013
- NC Inpatient Patient Characteristics by Hospital 2013
- NC Inpatient DRG by Hospital 2013
- NC Patient Origin Hospital by Patient County 2013
- NC Patient Origin Patient County by Hospital 2013
- NC Inpatient Payer 2013
- NC Emergency Department Patient Characteristics by Hospital 2013
- NC Emergency Department Procedures by hospital 2013
- NC Emergency Department Payer All 2013
- NC Emergency Department Payer Treat and Release 2013
- NC Inpatient Summary FY 2012
- NC Inpatient Patient Characteristics FY2012
- NC Inpatient DRG FY2012
- NC Inpatient MDC FY2012
- Patient Origin Hospital by Patient County
FY2012 - Patient Origin Patient County By Hospital
FY2012 - Inpatient Payer Mix FY2012
- NC Inpatient Summary Data 2011
- NC Inpatient Top DRG 2011
- NC Inpatient MDC 2011
- NC Inpatient Patient Characteristics 2011
Hospitals M-Z - NC Inpatient Patient Characteristics 2011 Summary
and Hospitals A-L - NC Inpatient Patient Origin by County
- NC Inpatient Patient Origin by Hospital
- NC Inpatient Payer Mix 2011
- NC ED Summary Data 2011 Summary and Hospitals
A-L - NC ED Summary Data 2011 Hospitals M-Z
- NC ED Top Diagnosis 2011
- NC ED Payer Mix Treat and Release 2011
The NC Discharge databases are not public records.
Researchers and graduate students at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and other universities, are encouraged to use the NC Hospital Discharge Data for public health research. Project proposals must be submitted for prior approval in order to assure the feasibility of the proposed research. Researchers can also obtain the NC data from the Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project (HCUP), a state-federal-industry database partnership conducted through the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ). See www.ahrq.gov/data/hcup for ordering information.
Access Rules and Fees
Fees noted below are for requests for Entire Standard Discharge Level File or Subset of data variables (as defined by study needs). This does not include analysis of data or specialized data set creation. For all internal UNC requests, additional analytic time beyond basic extract and data preparation is charged at $98/hour. For external requests, the rate is $153 per hour.These fees support data storage, security, management and analyst preparation of the data.
| Requestor Type | Initial Consultation and Basic ETL (up to 10 hours) | Additional ETL/Analytics | First 5 years of data | Additional years of data | DUA Requirement | Data Access | Data Access Fees |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UNC-Chapel Hill Researchers (incl. graduate students) | Unfunded: $0 Funded: $98/hour |
$98/hour | Unfunded: $0 Funded: $500 per dataset-year |
$500 per dataset-year/td> | Internal DUA signed by PI | Data accessed via the Sheps Secure Research Computing Cluster | $5,500/seat/year* |
| Other University Researcher/Faculty | $153/hour | $153/hour | $500/year/dataset | $500/year/dataset | External DUA via UNC Office of Sponsored Programs | Data sent via SFTP and subject to DUA terms | $153 per file transfer |
| Graduate Students at any North Carolina-based Institute of Learning | Unfunded: $0 Funded: $98/hour |
$98/hour | Unfunded: $0 Funded: $500 per dataset-year |
$500 per dataset-year | External DUA via UNC Office of Sponsored Programs Must be supervised by faculty advisor |
Data sent via SFTP and subject to DUA terms | $153 per file transfer |
| Graduate Students outside NC | Unfunded: $0 Funded: $98/hour |
$153/hour | $200 per dataset-year | $500 per dataset-year | External DUA via UNC Office of Sponsored Programs Must be supervised by faculty advisor |
Data sent via SFTP and subject to DUA terms | $153 per file transfer |
| Other Organizations** | $153/hour | $98/hour | Non-Profit: $500 per dataset-year For-Profit: $1,500 per dataset-year |
$500/year/dataset | External DUA via UNC Office of Sponsored Programs | Data sent via SFTP and subject to DUA terms | $153 per file transfer |
If this tool is insufficient for planning purposes, please fill out the NC Hospital Discharge Preliminary Data Request.
Step 1: Prepare your data request
Timeline: 1-2 weeks
NC Hospital Discharge Data Request Form. Submit this draft form here.
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Forms and DUAs required for all NC Hospital Discharge Data Requests
- NC Hospital Discharge Data Request Form
- IRB Approval Letter
Required for UNC-Chapel Hill Researchers
Required for External Researchers
Step 2: Submit your request for approval (UNC Researchers)
For UNC Researchers
Timeline: 1-2 weeks
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For non-UNC Researchers
Timeline: 1-2 months
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NC Hospital Discharge Oversight Committe Evaluation Criteria:
- Is the research question one that is in keeping with the overall focus of the Initiative and important to be answered, for North Carolinians or the US health system as a whole, either from a policy or practice perspective?
- Can the research question be adequately answered using the requested database? Are there an adequate number of cases to be studied for the proposed analysis? Are the right data elements available and specified? For the key data elements needed, is the quality of the data adequate?
- Is the proposed methodology sound and viable with respect to the research questions, population and data requested?
- Does the research team possess the requisite skills/experience and proposed resources to conduct the research with high standards and in an adequately specified time frame?
Step 3: Get your data!
For UNC Researchers
Timeline: 1-2 weeks
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Happy researching!
For non-UNC Researchers
Timeline: 2-4 weeks
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Happy researching!.
More questions?
Check out our FAQs or contact us anytime at ccqi@schsr.unc.edu.
The database infrastructure used for this project was funded by the Department of Health Policy and Management, UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health; the Cecil G. Sheps Center for Health Services Research, UNC; the CER Strategic Initiative of UNC’s Clinical Translational Science Award (UL1TR001111); and the UNC School of Medicine.
All researchers are asked to submit copies of final journal articles to the Sheps Center.
Update your Data Use Agreement if you add new staff to your project, or if your project end date changes.