Trends in Hospital Utilization: United States, 1988-92

A report entitled "Trends in Hospital Utilization: United States, 1988-92" was released by the National Center for Health Statistics. This report presents statistics on the utilization of non-Federal short-stay hospitals based on data collected through the National Hospital Discharge Survey for the years 1988-92. The survey is a national sample of hospital records of discharged patients. Estimates are provided by the demographic characteristics of patients discharged, by geographic region of hospitals, and by conditions diagnosed and procedures performed. Measurements of hospital use include frequency, rate, percent, and average length of stay.

Data Highlights:

The rate of discharges did not change significantly between 1988-92, but the rate of days of care declined 10 percent.

The average length of stay declined 6 percent for both males and females for 1988-92.

Deliveries, heart disease, and malignant neoplasms were common reasons for hospitalization and represented approximately 30 percent of first-listed diagnoses in 1988 and 1992.

In 1992, 61 percent of male newborn infants were circumcised before they were discharged from the hospital.

Each year for 1988-92, episiotomy, arteriography and angiocardiography using contrast material, CAT scan, diagnostic ultrasound, and fetal EKG and other fetal monitoring were each performed over 1 million times on hospital inpatients.

An estimate of 30.9 million patients, excluding newborn infants, were discharged from short-stay non-Federal hospitals in the United States in 1997. This and other inpatient data are presented in a new report from the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS).

Inpatients in 1997 used 157.5 million days of hospital care. The average length of stay was 5.1 days and the discharge rate was 114.3 per 1,000 civilian population. These statistics, along with other inpatient data by diagnoses, procedures, sex, age, and geographic region, are presented in the NCHS report "National Hospital Discharge Survey: Annual Summary, 1997."

Deliveries and heart disease combined accounted for 8 million discharges and made up 26 percent of all first-listed diagnoses.

Heart disease was the first listed diagnosis for 22 percent of discharges for patients 65 years and over.

At least one procedure was reported for 62 percent of discharges.

The average length of stay for childbirth increased to 2.4 days in 1997.

In 1997, three surgical procedures performed 1 million times or more were episiotomy, cardiac catheterization, and repair of current obstetric laceration.

In 1997, three nonsurgical procedures performed 1 million times or more were arteriography and angiocardiography using contrast material, diagnostic ultrasound, and respiratory therapy.

Keywords: hospitalization, inpatient, diagnoses, procedures

This page last reviewed January 11, 2007