Drug Overdose-Associated Hospital Encounters Involving Selected Drugs by Month from Selected Hospitals
Drug Use Hospital Data
The National Hospital Care Survey (NHCS), conducted by the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS), collects data on patient care in hospital-based settings to describe patterns of health care delivery and use in the United States. Settings include inpatient facilities and emergency departments (EDs).
NHCS results provided on drug use-associated hospital encounters are from UB–04 administrative claims data from January 1, 2020, through May 27, 2023, from 25 hospitals that submitted inpatient data and 25 hospitals that submitted ED data. The data used in these figures are preliminary, and the results may change with subsequent releases. The data file will be updated every 2 months. The data are not nationally representative but can provide insight on the impact of drug use on various types of hospitals throughout the country.
Results show the percentage of drug overdose-associated encounters involving all opioid, fentanyl, heroin, benzodiazepines, cannabis, or stimulants overdose over time. Data are presented for each setting (inpatient and ED) and calendar month by age and sex. These drug categories are defined by any listed International Classification of Diseases, 10th Revision, Clinical Modification (ICD–10–CM) diagnosis code as follows:
- All Drug Overdose—A hospital encounter involving all drug overdose is defined as any listed ICD–10–CM diagnosis code for Indicator ICD-10 Codes.
- All Opioid Overdose—A hospital encounter involving all opioid overdose is defined as any listed ICD–10–CM diagnosis code for Indicator ICD-10 Codes.
- Fentanyl Overdose—A hospital encounter involving fentanyl overdose is defined as any listed ICD–10–CM diagnosis code for Indicator ICD-10 Codes. Fentanyl overdose ICD-10-CM diagnosis codes became effective October 1, 2020.
- Heroin Overdose—A hospital encounter involving heroin overdose is defined as any listed ICD–10–CM diagnosis code for Indicator ICD-10 Codes.
- Benzodiazepine Overdose—A hospital encounter involving benzodiazepine overdose is defined as any listed ICD–10–CM diagnosis code for Indicator ICD-10 Codes.
- Cannabis Overdose—A hospital encounter involving cannabis overdose is defined as any listed ICD–10–CM diagnosis code for Indicator ICD-10 Codes.
- Stimulant Overdose—A hospital encounter involving all stimulant overdose is defined as any listed ICD–10–CM diagnosis code for Indicator ICD-10 Codes.
- Hospital Encounters Involving Drug Use by Month From Selected Hospitals
- Hospital Encounters Involving Drug Use by Urban–Rural Location of Hospital by Month From Selected Hospitals
- Drug Use-Associated Hospital Encounters Involving Co-occurring Disorders by Month From Selected Hospitals
- Drug Use-Associated Hospital Encounters Involving COVID-19 by Month From Selected Hospitals
- Drug Overdose-Associated Hospital Encounters Involving Selected Drugs by Month from Selected Hospitals
- Opioid Overdose-Associated Hospital Encounters with Co-involvement of Selected Drugs by Month From Selected Hospitals
- 33,646 ED encounters and 15,016 inpatient discharges.
- Data are suppressed for months with less than 30 encounters in the denominator. In the Figure, months with suppressed data do not have a corresponding data point on the indicator line.
Technical Notes
- Data are not nationally representative.
- Less than 1% of all encounters are excluded due to missing sex, age, or diagnosis.
- Data represent encounters, not patients.
- Data are suppressed for months with less than 30 encounters in the denominator.
Data Source
The data presented are from the 2020, 2021, 2022, and 2023 NHCS. The data in these figures are preliminary and are not nationally representative. All estimates shown meet the NCHS Data Presentation Standards for Proportions.
NHCS’ goal is to produce national estimates on hospital care and use. The survey collects electronic data from Uniform Bill (UB–04) administrative claims or electronic health records for all encounters in a calendar year from a nationally representative sample of 601 hospitals. Information collected includes diagnoses, procedures, demographics, discharge status, and patient identifiers such as name and date of birth. Eligible hospitals from the 50 states and District of Columbia include noninstitutional and nonfederal hospitals with six or more staffed inpatient beds. Hospitals are currently being received into the survey. The survey is designed to produce objective and timely data to assess the health and well-being of the population and the performance and functioning of the health care system. For more details about NHCS, visit the National Hospital Care Survey website.