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NIS Database Documentation
The NIS is a set of longitudinal hospital inpatient databases included in the HCUP family. These databases are created by AHRQ through a Federal-State-Industry partnership.
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The Nationwide Inpatient Sample (NIS)

The Nationwide Inpatient Sample (NIS) is the largest all-payer inpatient care database in the United States, containing data on more than seven million hospital stays from approximately 1,000 hospitals. Its large sample size is ideal for developing national and regional estimates and enables analyses of rare conditions, uncommon treatments, and special populations. The following links provide detailed documentation for the NIS.

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Restrictions on the Use of the NIS
  • Data Use Agreement for the NIS (PDF file, 55 KB; HTML)

Description of NIS Files
Availability of Data Elements

Description of Data Elements in the NIS

Corrections to the NIS
Load Programs
HCUP Tools: Labels and Formats
NIS Related Reports
HCUP Supplemental Files

Internet Citation: HCUP NIS Database Documentation. Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project (HCUP). August 2009 Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, Rockville, MD. www.hcup-us.ahrq.gov/db/nation/nis/nisdbdocumentation.jsp.
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Last modified 8/12/09