National
Hospital Discharge Survey Data Collection and Processing
Two data collection
procedures are used for the National Hospital Discharge Survey (NHDS). One
is a manual system in which sample selection and transcription of
information from the hospital records to abstract forms are performed by
the hospital’s staff or by staff of the U.S. Bureau of the Census on
behalf of NCHS. The other data collection procedure is an automated system
in which NCHS purchases computer files containing machine-readable medical
record data from commercial organizations, State data systems, hospitals,
or hospital associations. Records from these files are systematically
sampled by NCHS. Approximately 40 percent of the respondent hospitals
provide data through the automated system. A detailed description of
the design and development of the NHDS is included in "Design and
Operation of the National Hospital Discharge Survey: 1988 Redesign",
Vital and Health Statistics Series 1, Number 39. View/download PDF
1.3 MB