CONTENTS OF National Hospital Discharge Survey (NHDS) RESTRICTED FILES, 1977-1987

Design variables are being created for 1977-1987. Please email rdca@cdc.gov with the subject “NHDS Design Variables 77-87” if you are interested in accessing these data.

VARIABLE NAME	DESCRIPTION and VALUES	NOTE
HOSPITAL	4-digit code for each HOSPITAL	NOTE: First 2 digits represent STATE where hospital is located
CENTURY	First 2 digits of birth year of patient (not edited)
DOB	MMDDY for discharged patient’s date of birth
AGE	Age of patient, 0 to 99 (must be used with UNITS)
UNITS	Units in which AGE is reported:
	1 = Years
	2 = Months
	3 = Days
AGEINYRS	Age of patient, 0 to 99 (all values converted to years)
SEX	Sex of patient:
	1 = Male
	2 = Female
RACE	Race of Patient	Coding used in 1977-78:
	1 = White	1 = White
	2 = Black	2 = Black
	3 = American Indian/Eskimo	3 = Other
	4 = Asian/Pacific Islander	4 = Not Stated
	5 = Other
	6 = Not stated (not coded in 1981)
	9 = Duplicate response (1979 & 1980 only)
MARSTAT	Marital Status of patient
	1 = Married
	2 = Single
	3 = Widowed
	4 = Divorced
	5 = Separated
	6 = Not Stated
	7 = Unknown
DOA	MMDDY for date of admission	not edited
DOD	MMDDY for date of admission
DS	Discharge Status
	1977-80 coding:	1981-87 coding:
	1 = Routine Discharge/Dischg Home	1 = Routine Discharge/Dischg Home
	2 = Left Against Medical Advice	2 = Left Against Medical Advice
	3 = Dischd/Trnsfrd to Another Facility, etc	3 = Dischd/Trnsfrd to Short-term Facility
	4 = Dischd/Rfrd to Organized Home Care Serv	4 = Dischd/Trnsfrd to Long-term Care Inst
	5 = Died	5 = Alive, Disposition not stated
	6 = Not Stated	6 = Dead
	9 = Duplicate entry	7 = Status not stated
AGER4	Age Recoded to 4 Groups
	1 = Under 15 yrs
	2 = 15-44 yrs
	3 = 45-64 yrs
	4 = 65+ years
NUMDXS	Number of ICD-9-CM diagnosis codes for discharge (1 to 7)
NUMPDS	Number of ICD-9-CM procedure codes for discharge (0 to 4)
AGER10	Age Recoded to 10 groups
	00 = Newborn Infant (born during this hospitalization)
	01 = Under 1 year
	02 = 1-4 years
	03 = 5-14 years
	04 = 15-24 years
	05 = 25-34 years
	06 = 35-44 years
	07 = 45-54 years
	08 = 55-64 years
	09 = 65-74 years
	10 = 75+ years
REGION	Census region where hospital is located
	1 = Northeast
	2 = Midwest
	3 = South
	4 = West
DIVISION	Census division where hospital is located	Census Divisions and State Codes Used in 1979-1987
	1 = New England	CT, ME, MA, NH, RI, VT
	2 = MidAtlantic	NJ, NY, PA
	3 = East North Central	IL, IN, MI, OH
	4 = West North Central	WI, IA, KS, MN, MO, NE, ND, SD
	5 = South Atlantic	DE, DC, FL, GA, MD, NC, SC, VA, WV
	6 = East South Central	AL, KY, MS, TN
	7 = West South Central	AR, LA, OK, TX
	8 = Mountain	AZ, CO, ID, MT, NV, NM, UT, WY
	9 = Pacific	AK, CA, HI, OR, WA
NUMBEDS	Number of beds in hosital, by group
	1 = 6-49 beds
	2 = 50-99 beds
	3 = 100-199 beds
	4 = 200-299 beds
	5 = 300-499 beds
	6 = 500-999 beds
	7 = 1000 or more beds
OWNER	Ownership of hospital
	1 = Proprietary
	2 = Church
	3 = Government
	4 = Nonprofit, excluding Church
DOC	Days of care for the discharge
WEIGHT	Analysis weight: used to produce national estimates
ZIPCODE	ZIPcode for residence of discharged patient (not edited)
ESOP1	Principal expected source of payment	1981-87 coding:
	1977-80 coding:	blank = Not Stated
	1 = Self Pay	1 = Workmens Compensation
	2 = Workmens Compensation	2 = Medicare
	3 = Medicare	3 = Medicaid
	4 = Medicaid	4 = Title V
	5 = Other Government Payments	5 = Other Government Payments
	6 = Blue Cross	6 = Blue Cross
	7 = Other Private/Commercial Insurance	7 = Other Private/Commercial Insurance
	8 = No Charge	8 = Self-Pay
	9 = Other	9 = No Charge
	0 = Not Stated	0 = Other
DOP1	MMDDY for date of 1st procedure performed (not edited)	[Not available before 1979]
DOP2	MMDDY for date of 2nd procedure performed (not edited)	[Not available before 1979]
DOP3	MMDDY for date of 3rd procedure performed (not edited)	(Not available before 1979)
DOP4	MMDDY for date of 4th procedure performed (not edited)	(Not available before 1979)
DX1	ICD-9-CM diagnosis code for principal diagnosis: 5 digits	ICD-8 used in 1977-78; diagnoses have 4-digits
DX2	ICD-9-CM diagnosis code for 2nd diagnosis: 5 digits	ICD-8 used in 1977-78; diagnoses have 4-digits
DX3	ICD-9-CM diagnosis code for 3rd diagnosis: 5 digits	ICD-8 used in 1977-78; diagnoses have 4-digits
DX4	ICD-9-CM diagnosis code for 4th diagnosis: 5 digits	ICD-8 used in 1977-78; diagnoses have 4-digits
DX5	ICD-9-CM diagnosis code for 5th diagnosis: 5 digits	ICD-8 used in 1977-78; diagnoses have 4-digits
DX6	ICD-9-CM diagnosis code for 6th diagnosis: 5 digits	[Not available before 1979]
DX7	ICD-9-CM diagnosis code for 7th diagnosis: 5-digits	[Not available before 1979]
PD1	ICD-9-CM procedure code for 1st procedure performed: 4 digits	ICD-8 used in 1977-78; procedures are 3-digits
PD2	ICD-9-CM procedure code for 2nd procedure performed: 4 digits	ICD-8 used in 1977-78; procedures are 3-digits
PD3	ICD-9-CM procedure code for 3rd procedure performed: 4 digits	ICD-8 used in 1977-78; procedures are 3-digits
PD4	ICD-9-CM procedure code for 4th procedure performed: 4 digits	[Not available before 1979]
NEWBORN	Flag for Newborn Infants
	1 = Newborn Infant (born during this hospitalization)
	2 = Not a Newborn Infant

Page last reviewed: May 19, 2011

Content source: CDC/National Center for Health Statistics