NATIONALCENTER 3eries 13 

For HEALTH sTATSTIC I Number 4 

VITAL and HEALTH ST’ATISTICS 

DATA FROM THE NATIONAL HEALTH sURV= 

PatientsDischargedFrom 

Short-StayHospitals 

by size andtype of ownership 

UnitedStates- 1965 

Statistics are presented on the utilization of short-stay hospitals, based on data abstracted by the Hospital Discharge Survey 

from a national sample of records of discharged patients. liospital discharges,days of care, and average length ofstay are tabulated by age, sex, color, marital status, and discharge status 

according to size of hospital and type of ownership. Total discharges, days of care, average daily census, and percent occw 

panty are classified by size of hospital and ty.pe of ownership. 

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH, EDUCATION, AND WELFARE 

Public Health Service 

Health Services and Mental Health Administration. 

Washington, OX. December 1968 

NATIONALCENTERFOR HEALTHSTATISTICS 

THEODORE D. WOOLSEY, Director 

PHILIP S. LAWRENCE,Sc.D., Associate Director 

OSWALD K. SAGEN, PH.D.,, Assistant Dirdctor for HeaZtb Statistics Development 

WALT R. SIMMONS, MA., Assistant Director for Research and Scientific Development 

ALICE M. WATERHOUSE,M.D., Medical Consdtant 

JAMES E. KELLY,,D.D.S., Dental Advisos 

EDWARD E. MINTY., Executive Officer 

MARGERY R. CUNNINGHAM, lnfonnatzon Officer 

DIVISION OF HEALTH RESOURCES STATISTICS 

SIEGFRIEDA.HOERMANN,Director 

PETER L. JlURLEY, Chief. Health Facilities Statistics Bsancb 

JACQUELINEGLEASON,M-A., Cbie/, Health Manpower Statistics Branch 

EDYTHEGRAY,MA:, Chief, Hospital Discharge Survey .&n.zcb 

COOPERATION OF THE BUREAU OF THE CENSUS 

Under the legislation establishink the National Health 

Survey, the PublicHealth Service is authorized to use, insofar 

as possible, the services or facilities of other Federal, State, 

or private agencies. 

In accordance with specifications established by the 

National Center for Health Statistics, the Bureau of the Census, under a contractual arrangement, participated in planning 

the survey and collecting the data. 

Public Health Service Publication No. 10004eries 13-No. 4 

Library oi Congress Catalog Card Number 68-62243 
--------------------------- 

--------------------------------------------- 

CONTENTS 

Page 

In~oduction -_______-------__-------------------------~--------------- 1 

PurposeofThisReport---------------------------------------------- 1 

Sources and Qualifications of Data------------------------------------ 1 

Distribution of Hospit& and HospitalBeds------------------------------- 2 

Distribution of Discharges ----------------------------------------------

Size andOwnership-------------------------------------------------

Personal Characteristics by Size of Hospital 

Personal Characteristics by Type of Ownership------------------------

Days of Care and Length ofStay--------------------------------------

Size and Ownership --------c----------------------------------------

Personal Characteristics by Size ofHospital---------------------------

Patient Characteristics by Type ofOwnership--------------------------

Average Daily Census and Percent of Beds Occupied---------------------- 8 

References -^--------------------------------------------------------- 9 

&tailed Tables------------------------------------------------------- 10 

Appendix 1, Technical Notes on Methods------------------------------- 21 

Statistical Design of the Hospital Discharge Survey--------------------- 21 

General Qualifications---------------------------------------------- 23 

Reliability of Estimates 23 

Appendix II. Definitions of Certain Terms Used in This Report----------- 29 

Terms Relating to Hospitalization ------_----------------------------- 29 

Demographic Terms------------------------------------------------ 29 

. .. III 
IN THIS REPORT statistics aYQ presented on short-stay hospitals and 

on patients dischavged from thQSQ hospitals, according to size (determined by number of beds) and type of ownevship of the hospital and to 

agQ, sex, colov, maYit stutus, and dischaYgQ status of the patient. 

Of the estimated 29.1 million patients discharged during 1965, 62 percent (18.2 million) weYQ from hospitals with100-499 beds. The smallest 

hospitals (those with less than 100 beds) akounted for 25 pevcent of the 

diSChaYgQS, while the lavgest (those with 500 beds OY more) accounted 

fov nearly 13 peYcQnt. The avevage length of stay Ya?tgQdfiOm 6.6 days 

inhospitals with less than 100 beds to nearly 11 daysin hospitals maintaining 500 beds OY moYe. 

In comparison with other bed-size groups, proportionately moYe persons disch.aYgQd from hospitals with 500 beds OY moYe expevienced 

longev lengths of stay. FOY example, OVQY40 peYcent of the patisnts in 

hospitals with 500 beds OY moYe were hospitalized moYQ than 7 days as 

COmpaYQdwith 31 percent in hospitals with loo-499 beds and 25peYcent 

in hospitals with 6-99 beds. OVQY 11 percent of the patients in hospitals 

with 500 beds OY moYe weYe hospitalized moYe than 21 days as compaYed with 6 percent in hospitals with loo-499 beds and 4 percent in 

hospitals with 6-99 beds. The 1ongQYlQngths of stay fov patients in hospitals with 500 beds OYmoYe WQYQpYobably due in pavt to the “sQvQYityrt 

of cases tYeakd in these hospitals. In general, the lavgev hospitals have 

facilities that enable them to pYovide mOYQ definitive diagrwstic and 

keatment sevvices. 

The propovtion of patients with cevtain pevsonal chavactevistics vavied 

accovding to size of hospital. The pYopoY+ of unmavvied persons and 

of persons dischaYgQd because of death weYe both higher in hospitals 

with 500 beds OY moYe than in hospitals with 6-99 and loo-499 beds. 

The pevcent distvibution of dischaYgQd patients by age and by sex with’­

in majov bed-size groups showed little difference. 

Voluntavy nonpYofit hospitals accounted for seven-tenths of all dischavges fYom shovt-stay hospitals; government (PYimavily State and 

local) hospitals, two- tenths; and PYopYietaYy hospitals, one- tenth. The 

avevage kngth of stay fov patients dischaYgQd from pYopYietary hospitals was 6 days compared with 8 days for those dischaYgQd&om WAuntavy nonpyofit and government hospitals. 

SYMc5OLS 

Data not available _--_________-___________ ___ 

Category not applicable------------------- . . . 

Quantity zero ____________________________ _ 

Quantity more than 0 but less than 0.05----- 0.0 

Figure does not meet standards of 

reliability or precision------------------ * 

iv 
PATIENTS DISCHARGED FROM SHORT-STAY 

HOSPITALS 

BY SIZE AND TYPE OF OWNERSHIP 

Michael J. Within, Division of Health Resources Statistics 

INTRODUCTION 

Purpose of This Report 

This report is the third in a series of reports 

based on data collected for 1965 by the Hospital 

Discharge Survey (HDS), one of the newest surveys conducted by the National Center for Health 

Statistics (NCHS). The report is based on information transcribed from the hospital medical 

records of a sample of patients discharged from 

short-stay hospitals (i.e., hospitals in which the 

average length of stay is less than 30 days) in the 

United States. 

The year 1965 is especially noteworthy since 

it represents the first full year that datahave been 

available from HDS. In addition to this report, 

two others have been published which present statistics derived from data collected for 1965. The 

first1 presented a general summary of thecharacteristics of the discharged patients as well as 

characteristics of the hospitals; the second2 presented more detailed characteristics of discharged patients than were presented in the first 

report. 

The main purpose of the present report is to 

study, again in more detail, the characteristics 

of patients discharged in relation to the type of 

ownership and the size of the hospital which provided the care. More specifically, this report 

presents statistics on short-stay hospitals and 

on patients discharged from these hospitals according to size (determined by number of beds) 

and type of ownership of the hospital and to age, 

sex, color, marital status, and discharge status 

of the patient. 

Sources and Qualifications of Data 

All short-stay hospitals, exclusive of military and Veterans Administration hospitals, and 

hospital departments of long-term and custodial 

institutions are represented in the survey. Within 

these hospitals, all discharges are represented 

except those of well-newborn infants (see appendix II for definition). 

The principal source of information in the 

survey is the patient’s medical record. Within 

the sample hospitals, information pertaining to 

the characteristics of a sample of discharged 

patients and their hospitalization is recorded on -

abstract forms which are shipped to NCHS for 

processing. A facsimile of the front side of this 

form, which covers the nonmedical data presented 

in this report, is shown in appendix I. For a more 

detailed description of data collection and data 

processing procedures, see appendix I. 

In general, data recorded on the abstract 

form and presented in this report are limited to 

key items of information about the discharged 

patient and his hospitalization 

available from the summary 

the patient’s medical record. 

characteristics of the hospital 

that are usually 

or “face sheet” of 

Information on the 

is available from 
the Master Facility Inventory (MFI)? a listing 

of short-stay hospitals in the United States maintained by NCHS, and from interviews with personnel in the sample hospitals. 

The HDS sample was selected in two stages. 

In the first stage, a sample of 315 hospitals was 

selected from the approximately 7,000 short-stay 

hospitals in the United States, exclusive of military and Veterans Administration hospitals, contained in the MFI. In the second stage, a sample 

of discharges was selected within the sample 

hospitals. A more detailed description of the 

sample selection appears in appendix I. 

Since the estimates in this report are based 

on a sample of about 100,000 discharges from 

about 300 hospitals participating in the survey 

rather than on all discharges (about 29 million) 

from all in-scope hospitals, they are subject to 

sampling error, a measurement of the precision 

of an estimate. The sampling errors for most of 

the estimates shown in the report are relatively 

small. However, care should be exercised in 

interpretation when estimates are based on small 

numbers and when the estimates are classified 

by size and type of ownership. Tables and graphs 

of approximate sampling errors as well as instructions for their use are given in the section 

“Reliability of Estimates” in appendix I. 

Appendix II contains definitions of terms 

relating to hospitalization, such as “hospital” 

and “discharge,” as well as definitions of demographic terms used in this report. Since many 

of these terms have specialized meanings in the 

Hospital Discharge Survey, familiarity with these 

definitions will aid in interpreting the data. 

DISTRIBUTION OF HOSPITALS 

AND HOSPITAL BEDS 

The distribution of hospitals and hospital 

beds is a valuable aid to a more complete understanding of hospital utilization associated with 

bed size and ownership. Classification of the 

hospitals by bed size is based on the number of 

inpatient beds (excluding bassinets) regularly 

available, while “type of ownership” refers to 

the organization that controls and operates the 

hospital. 

An estimated 6,800 hospitals fulfilled both 

of the HDS definitions of hospital and short-stay 

hospital. (See appendix II for definitions.) These 

hospitals maintained over 800,000 beds (excluding 

bassinets) during 1965 (table A). Most of thehospitals were relatively small. Nearly two-thirds 

had less than 100 beds, and more than 82 percent 

had less than 200 beds. Only 3 percent of the 

hospitals had 500 beds or more. 

One-quarter of the hospital beds were situated in hospitals with less than 100 beds, and 

over one-half were in hospitals’ with 200 beds or 

more (table A). Eighteen percent of the beds were 

found in the largest hospitals (those with 500 beds 

or more). 

Over one-half of the short-stay hospitals 

and two-thirds of the beds were classified as 

“voluntary nonprofit” (table A). Proprietary hospitals-those run by corporations, partnerships, 

or individuals for profit-accounted for a small 

proportion of all hospitals (17 percent) and of 

hospital beds (9 percent). Government (Federal, 

State, and local) hospitals accounted for 27 percent of the hospitals and 24 percent of the hosTable A. Number and percent distribution 

of hospitals and hospital beds, by size 

of hospital and 

United States, 1965type of ownership: 

Size of hospital and Hos- Beds type of ownership pitals 

Number 

Total------------- 6,837 1800,898 

Percent 

distribution 

All sizes--------- 100.0 100.0 

6-99 beds---------------

100-199 bed,cj------------ 200-499 beds------------

500 beds or more--------

64.8 

17.7 

14.7 

2.8 

23.8 

20.8 

37.2 

18.2 

All types--------- 100.0 100.0 

Voluntary nonprofit----- Church---------------- 55.9 

16.1 

67.8 

26.4

Other nonprofit------- 39.8 41.4 Government-------------- 27.2 Proprietary------------- 16.9 2E. 

2 
pita1 beds. Since military and Veterans Administration hospitals are outside the scope of the 

survey, it should be noted that nearly all the 

government hospitals are operated by State and 

local governments. 

DISTRIBUTION OF DISCHARGES 

Size and Ownership 

Of the estimated 29.1 million discharges that 

occurred during 1965, 62 percent (18.2 million) 

were from hospitals with loo-499 beds. The 

smaller hospitals (those with less than 100 beds) 

accounted for 25 percent of the discharges, while 

hospitals with 500 beds or more accounted for 

13 percent (table 1). 

Voluntary nonprofit hospitals, which include 

church and other nonprofit hospitals, accounted 

for 20.5 million, or 70 percent, of all discharges 

from short-stay hospitals. Government (primarily 

State and local) hospitals discharged 5.8 million 

patients (20 percent) and proprietary hospitals 

discharged 2.8 million (10 percent). 

For voluntary hospitals, nearly three-fifths 

of the 20.5 million discharges were concentrated 

in hospitals with 200 beds or more. The largest 

voluntary hospitals (those with 500 beds or more) 

accounted for almost one-tenth of the discharges 

(table 1). 

On the other hand, most of the 2.8 million 

discharges from proprietary hospitals occurred 

in the smaller hospitals, with two-thirds of these 

occurring in hospitals with less than 100 beds. 

This was to be expected since most proprietary 

hospitals contain less than 100 beds. 

Discharges from government hospitals were 

concentrated in the smallest andlargest hospitals. 

About 32 percent of the 5.8 million discharges 

occurred in hospitals with less than 100beds, and 

28 percent occurred in hospitals with 500 bedsor 

more (table 1). 

Personal Characteristics by 

Size of Hospital 

The age and sex distribution of discharged 

patients was similar for hospitals in each of the 

three major bed-size groups (table 2). However, 

there were notable differences for the characteristics of color, marital status, and discharge 

status. 

The proportion of nonwhite patients was 

approximately five times greater in hospitals 

with 500 beds or more than in hospitals with less 

than 100 beds. Based on a 93-percent response 

on this item for discharges from hospitals in each 

of these two bed-size groups, nonwhite patients 

represented about 25 percent of all discharges 

from the largest hospitals (those with 500 beds 

or more) as comparedwith 5 percent of discharges 

from hospitals with 6-99 beds. The large proportion of discharges (about 15 percent) from 

hospitals with loo-499 beds for which color was 

not determined precludes a valid comparison of 

this group with the other size groups. 

Proportionately more unmarried patients 15 

years of age and over were discharged fromhospit&s with 500 beds or more than from hospitals 

in the smaller bed-size groups (30 percent compared with 24 percent in each of the smaller 

groups) - Approximately 2.8 percent of the discharges 

in 1965 (all hospitals combined) represented 

deaths in hospitals. Table 2 shows that the percent 

discharged because of death was slightly higher 

in hospitals with 500 beds or more (3.7 percent). 

Personal Characteristics by 

Type of Ownership 

The distribution of discharges by sex was 

similar for hospitals in each of the three major 

ownership groups. However, there were notable 

differences for the characteristics of age, color, 

and marital status (table 3). 

Persons 65 years of age and over constituted 

a higher proportion of discharges (almost 18 

percent) from government (primarily State and 

local) hospitals than from hospitals under other 

types of control. They represented 13 percent of 

discharges from proprietary hospitals and 16per -

cent of discharges from voluntary hospitals. 

The proportion of nonwhite patients was highest in government hospitals and lowest in proprietary hospitals. At a minimum, nonwhite patients represented 19 percent and white patients 

69 percent of all discharges from government hospitals (color was not reported for 12 percent of 

these discharges). In proprietary hospitals, non3 
white patients represented less than 3 percent 

and white patients almost 93 percent of all discharges (color was not reported for less than 5 

percent of these discharges). 

DAYS OF CARE AND 

LENGTH OF STAY 

The days of care as shown in this report 

refer to those experienced by patients discharged 

during 1965, not to the days of care provided by 

all short-stay hospitals during 1965. For example, 

the data include days of care provided during 1964 

to persons discharged during 1965,‘ but exclude 

days of care for patients admitted to short-stay 

hospitals during 1965 and discharged during 1966. 

However, since these two factors would tend to 

cancel each other in short-stay hospitals, the days 

of care as shown in this report are assumed to 

represent days of care provided during 1965 as 

well as total hospital days accumulated by patients 

during the year. 

Size and Ownership 

Of the estimated 228 million days of care, 

about 62 percent were provided by hospitals with 

loo-499 beds. Seventeen percent of the days were 

provided by hospitals with 500 beds or more, and 

21 percent were provided by hospitals with less 

than 100 beds (table 4). The averagelengthof stay 

ranged from 6.6 days in hospitals with less than 

100 beds to nearly 11 days in hospitals maintaining 

500 beds or more. 

Voluntary nonprofit hospitals provided over 

71 percent of all days of care (163 of 228 million); 

government (primarily State and local) hospitals 

accounted for 21 percent, and proprietary hospitals for about 8 percent of the total inpatient 

days (table 4). 

The distribution of days of care by bed size 

was similar to that of discharges for voluntary 

hospitals as well as for proprietary hospitals 

(fig. 1). In government hospitals, however, proportionately more days of care than discharges 

occurred in hospitals with 500 beds or more. 

The largest government hospitals accounted for 

28 percent of the discharges but provided 40 

percent of the days of care in government hospitals. 

PROPRIETARY 

8C 

lischarges Days Discharges vays 

of care of care 

SIZE 

?gure I. Percent distribution of discharges and days 

of care, by size of hospital according to type of 

ownership. 

The majority of days of care in voluntary 

hospitals, the largest ownership group, were 

provided by the larger hospitals, with over 

three-fifths of the days attributed to hospitals 

with 200 beds or more. In contrast, most of the 

days of care in proprietary hospitals, the smallest ownership group, were provided by the 

smaller hospitals with three-fifths of the days 

provided by hospitals with less than 100 beds 

(fig. 1). This was to be expected since proprietary hospitals account for a disproportionate 

share of small hospitals while the opposite is true 

of voluntary nonprofit hospitals. 

More days of care in government hospitals 

were provided in the smallest and largest hospitals than in the other groups. Twenty-five percent of the days of care were in hospitals’with 

less than 100 beds, and 40 percent occurred in 

hospitals with 500 beds or more (fig. 1). 

The percent of patients remaining inthehospita1 (those not discharged) after specified num4 
bers of days had elapsed is classified by size 

of hospital in figure 2. Proportionately more 

persons discharged from hospitals with 500 beds 

or more experienced longer lengths of stay. For 

example, over 40 percent of patients in hospitals 

with 500 beds or more had lengths of stay that 

exceeded 7 days (percent remaining in the hospital after 7 days had elapsed) as compared with 31 

percent in hospitals with 100-499 beds and 25 

percent in hospitals with 6-99 beds. Over llpercent of patients in hospitals with 500 beds or 

more had lengths of stay that exceeded 21 days 

as compared with 6 percent in hospitals with 

100-499 beds and 4 percent in hospitals with 6-99 

beds. 

The median length of stay, that equaled or 

exceeded by 50 percent of the patients discharged 

within a group, ranged from 4 days in hospitals 

with 6-99 beds to 6 days inhospitals with 500 beds 

or more (table 5). 

The longer lengths of stay for patients in hospitals with 500 beds or more were probably due in 

part to the severity of cases treated in these 

hospitals. In general, the larger hospitals have 

- 6-99 

beds 

I-I 100-49s 

beds 

nm,,,,.,,,mn 500 beds 

or more 

NUMBER OF DAYS ELAPSED 

Figl;re 2. Percent of patients remaining in hospital 

(not discharged) 'after specified number of days 

had elapsed, by size of hospital. 

60 

40 

20 

0 

I 5 IO 15 20 25 3c 

I NUMBER OF DAYS ELAPSED 

Figure 3. Percent of patients re,naininl; in hospital 

(not discharged) after specified number of days 

had elapsed, by type of wnership. 

facilities that enable them to provide moredefinitive diagnostic and treatment services. 

The percent of patients remaining in the hospital (not discharged) after specified numbers of 

days had elapsed is classified by type of ownership 

in figure 3. The proportion of patients remaining 

after comparable numbers of days ofhospitalization differed only slightly between hospitals 

grouped by major ownership class. As shown in 

table 6, the medianlengths of stay for each ownership class were also similar. 

Personal Characteristics by 

Size of Hospital 

The most noteworthy differences in the percent distribution of days of care by age within 

bed-size classes were evident for persons 65 

years of age and over. These persons received 

31 percent of the days of care provided in hospitals with 6-99 beds as compared with 26 and 

22 percent of the days provided in hospitals with 

100-499 and 500 beds or more, respectively 

(table 7). An explanation for these differences 

5 
‘5r 6-99 BEDS 

16 500 BEDS OR MORE 

Figure 4. Average length of stay in days, by age and 

size of hospital. 

could not be determined from the data currently 

available from the Hospital Discharge Survey. 

In the smallest hospitals, females accounted 

for 62 percent of the days of care (table 7). Their 

proportion of total days declined generally as 

hospital size increased (58 percent in hospitals 

with loo-499 beds and 53 percent in hospitals 

with 500 beds or more). 

The proportion of days of care experienced 

by nonwhite patients in hospitals with 500 beds 

or more was higher than in hospitals with 6-99 

beds. Comparisons of the proportion of days of 

care accumulated by nonwhite persons within 

the other size groups should be made with care 

due to the relatively large proportion (14 percent) 

of days of care in hospitals with loo-499 beds 

for which color was not determined. 

The average length of stay for each age 

group increased with size of hospital (fig. 4). The 

differentials in age-specific average length of 

stay between bed-size groups were greatest for 

persons under 15 years of age. The average 

length of stay for this age group ranged from 

3.9 days in hospitals with 6-99 beds to 10.2 days 

in hospitals with 500 beds or more, 

The average length of stay was the same for 

males and for females in hospitals with less than 

100 beds (6.6 days). It increased with size of 

“r 6-99 BEDS T loo-499 BEDS r 500 + BEDS I 

I 12.7 

I 

I 

I 

Figure 5. Average length of stay in days, by sex and 

size of hospital. 

6 
hospital (based on major bed-size grouping) for 

both males and females (fig. 5). However, on the 

average males stayed longer than females in the 

larger hospitals; the differential was widest in the 

500 or more bed-size group (12.7 days for males 

and 9.6 days for females). 

The average length of stay was higher for 

both white and nonwhite patients in hospitals with 

500 beds or more as compared with hospitals 

with 6-99 beds (table 8). 

VOLUNTARY 

All ages Under 15-24 25-44 45-64 65-b 

15 yews yews yews years years 

? 

2 15 GOVERNMENT 

f 12 

t 

ii 

k 9 

I 

!i 6 z 

!i 

I 3 

2 

!z 0 All ause Under 15-24 25-44 46-64 65f 

15 yews years years years years 

15 PROPRIETARY 

6 

0 

All ages Under 15-24 25-44 45-64 65t 

I5 years years years years years 

Figure C. Average len&h of stay iii days, tj 2;e and 

type of ownership. 

For persons discharged alive, the average 

length of stay varied directly by size of hospital, 

ranging from a low of 6.3 days in hospitals with 

6-99 beds to 10.7 days in hospitals with 500 beds 

or more. 

Patient Characteristics by 

Type of Ownership 

The number and percent distribution of days 

of care by personal characteristics and type of 

ownership are given in table 9. Noteworthy differences in the percent distribution of days of 

care by age for the various ownership classes 

were evident for patients 65 years andover. Within 

proprietary hospitals, only one-fifth of the days 

of care were provided to patients 65 years and 

over as compared with over one-fourth in each 

of the other ownership groups. Government hospitals provided proportionately more days of care 

to males, unmarried persons, and nonwhite persons than any of the other ownership groups. 

The average length of stay in proprietary 

hospitals for all age groups tended to be lower 

than in either voluntary or government hospitals 

(fig. 6). The average len@h of stay in each owner­

-r lIO I- VOLUNTARY 1 GOVERNMENT ! PROPRIETARY 

Roth Both sexez sexes 

Figure 7. Average length of stay in days, ty sex and 

type of ownership. 

7 
ALL TYPES VOLUNTARY GOVERNMENT PROPRIETARY 

D 80 -

w 

5 -

: 

; 60 -

: 

m -

% 

+440 -

E 

is -

2 

20 -

OAll sizes 6-99 loo-499 500-b All sires 6-99 loo-499 600+ Allsizes 6-99 too-499 500 + All clzes 6-99 loo-499 600+ 

BED-SIZE CLASS 

Figure 8. Percent of beds occupied, by type of ownership and size of hospital. 

ship group tended to be highest at the oldest 

ages. 

The average length of stay for both males 

and females was lowest in proprietary hospitals. 

The average length of stay for males in government hospitals was slightly higher than in voluntary hospitals. For females, the average length 

of stay in government and in voluntary hospitals 

did not differ (fig. 7). 

For both white and nonwhite and for married 

and unmarried persons, the average length of 

stay was lowest in proprietary hospitals (table 

10). 

AVERAGE DAILY CENSUS AND 

PERCENT OF BEDS OCCUPIED 

The average daily census is the average number of patients occupying hospital beds on any 

given day during a specified period of time. In 

this report, the term refers to the estimated 

number of patients occupying beds in short-stay 

hospitals on an average day during 1965. As 

mentioned earlier, total days of care accumulated by patients discharged during 1965 are 

assumed to approximate total days of care pvovided by short-stay hospitals within the calendar 

year 1965. 

If the average daily census is divided by the 

number of beds maintained for inpatient use 

(excluding bassinets) and the quotient expressed 

as a percent, the percent of beds occupied or 

the occupancy rate is obtained. In other words, 

the occupancy rate is equal to the ratio of the 

number of days of care provided to the number 

that would have been provided if every bed had 

been occupied each day throughout 1965. 

Table 11 gives the average daily census and 

percent of beds occupied by size of hospital and 

type of ownership, while figure 8 shows occupancy 

rates by type of ownership and size of hospital. 

The occupancy rate for all hospitals was 78 percent. It was highest (83 percent) for hospitals 

with loo-499 beds and lowest (69 percent) for 

those with less than 100 beds (fig. 8). 
The occupancy rate was 82percent for volun- hospitals, the occupancy rate was 69 percent. 

tary hospitals. This was higher than the rate for There were also some variations in occupancy 

the other ownership groups. In government hos- rates by size of hospitals within the ownership 

pitals covered in the survey and in proprietary classes. 

REFERENCES 

INational Center forHealth Statistics: Utilization of shortstay hospitals, summary of nonmedical statistics, United 

States, 1965. Vital and He&~ Statistics. FHS Pub. No. LOCCSeries 1340. 2. Public Health Service. Washington. U.S. 

Government Printing Office, Aug. 1967. 

2NationalCenter forHealth Statistics: Utilizationof shortstay hospitals by characteristics of discharged patients, 

United States, 1965. Vital and He&h Statistics. PBS Pub. 

No. 1000Series 13-No. 2. Public Health Service. Washington. U.S. Government Printing Office, Ccc. 1967. 

3National Center for Health Statistics: Development and 

maintenance of a national inventory of hospitals and institutions. Vital andHealth statistics. FHS Pub. No. 1000~Series 

l- No. 3. Public Health Service. Washington. U.S. Government 

Printing Office, Feb. 1965 

000 

9 
Table 1. 

2. 

3. 

4. 

5. 

6. 

7. 

8. 

9. 

10. 

11. 

DETAILED TABLES 

Number and percent distribution of discharges, by size of hospital and type of ownership: United States, 1965--------------------------------------------------

Number and percent distributionofdischarges,by selected patient characteristics 

according to size of hospital: United States, 1965------------------------------

Number and percent distributionofdischarges,by selected patient characteristics 

according to type of ownership: United States, 1965-----------------------------

Number and percent distribution of days of care and average length of stay, by size of hospital and type of ownership: United States, 1965---------------------

Number of discharges, percent distribution by length of stay, and median stay in 

days, by size of hospital: United States, 1965----------------------------------

Number of discharges, percent distribution by length of stay, and median stay in 

days, by type of ownership: United States, 1965---------------------------------

Number and percent distribution of days of care, by selected patient characteristics according to size of hospital: United States, 1965-----------------------

Average length States, in days, by selected patient characteristics and, size of hospital: Unit-d of stay 1965---------------------------------------------------

Number and percent distribution of days of care, by selected patient characteristics according to type of ownership: United States, 1965----------------------

ownership:length States, Average in days, by selected patient characteristics and type of Unit-dof stay 1965--------------------------------------------------

Average daily census and percent of beds occupied, by size of hospital and type of ownership: Unit-d States, 1965-----------------------------------------------

Page 

11 

12 

13 

14 

15 

15 

16 

17 

18 

19 

20 

10 
Table 1. Number and percent distribution of discharges, by size of hospital and type of ownership: United States, 1965 

All Size of hospital types 

All sizes------------------------- 29,120 

Voluntary nonprofit I I 

Number of discharges in thousands 

8,195 12,282 5,829 

494 3,066 1,853 

2,557 2,370 1,297 

1,992 2,739 471 

2,296 2,963 608 

857 1,144 1,600 

6-99 beds _-_------------___-------------

100-199 beds----------------------------

200-299 beds _-_-----------__-_-_--------

300-499 beds----------------------------

500 beds or more------------------------

All sizes-------------------------

6-99 beds-------------------------------

10()-199 beds----------------------------

200-299 beds----------------------------

300-499 beds----------------------------

500 beds or more------------------------

All sizes-------------------------

6-99 beds-------------------------------

100-199 beds----------------------------

200-299 beds----------------------------

300-499 beds----------------------------

500 beds or more-----------------------­

: 

7,303 

6,796 

5,441 

5,921 

3,659 

Percent distribution (by size of hospital) 

100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 

25.1 6.0 25.0 31.8 67.2 

23.3 31.2 19.3 22.3 20.3 

18.7 24.3 22.3 8.1 8.5 

20.3 28.0 24.1 10.4 1.9 

12.6 10.5 9.3 27.5 2.0 

Percent distribution (by type of ownership) 

100.0 

100.0 48.8 

100.0 72.5 

100.0 86.9 

100.0 88.8 

100.0 54.7 23.4 31.3 43.7 

9.7 

25.9 

8.4 

4.4 

0.9 

1.6 

11 
Table 2. Number and percent distribution of discharges, by selected patient characteristics according to 

size of hospital: United States, 1965 

Characteristic 

Number of discharges in thousands 

29.120 7,303 3.659 -

Age 

Under 15 years "____""""""""""""_"_""~~~~"~~~"""""""""""""""-~~""""-"-" 4,601 1,069 3,001 531 

15-24 yea~s-"""-"-"""-""""----------------"~"""-""~~~~""""""~"""~~~~"~"" 4,948 1,344 2,938 666 

25-44 years ""___"__""""""""_"__"~"~""""~"~~"""~""~~~""""""""~~~~""~~"" 8,138 5,122 1,040 45-64 yea~s"--""--"""-"--"-"""--------------"""~"~~~~~"~"~"~"""~"""" 6,690 % 4,246 849 65 years and o"e~------------------------------------------------------- 4,601 1:262 2,7;; 556 Not stated"-""-"""""------------------------""~"~~~~""""""~~~~~"~""~"~ 142 57 17 

Sex

-

11,361 2,786 7,130 1,446

17,709 435;; 10,997 2,208

50 32 6 

23,016 6,381 14,133 2,502

2,598 365 1,323

3,506 556 2,703 922; 

2,086

4% 938 

'186 a7 

Discharge status -

28,266 7,;;; 3,513

818 135 

35 5 11 

Percent distribution 

100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 - - - -

Age -

Under L5 years------------------------------------------------------- 15.8 14.6 14.5 

15-24 yea~~""---"--""-""""--------------------""""""""~"~~""""""~""""" 18.4 18.2 25-44 yea~s----"-"----"-""---------------------"--""-"--""""""-"--""-" z-i 27.1 28.4 4544 years---------------------------------------------------------- 23:o 21.8 23.2 65 yea,-s and o"e~----------------------------------------------------- 15.8 17.3 15.2 Not stated---------------------------------------------------------------- 0.5 0.8 0.5 

Sex

-

38.1 39.3 39.5 

Ei 61.7 60.6 60.3 

0:2 0.2 0.2 0.2 

87.4 77.8 68.4 

7E 5.0 24.9 

12:o 7.6 1::: 6.7 

72.7 73.1 73.6 67.1 

24.9 23.9 24.2 30.1 

2.5 3.0 2.2 2.8 

97.1 97.1 96.0

":*z 

$2 E 0:1 2: 

'Of pers;ons 15 years oE age and over. 

12 
Table 3. Number and percent distribution of discharges, by selected patient characteristics according to 

type of ownership: United States, 1965 

Characteristic All Protypes prietary 

Number of discharges in thousands 

Total---------------------------------------- 29.120 20.473 3,195 12,282 5,329 2,314 

Under 15 years------------------------------------- 4,601 3,279 1,403 

t 

1,372 350 471 

15-24 years---------------------------------------- 464 

45-64 years---------------------------------------- :% 4:804 i:313 21986 1'252 633 

25-44 years----------------------------------------

4,943 x”; 9;;; 5% :%4 381 

65 yea,-s and over---------------------------------- 4:601 3,213 1,255 1,953 1:033 350 Not stated----------------------------------------- 142 73 33 35 55 14 

Sex -

11,361 7,395 4,721 2,355 1,111 

17,709 12,545 x:: 7,533 3,465 1,699 

50 33 ' 16 23 9 3 

23,016 16,404 10,561 4,005 2,603 

2,593 1,394 909 1,132 73 

3,506 2,630 312 692 133 

Marital status' 

12,667 4,929 7,739 3,296 1,743 

4,151. 1,666 2,435 1,394 

307 156 152 232 % 

Discharge status 

19,915 7,931

193 11,;;; y4 2,754 

2a% 536 53

35 27 16 11 -7 1 

Percent distribution 

Total---------------------------------------- 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 - - - -

Under 15 years- ____-_____----_-_------------------- 15.3 16.0 17.2 16.8 

15-24 years---------------------------------------- 17.0 16.4 16.2i 

16.5 19.4 

f 

15.5 

25-44 years ______-_--____----__-------------------- 27.9 23.1 23.6 27.8 j 25.3 31.3 

45-64 years---------------------------------------- 23.0 23.5 22.2 24.3 1 2i.5 22.5 

65 yea,-s and o"er---------------------------------- 15.3 15.7 IS.9 17.3 12.5

Not stated----------------------------------------- 3.5 9.4 ‘2:: 0.3 0.9 9.5 

39.0 33.6 33.7 33.4 40.4 39.5 

60.8 61.3 Gl.1 61.4 59.4 60.4 

0.2 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.1 

79.0 30.1 71.3 36.0 68.7 

6.3 19.4 9f*z 

1E 13.1 2;:; 2:: 11.9 417 

Marital status' 

Married--------------------------------------------

N,,t stated-----------------------------------------

72.7 

2.5 

74.0 

1.8 2:3 

74.6 

1.5 

67.0 

4.7 I 75.1 

2.6 

Discharge status 

*live---------------------------------------- -____- 97.1 97.3 97.4 97.2 Dead----------------------------------------------- 2.3 2.6 2.4 Not stated----------------------------------------- 0.1 0.1 0.2 E 

Unmarried----------------------------------- --_____ 24.9 24.2 :2*+’ 23.9 23.3 22.4 

'Of persons 15 years of age and over. 

13 
Table 4. Number and percent distribution of days of care and average length of stay, by size of 

hospital and type of ownership: United States, 1965 

II Voluntary nonprofit I I 

All Govern- ProTotal Church nonprofit 

Number of days of care in thousands 

All sizes------------------------- 228,398 163,213 63,251 99,962 47,884 17,300 

6-99 beds------------------------------- 48,166 25,369 3,685 21,683 12,139 10,658 

100-199 beds---------------------------- 46,196 34,762 17,325 17,437 7,572 3,862 

200-299 beds---------------------------- 44,406 38,390 16,283 22,108 4,289 1,727 

300-499 beds---------------------------- 50,087 45,080 18,536 26,544 4,571 436 

500 beds or more------------------------ 39,543 19,613 7,423 12,190 19,314 617 

Percent distribution (by size of hospital) 

All sizes------------------------- 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 

6-99 beds------------------------------- 21.1 5.8 21.7 25.4 61.6 

100-199 beds---------------------------- 20.2 27.4 17.4 15.8 22.3 

200-299 beds---------------------------- 19.4 25.7 22.1 9.0 10.0 

300-499 beds---------------------------- 21.9 29.3 26.6 9.5 2.5 

500 beds or more------------------------ 17.3 11.7 12.2 40.3 3.6 

Percent distribution (by type of ownership) 

Size of hospital types Other ment prietary 

6-99 beds---r---------------------------

100-199 beds----------------------------

100.0 7.7 100.0 37.5 45.0 

37.7 

25.2 

16.4 

22.1 

8.4 

200-299 beds---------------------------- 100.0 36.7 49:8 9.7 3.9 

300-499 beds---------------------------- 100.0 37.0 53.0 9.1 0.9 

500 beds or more------------------------ 100.0 18.8 30.8 48.8 1.6 

Average length of stay in days 

All sizes------------------------- 7.8 II 8.0 7.7 8.1 8.2 6.1 

6-99 beds------------------------------- 6.6 7.1 7.5 7.1 6.6 5.6 

100-199 beds---------------------------- 6.8 7.1 6.8 7.4 5.8 6.8 

200-299 beds---------------------------- 8.2 8.1 8.2 8.1 9.1 7.2 

3()Od+gg beds----------------------------, 8.5 8.6 8.1 9.0 7.5 8.0 

500 be& or more------------------------ 10.8 9.8 8.7 10.7 12.1 10.7 

All sizes------------------------- 100.0 27.7 43.8 21.0 7.6 

14 
----------------------------------------------------- 

----------------------------------------------------- 

----------------------------------------------------- 

--------------------------------------------------- 

--------------------------------------------------- 

Table 5. Number of discharges, percent distribution by length of stay, and median stay in days, by size of hospital: United States, 1965 

All 6-99 loo-499 500 beds Length of stay sizes beds beds or more 

Number of discharges in thousands 

29,120 IJ 7,303 ( 18,159 1 3,659 

Percent distribution 

100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 

Less than 1 day-------------------------------------------- 1.9 2.4 1 day------------------------------------------------------ 25 1Z 6.0 2 days----------------------------------------------------- 13:3 14:4 13.1 11.0 

12.8 14.4 12:5 11.1 2 ::;i ------___-------------------------------------------- 11.4 11.8 11.6 5 days----------------------------------------------------- ::4 6 days----------------------------------------------------- 2: E ::: 

7 days --------------------_________________^__------------- % 

8 days E 2:; 2:: 

3:6 lo-19 9 days days------------------------------------------------- 15.3 14:: 1;:; 

Z 

20-29 days------------------------------------------------- 4.0 'E 30 days and over------------------------------------------- 3.1 8:; 2:9 611 

Median length of stay in days------------------------------ 5 4 5 6 

Table 6. Number of discharges, percent distribution by length of stay, and median stay in days, by type of ownership: United States, 1965 

Length of stay All Voluntary Govern- Protypes nonprofit ment prietary 

Number of discharges in thousands 

29,120 I[ 20,478 ) 5,829 1 2,814 

Percent distribution 

.oo.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 

Less than 1 day _----------------------------------------- 3.2

1 day --__-_---------------------------------------------- 3*f 9: 10.9 i-2 2 days--------------------------------------------------- 13:3 12:9 14.1 1512 3 days--------------------------------------------------- 12.8 12.4 13.3 14.6 4 days--------------------------------------------------- 11.4 11.5 10.4 12.3 

10.5 2 ~,a~~___________________________________---------------- 2: 28" 2: 7 days--------------------------------------------------- 56': 8 days--------------------------------------------------- 2:: 25 E 4:7 

lo-19 9 days days----------------------------------------------- 1;:i 1;:; 1% 1% 20-29 days----------------------------------;-----------­ 30 days and over----------------------------------------- 3:1 3:1 2:: f:S 

Median length of stay in days---------------------------- 5 5 4 4 

15 
Table 7. Number and percent distribution of days of care, by selected patient characteristics according to 

size of hospital: United States, 1965 -

All 6-99 100-499 500 beds Characteristic sizes /I beds I beds or more 

Number of days of care in thousand 

2!28,398 48,166 140,689 39,543 -

Age 

Under 15 years-------------------------------------------------------- 24,410 4,190 5,416 15-24 years----------------------------------------------------------- 24,294 5,631 4,122 25-44 years----------------------------------------------------------- 10,792 9,650 45-64 years----------------------------------------------------------- X% 12,434 y,gg 65 years and oveT----------------------------------------------------- 601035 14,808 Not stated------------------------------------------------------------ 1,019 311 '193 

Sex 

1 

95,514 18,458 58,697 18,359 

L32,405 81,673 21,110

478 2gr6E 319 74 

Color 

1L78,803 41,763 26,561

23,130 2,443

26,464 3,960 x2, 

Marital status' 

I I134,876 28,625 85,234 21,017

62,872 13,509 37,505 11,858

5,220 1,531 2,630 1,059 

Discharge status 

Alive----------------------------------------------------------------- 216,050 44,798 133,796 37,456 Dead------------------------------------------------------------------

Not stated------------------------------------------------------------ 12,056 3,330 6,714 2,012

292 38 178 75 

Percent distribution 

100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 -

Age 

Under yj years-------------------------------------------------------- 10.7 a.7 10.5 13.7 15-24 years----------------------------------------------------------- 10.6 11.7 10.3 10.4 25-44 years----------------------------------------------------------- 23.1 22.4 23.0 45-64 years----------------------------------------------------------- 25.8 %*i 65 years and o"e~----------------------------------------------------- 2: 222: 21:6 Not stated------------------------------------------------------------ 0:4 '26 0:4 0.5 

41.8 38.3 41.7 46.4 

58.0 61.5 58.1 53.4 

0.2 0.2 0.2 0.2 

Color 

White----------------------------------------------------------------- 78.3 86.7 78.5 67.2 Nonwhite-------------------------------------------------------------- 10.1 25.1 Not stated------------------------------------------------------------ 11.6 i:"2 1;:: 7.7 

Marital status1 

66.5 65.6 68.0 61.9 

30.9 29.9 34.9 

3x . 3.5 2.1 3.1 

Discharge status 

94.6 93.0 95.1 94.7 

4.8 

22 21' 0.1 ::; 

'Of persons 15 years of age and over. 

lb 
Table 8. Average length‘of stay in days,by selected United States, 1965 patient characteristics and size of hospital: 

Characteristic ,C:, 

Average length of stay in days 

7.8 6.6 7.7 10.8 

Age 

Under 15 years------------------------------------------------- 5.3 3.9 4.9 10.2 

15-24 years---------------------------------------------------- 4.9 4.2 4.9 6.2 

25-44 years---------------------------------------------------- 6.5 5.5 6.3 9.3 

45-64 years---------------------------------------------------- 9.8 7.8 9.8 13.7 

65 years and over---------------------------------------------- 13.0 11.7 13.2 15.4 

Not stated----------------------------------------------------- 7.2 5.5 7.5 11.5 

Sex 

8.4 6.6 8.2 12.7 

7.5 6.6 7.4 9.6 

9.5 6.6 10.0 13.3 

Color 

7.8 6.5 7.8 10.6 

8.9 6.7 8.1 10.9 

7.5 7.1 7.2 12.4 

Marital status1 

Married-------------------------------------------------------- 7.6 6.3 7.7 10.1 

Unmarried------------------------------------------------------ 10.4 9.2 10.3 12.6 

Not stated----------------------------------------------------- 8.7 8.2 8.0 12.2 

Discharge status 

Alive---------------------------------------------------------- 7.6 6.3 7.6 10.7 

Dead------ --------------------_____^______________------------- 14.7 16.2 14.0 14.9 

Not stated----------------------------------------------------- 8.2 7.1 9.2 7.1 

'Of persons 15 years of age and over. 

17 
Table Y. Number and percent distribution of days of care, by selected patient characteristics according to 

type of ownership: United States, 1965 

II Voluntary nonprofit 1 I 

Characteristic All 

types 

Total--------------------------------------- 228.398 

& 

&&r 1-j years------------------------------------ 24,410 15-24 years--------------------------------------- 24,294 25-44 years--------------------------------------- 52,848 &j&, years---------------------------------------

65 years and over--------------------------------- x;~ Not stated---------------------------------------- 1:019 

Sex -

Male---------------------------------------------- 95,514 FernaLe--------------------------------------

Not stated---------------------------------------- 132,405

478 

Color 

White--------------------------------------------- 178,803 Nonwhite------------------------------------------ 23,130 Not stated---------------------------------------- 26,464 

Marital status1 

Married------------------------------------------- 134,876 Unmarried----------------------------------------- 62,872 Not stated---------------------------------------- 5,220 

Discharge status 

*live---------------------------------------------

Dead---------------------------------------------- !16,050 

Not stated---------------------------------------- 12,056

292 

Govern- ProOther rent prietary Total Church nonprofit 

Number of days of care in thousands 

163.213 63.251 99,962 47,884 17,300 -

17,045 7,311 5,497 1,869 

16,626 6,404 5,613 2,056

37,600 10,234 5,015

47,940 x2: 13,011 4,841 

43,;:; 16:353 13,153 334;; 265 378 

66,553 25,294 41,260 21,992 6,968 96,279 37,765 58,514 25,816 10,310

381 193 188 76 

131,968 4;>2;; 85,557 31,009 15,826

11,885 8,194 1;,;;; 19,360 13:150 6,210 2:

99,072 36,892

43,962 17,460 xi;

2,593 1,323 1:270 

154,480 60,478 94,002

8,500 2,600 5,gg 234 173 

Percent distribution 

100.0 100.0 100.0 

10.4 11.6 9.7 

10.2 

23.0 hi? 12x 

29.4 2814 30:o 

26.6 25.9 27.1 

0.3 0.4 0.3 

40.8 40.0 41.3 

59.0 59.7 58.5 

0.2 0.3 0.2 

80.9 73.4 85.6 

5.8 

1::; 20.8 i:% 

68.0 66.3 69.1 

30.2 31.4 29.5 

1.8 2.4 1.4 

94.6 

y1mf 2: 0:3 

, 

24,791 11,014

14,951 3,;;; 2,268 

41,;;; 

' 49 

100.0 100.0 

11.5 10.8 

11.9 

E-Z 

;;:: IE 

1;:; 0:s . 

45.9 

53.9 

0.2 

64.8 91.5 

22.4 

12.9 22 

71.8 

2: 25.8 

5:4 2.3 

93.7 96.4 

6.2 

0.1 Z:? 

Total---------------------------------------

AE 

Under 15 years------------------------------------

15-24 years--------------------------------------- 25-44 years---------------------------------------

45-64 years---------------------------------------

65 years and over--------------------------------- Not stated----------------------------------------

Sex -

Male----------------------------------------------

Female--------------------------------------------

Not stated----------------------------------------

Color 

White---------------------------------------------

Nonwhite------------------------------------------

Not stated----------------------------------------

Marital status1 

Married------------------------------------------­

"-rried-----------------------------------------

Not stated----------------------------------------

Discharge status 

*live-----------------------------------------------

Dead----------------------------------------------

Not stated----------------------------------------

100.0 

10.7 

10.6 

23.1 

28.8 

26.3 

0.4 

41.8 

58.0 

0.2 

78.3 

E61. 

66.5 

31.0 

2.6 

94.6 

E 

'Of persons 15 years of age and over. 

18 

21 
Table 10. Average length of stay in days, by selected patient characteristics and type of ownership: United States, 1965 

II Voluntary nonprofit I I 

Characteristic All Covern- Protypes Other ment prietary Total Church nonprofit 

Average length of stay in days 

Total-------------------------------- 7.8 8.0 7.7 8.1 8.2 6.1 

Age 

Under 15 years----------------------------- 5.3 5.2 5.2 5.2 6.5 4.0 

15-24 years-------------------------------- 4.9 5.0 4.8 5.1 5.0 4.4 

25-44 years-------------------------------- 6.5 6.5 6.4 6.6 6.8 5.7 

45-&$ years-------------------------------- 9.8 10.0 9.9 10.0 10.4 7.6 

65 years and over-------------------------- 13.0 13.5 13.0 13.8 12.7 9.8 

Not stated--------------------------------- 7.2 7.4 7.0 7.8 6.8 7.2 

Sex

-

Male--------------------------------------- 8.4 8.4 8.0 8.7 9.3 6.3 

Female------------------------------------- 7.5 7.7 7.5 7.8 7.5 6.1 

Not stated--------------------------------- 9.5 10.0 12.4 8.4 8.6 6.5 

Color 

White-------------------------------------- 7.8 8.0 7.9 8.1 7.7 6.1 

Nonwhite----------------------------------- 8.9 8.5 7.6 9.0 9.5 7.3 

Not stated--------------------------------- 7.5 7.2 7.0 7.6 8.9 7.1 

Marital status1 

Married------------------------------------ 7.6 7.8 7.5 8.0 7.5 6.3 

Unmarried---------------------------------- 10.4 10.6 10.5 10.7 10.7 7.6 

Not stated--------------------------------- 8.7 8.4 8.5 8.4 9.8 6.0 

Discharge status 

Alive-------------------------------------- 7.6 7.8 7.6 7.9 8.0 6.1 

Dead------- -----_-_------------------------ 14.7 15.9 13.1 17.5 13.1 10.5 

Not stated--------------------------------- 8.2 8.7 11.0 5.5 6.8 6.6 

'of persons 15 years of age and over. 

19 
Table 11. Average daily census and percent of beds occupied, by size of hospital and type of 

ownership: United States, 1965 

Size of hospital 

All sizes----------------------------

6-99 beds----------------------------------

100-199 beds-------------------------------

200-299 beds-------------------------------

300-499 beds-------------------------------

500 beds or more---------------------------

All sizes----------------------------

6-99 beds----------------------------------

100-199 beds-------------------------------

200-299 beds-------------------------------

3O()&)CJ beds-------------------------------

500 beds or more---------------------------

II Voluntary nonprofit I I 

All Govern- ProOther types ment prietary Total Church nonprofit 

Average daily census in thousands 

173 274 131 47 

10 59 

47 48 

45 61 

51 73 

?O 33 

Percent of beds occupied 

78.1 82.4 82.1 

69.3 71.5 72.9 

75.9 79.7 86.9 

84.2 87.3 84.5 

89.5 91.5 84.1 

74.2 76.1 69.1 

33 29 

21 11 

12 5 

13 1 

53 2 

69.1 

72.5 

67.0 

68.6 

53.4 

50.4 

20 

I 
APPENDIX I 

TECHNICAL NOTES ON METHODS 

Statistical Design of the Hospital 

Discharge Survey 

Scope of Uzesurvey. -The scope of the Hospital Discharge Survey (HDS) encompasses patients discharged 

from noninstitutional hospitals having six beds or more 

for inpatient use, located in the 50 States and the District of Columbia, and having an average length of stay 

of less than 30 days 

Newborn infants are in scope only if at least one 

of the following conditions has been specified in the 

medical record: 

1. Immaturity or prematurity. 

2. Any disease, condition, syndrome, disorder, 

injury, malformation, or birth defect. 

3. Any operation or surgical procedure other than 

routine circumcision. 

4. Birth occurred under nonsterile conditions. 

All other infants are considered well-newborn infants 

and are out-of-scope of the survey. 

Sampling frame and size of sample.-The sampling 

frame for hospitals in the Hospital Discharge Survey is 

the Master Facility Inventory of Hospitals and Institutions (MFI). A detailed description of how the MFI 

was developed, its content, plans for maintaining it, 

and procedures for assessing the completeness of its 

coverage has been published. (See reference 3, p. 9.) 

The universe for the Hospital Discharge Survey 

consisted of 6,965 hospitals, excluding military and 

Veterans Administration hospitals, contained in the MFI 

in 1963. The distributions of short-stay hospitals by 

size and region in the universe (MFI) andin the sample 

of the Hospital Discharge Survey are shown in table I. 

Some of the sample hospitals participated in the survey 

during all of 1965,whereas other hospitals participated 

for only 6 months because they were not inducted into 

the survey until the latter half of 1965. Hospitals participating for 12 months and for 6 months are distributed 

separately in table I. 

The sample of hospitals for, 1965 as originally 

drawn consisted of 315 hospitals. Of these hospitals, 8 

refused to participate; 5 did not submit any abstracts 

during the year; and 6 were out-of-scope either because 

the hospital had gone out of business or because it 

failed to meet the definition of a short-stay hospital. 

(See appendix II for the definition of hospital used in 

the Hospital Discharge Survey.) Thus, there were 296 

in-scope participating hospitals in the survey during 

1965. 

Sample de&p.-All hospitals of 1,000 beds or 

more in the universe (excluding VA and military hospitals) were selected with certainty in the sample. All 

hospitals of fewer than 1,000 beds were stratified, with 

the primary strata being the 24 size-by-regionclasses, 

as shown in table I. Within each of these 24 primary 

strata, the allocation of the hospitals was made through 

a controlled selection technique so that hospitals in 

the sample would be properly distributed with regard 

to ownership and geographic division. Sample hospitals were drawn with probabilities ranging from certainty for the largest hospitals to 1 in40 for the smallest 

hospitals. 

The within-hospital sampling ratio for selecting 

discharges varied inversely 

lection of the hospital. The 

of discharged patients was 

tals, and the largest fraction 

hospitals. This was done 

that hospitals were selected 

tionate to size class and 

with the probability of sesmallest sampling fraction 

taken in the largest hospiwas taken in the smallest 

to compensate for the fact 

with probabilities proporto assure that the overall 

probability of selecting a discharge would be approximately the same in all hospitals. 

In nearly all hospitals, the daily listing sheet of 

discharges was the frame from which the subsamples 

of discharges were selected within the sample hospitals. 

The sample discharges were selected by random technique, usually on the basis of the terminal digit(s) of the 

patient’s medical record number-a number assigned 

when the patient was admitted to the hospital. If the 

hospital’s daily discharge listing did not show the 

medical record numbers, the sample was selected by 

starting with a randomly selected discharge and taking 

every kth discharge thereafter. 

Data collection.-Depending on the study procedure 

agreed on with the hospital administrator, the sample 

selection and the transcription of information from the 

21 
Table I. Distribution of short-stay hospitals in the universe (ME'I) and in the Hospital Discharge Survey sample,by size, geographic region, and number of months of participation in the survey: Hospital Discharge Survey, 1965 

-

T Region 

Size of hospital and number of 

months of participation in survey All North- North 

regions east Central South West 

All sizes 

Universe------------------------------------. 6,965 1,107 1,979 2,620 1,259 

Total sample----------------------------------. 6 months participation----------------------------. 12 months participation---------------------------. 

315 

150 

165 

% 

47 

E 

47 

2 

47 

46 

6-49 beds 

3,113 199 830 1,438 646 

Total sample----------------------------------. 6 months participation----------------------------. 12 months participation---------------------------. 2 

19 

5 

.: 

11 

6 

5 

15 

; 

23 

4 

50-99 beds 

Universe------------------------------------. 1,623 288 442 587 306 

Total sample----------------------------------- 6 months participation----------------------------- 12 months participation---------------------------. 

44 

IS 

: 

4 

12 

: 

16 

i 

loo-199 beds 

Universe------------------------------------- 1.144 277 378 332 157 

Total sample----------------------------------- 6 months participation----------------------------- 12 months participation---------------------------- 2 

31 

16 

: :z 

10 

19 

10 

9 

23 

4 

200-299 beds 

Universe--------------------------------------- 552 .82 151 134 85 

Tot-1 sample----------------------------------- 55 19 16 12 6 months participation----------------------------- 10 12 months participation---------------------------- z; 9 : 2 

300-499 beds, 

Universe------------------------------------- 386 110 129 96 51 

Tot-1 sample----------------------------------- 6 months participation----------------------------- 12 months participation---------------------------- zz 

29 

16 

s8 

:; 

9 

16 

4 

500-999 beds 

129 42 46 28 13 

Total sample----------------------------------- 6 months participation----------------------------- 12 months participation---------------------------- :78 

19 

12 

fi 

12 

6 

6 

: 

4 

z 

3 

1,000 beds or more 

Universe------------------------------------- 18 9 5 

Total sample----------------------------------- 18 9 5 1 6 months participation----------------------------- 12 months participation---------------------------- 18 9 ; ; 

22 

I 
hospital records to the abstract form were performed 

either by the hospital staff or by representatives of 

the National Center for Health Statistics, or by both. 

In more than three-quarters of the hospitals, this work 

was performed by a member of the hospital staff in the 

medical records department. In nearly all the remaining hospitals, the work was performed by the Bureau 

of the Census, acting for the Center. 

During 1965, all survey hospitals except one used 

an optical mark page reader form to abstract data 

from the hospital records. A copy of the front side of 

this form, covering the nonmedical data presented in 

this report, is shown in figure I. The reverse side of 

the form was used to record discharge diagnoses and 

surgical operations and procedures. The use of this 

form enabled the coded information to be converted 

directly to computer tape by an optical mark page reader 

machine. 

Data processing. -Shipments of completed abstract 

forms for each sample hospital were transmitted to the 

Center for processing. Every shipment of abstracts 

was reviewed; each abstract form was edited; and, as 

necessary, problems were referred to the hospitals for 

clarification and correction. 

Estimation. -Statistics produced by the Hospital 

Discharge Survey are derived by a complex estimating 

procedure. The basic unit of estimation is the sample 

patient abstract. The estimating procedure used to 

produce essentially unbiased national estimates in the 

HDS has three principal components: (1) inflation by 

reciprocals of the probabilities of sample selection, 

(2) adjustment for nonresponse, and (3) ratio adjustments to fixed totals. These components of estimation 

are described in the appendixes of two earlier publications.‘112 

General Qualifications 

Abstracts rejected in the .-~~-- computer inspection . _.....__, run.-For 1965, 100,387 abstracts were received from 

the 296 hospitals that participated in the survey. In a 

computer inspection run, approximately 6 percent of 

these abstracts were rejected for one or more of the 

following reasons: (1) poor marking on the abstract 

form, (2) impossible code, and (3) missing entry. 

‘The majority of rejects were corrected byreviewing and editing the information on the abstract forms. 

However, where it was impossible to correct the code 

of a rejected item, that item was coded and tabulated 

as “not stated.” ‘Ihe latter procedure applied to all 

items except “date of admission” and “date of discharge,” which were not permitted to be coded as “not 

stated.” In instances where these data could not be 

obtained from the abstract form, the monthly sample 

listing sheet transmitted by the sample hospital was 

used as an additional source of information. Ifthe dates 

could not be established from the sample listing sheets, 

the. abstract form was sent back to the hospital. 

Rounding of numbers.-Estimates relating to discharges and days of care have been rounded to the 

nearest thousand. For this reason detailed figures 

within tables do not always add to totals. Percents and 

rates were calculated on the basis of original, unrounded figures and will not necessarily agree with 

rates and percents which might be calculated from 

rounded data. 

Reliability of Estimates 

Since the estimates presented in this report are 

based on a sample of discharges from a sample of 

short-stay hospitals, they will differ somewhat from 

the results that would have been obtained had they been 

based on all discharges from all short-stay hospitals. 

As in any survey, the results are alsosubject to measurement errors which include errors due to hospital 

nonresponse, missing abstracts, information incompletely or inaccurately reported on abstract forms, and 

processing errors. Measurement errors were discussed in previous sections of this appendix. 

The standard error is primarily a measure of the 

variability that occurs by chance because a sample 

rather than the entire universe is surveyed. In this 

report the standard error also reflects part of the 

measurement error, but it does not measure any systematic biases in the data. The chances are about 68 

out of 100 that the value obtained in a complete enumeration is contained in the interval represented by 

the estimate, plus and minus one standard error of the 

estimate; 95 out of 100 for two standard errors; and 

99 out of 100 for 2%standard errors. 

The standard error of one statistic is generally 

different from that of another even when the two come 

from the same survey. In order to derive standard 

errors that would be applicable to a wide variety of 

statistics and that could be prepared at a moderate 

cost, a number of approximations were required. As 

a result, the charts and tables shown in this section of 

appendix I provide general standard errors for a wide 

variety of estimates rather than the specific error for 

any statistic. 

The relative standard error of an estimate is obtained by dividing the standard error of the estimate 

by the estimate itself and is expressed as a percentage 

of the estimate. Relative standard errors of the estimated numbers of discharges and days of care shown 

in this report can be determined from figures II and 

III, respectively. Approximate standard errors of 

estimated percentages and averages can be determined 

from tables II-VI. 

Rules for determining the approximate relative 

standard errors and standard errors of estimates 

presented in this report are as follows: 

General r&.-Standard errors andrelativestandard errors shown in the tables and figures are appli23 
-

- CONFDENTM.-This information is collected under authority of Public Law 652 of the 84th ,Congress (70 Stat. 489; 42 U.&C. 242.c.). All inform- ­

ation which would permit identification of an individual or an establishment till be held strictly confidential, will be used only by persons en- q 

gaged in and for the ,purposes of the survey and will not be disclosed or released to other persons or used for any other purpose (22 FR 1687). -

- DEPARTMENT OF FO,rniiP.lW.d -

HEALTH, EDUCATION. AND WELFARE Budget Bureau NO 6*.R1*O.R* -

PHS4734~2 PUBLICIIEALT” SERYICE - 864 NATIONALCENTERFOR HEALTI-IsT*nsTIcs Il. HOSPITAL NUMBER -

ABSTRACT OF PATIENT RECORD-Hospital Discharge Survey 

2. PATIENT NUMBER 

3. MEDICAL RECORD NUMBER 

4.a. DATE OF BIRTH 

Complete 4b and 4c if 

date of birth is not given. 

4.b. AGE 

4.~. AGE IS STATED IN 

5. SEX 

6. COLOR 

7. MARITAL STATUS 

8. DATE OF ADMISSION 

9. DATE OF DISCHARGE 

10. DlSCHARGE STATUS 

Figure I. Nonmedical section of optical mark page reader form. 

24 
cable to estimates of discharges, days of care, and Rule 1. Estimated numbers of disctirges: Relative 

average lengths of stay for patient characteristics 

(age, sex, marital status, and discharge status) crossclassified by one of three hospital groupings as follows: 

(1) by size (e.g., 6-99 beds), (2) by type of ownership 

(e.g., voluntary), or (3) by hospitals summed over all 

size and ownership groups (all hospitals). The particular figure or table to which one refers to obtain a 

sampling error is contingent upon both the type of 

estimate (e.g., discharges, etc.) and the hospital 

grouping with which the patient charactertistic is crossclassified. 

Sampling errors for the estimates involving the 

patient characteristic “color” are not shown in the 

tables and figures but are expressed as a multiple of 

the standard error shown for the group “all hospitals.” 

The same is true for the sampling errors of estimates 

classified by size and type of ownership simultaneously. 

standard errors of estimated numbers of 

discharges are obtained from the curves 

shown in figure II. Sampling errors of 

discharges classified by color and hospital grouping are three times larger than 

the sampling errors shown for estimates 

of comparable frequency in the curve for 

all hospitals. 

Sampling errors for numbers of discharges classified by size and type of 

owner&u A simultaneouslv are seven times 

larger than the sampling errors for estimates of comparable frequency shown for 

all hospitals. 

Figure II. Approximate relative standard errors of estimated numbers of patients discharged for patient characteristics 

(excluding color) 

1,000 10,000 

Number of patients discharged in thousands 

Illustration of use of figure II: As shown in table 2, an estimated 2,938,ooO patients aged 15-2Q years were discharged 

from hospitals with 100499 beds. The relative standard error of this estimate as read from the line "Size groups" is approximately 3.6 percent; the standard error of 2,938,000 is 105,768 (3.6 percent of 2,938,OOO). 

25 

1 
Rule 2. Estimated num hers of days of care: Relative standard errors of estimatednumbers 

of days of care are obtained from the 

curves in figure III. Sampling errors of 

days of care by color and ownership or 

size of hospital are three times larger than 

those shown for estimates of comparable 

frequency for all hospitals. Sampling errors for days of care classified by size and 

type of ownership are seven times larger 

than the standard errors for estimates of 

comparable frequency shown for all hospitals. 

acteristic used to form the numerator of 

the percentage is a subclass of the denominator. Sampling errors of percentages of 

discharges classified by color and ownership and by color and size are three and 

four times larger, respectively, than the 

standard errors for comparable percentage estimates shown in table II. Sampling 

errors of percentages’ of discharges 

classified by size and type of ownership 

simultaneously are 10 times larger than 

the sampling errors for comparable percentage estimates shown in table II. 

Rule 3. Estimated percentages of discharges in a Rule 4. Estimated percentages of days of care in 

percent distribution: Tables II and III show a percent distribution: Table IV shows 

approximate standard errors of estimated approximate standard errors of estimated 

percentages of discharges when the char- percentages of days of care when the 

Figure Ill. Approximate relative standard errors of estimated number of days of care for patient characteristics (excluding 

color) 

Size of estimate in thousands 

Illustration of use of fiqure III: As shown in table 7, 10,792,OOO days of care were provided to patients aged 25-W years 

in hospitals of 6-99 beds. The relative standard error of this estimate as read from the line "Size groups" is approximately 

9.9 percent; the standard error is 528,808 (U.9 percent of 10,792,OOO). 

26 
Table II. Approximate standard errors of per- Table IV. Approximate standard errors of.percentages shown in this report for 'discharges: centages showninthis report for days of care: 

patient characteristics (excluding color) patient characteristics (excluding color)

classified by size of hospital and for all classified by size of hospital,type of ownerhospitals, ship, and for all hospitals 

Estimated percent Estimated percent 

Number of dis- Number of days

charges (base of 2 4 10 20 30 of care (base of 

percent) or or or or 50 percent) -v 

98 96 90 iFi 70 

Standard error expressed in Standard error expressed in 

percentage points percentage points 

I 500,000------ 20,000,000-----

1,000,000------ 40,000,000-----

2,000,000------ 60,000,000-----

yym;------ 80,000,000----­ -_---- 100,000,000-----

15:000:000------ 200,000,000-----

30,000,000------ 230,000,000----- 1 

Illustration of the use of table II: Table 2 Illustration of the use of table IV: Table 7 

shows that 23.2 percent of the 3,659,OOO pa- shows that 26.1 percent of the 140,689,OOO pa­ tients discharged from hospitals with 500 beds tients discharged from hospitals of loo-499 

or more were aged 45-64 years. Linear interpo- beds were aged 65 years and over. Linear inlation between the values shown in table II terpolation between the values shown in table 

will yield an approximate standard error of 0.7 IV will yield an approximate standard error of 

percent for an estimate of 23 percent with a 0.5 percent for an estimate of about 26 percent

base of 3,659,OOO. with a base of 140,689,OOO. 

Table III. Approximate standard errors of per- Table V. Approximate standard errors of average 

centages shown in this report for discharges: length of stay shown in this report: patient

patient characteristics (excluding color) characteristics (excluding color) classified 

classified by type of ownership by size of hospital and for all hospitals 

Estimated percent Average length of stay 

Number of dis- Number of dis- (in days) 

charges (base of charges (base of 

percent) percent) 4 6 8 10 12 14 

Standard error expressed

Standard error expressed in in days 

percentage points 

500,000------ 0.3 0.5 IO.5 0.6 

500,000------ 1.8 1,000,000------ 21 ::I 0.3 0.4 0.4 

1,000,000------ 1.2 2,000,000------ 0.3 0.3 2; i:: 

2,ooo,oop-----­ Z-f 0.2 0.3 i:";

4,000,000------ Z 0:1 i?: 0:2 0.2 0.3 

8,000,000------ 0.1 0:1 0.2 0.2 0.3 i:: 

15,000,000------ ?I - 30,000,000------ 0:2 

Illustration of the use of table V: Table 8 

shows that the average length or stay was 8.2 

Illustration of the use of M&eOIII: Table 3 days for the estimated 7,130,OOO males disshows that 38.6 percent of 3478,000 pa- charged from hospitals of loo-499 beds (table tients discharged-from voluntary nonprofit hbs- 2) - From table V it 

is 

is seen that the approxi­ pitals were males. Linear interpolation be- mate standard error 0.2 days for an estitween the values shown in table III will yield mated average 8.2 days with a base of approxian approximate standard error of 0.4 percent mately 7,130,OOO. for an estimate of approximately 39 percent

with a base of 20,478,OOO. 

27 
------ 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.6 0.6 0.8 

. 

characteristic used to form thenumerator Table VI. Approximate standard errors of averis a subclass of the denominator. Sampling age length of stay shown in this report: pa­ tient characteristics (excluding color) claserrors of percentages of days of care sified by type of ownership classified by color and size and by color 

and ownership are three times larger than 

the standard errors shown for comparable 

percentage estimates in table IV, Approximate standard errors of percentages of 

days of care classified by size and type of 

ownership simultaneously are about 10 

times larger than the standard errors 

for comparable percentage estimates 

shown in table IV.(* 

Rule 5. Difference between two sample estimates: 

The standard errors and relative standard 

errors shown in this appendix are not 

directly applicable to differences between 

two sample estimates. The standard error 

of a difference is approximately the square 

root of the sum of squares of each standard 

error considered separately. This formula 

is a close approximation to the actual 

standard error for the difference between 

separate and uncorrelated characteristics, 

although it is only a rough approximation 

in most other cases. 

Rule 6. Estimates of average length of stay: Approximate standard errors of average 

length of stay are shown in tables V and 

VI. Standard errors of average lengths 

of stay for values not shown in tables V 

and VI can be calculated as in the following 

example: 

Suppose the standard error (6,,) of the 

average length of stay for persons discharged alive from voluntary nonprofit 

hospitals is desired. 

Let R, = Number of days of care 

Number of discharges 

X’ 154,480,OOO = T= 19,915,000= 7.gdays 

The relative standard error tv,, I of 

154,480,OOO (from ownership curve in 

Standard error expressed in days 

500,000------ 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 

;,“olo~,“o”o”o------ 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 f 

4~000;000------ 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 

8,000,000------ 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 

16,000,000------ 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.6 

Illustration of the use of table VI: Table 10 

shows that the average 

days for the estimated 

25-44 years discharged profit hospitals (table 

seen that the approximate days for an estimated 

a base of approximately 

length of stay was 6.5 

5,754,OOO persons aged from voluntary non3). From table VI it is 

standard error is 0.3 

average of 6.5 days with 

5,754,OOO. 

figure III) is 6.6percent, or .066; V$=(.O66? 

The relative standard error (vyI ) of 

19,915,OOO (from ownership curve in figure 

II) is 6.5 percent, or .065; V,?=(.06512. 

vi, = v,: + vy: - 2r v,, Vyl 

= (.O66)2 + (.065?’ - 1.5(.066x .065) 

= .004356 + .004225 - .006435 = .002146. 

vR, = m = .046. 

6,, = R’x vkl = 7.8 x .046 = 0.4 days. 

ooo28 
APPENDIX II 

DEFINITIONS OF CERTAIN TERMS USED IN THIS REPORT 

Terms Relating to Hospitalization 

Hospital.--In this survey an establishment is a 

hospital if it meets all of the following conditions: 

It maintains at least six beds for use by inpatients. 

It provides inpatient medical care under the 

supervision of a duly licenseddoctor of medicine 

or doctor of osteopathy. 

It provides nursing service 24 hours a day under 

the supervision of a registered nurse. 

It maintains medical records for each patient 

admitted and for newborn infants. 

Short-stay hospital.-A short-stay hospital is one 

in which the average stay is under 30 days. 

Bed.-A bed is one set up and staffed for continuous 

(24-hour) use by inpatients. Beds in emergency rooms, 

labor rooms, postanesthesia or postoperative recovery 

rooms, or other such facilities, which are regularly 

maintained and utilized for only aportionof the patient’s 

stay and are primarily for special procedures and not 

for lodging, are not termed (inpatient) beds. Cribs and 

bassinets maintained for use by other than newborn 

infants are considered beds. 

Patient and inpatient.-A patient is a person admitted to a hospital who occupies a hospital bed for 

observation, care, diagnosis, or treatment. “Patient” 

and “inpatient” are used synonymously. 

Well-newborn in&z&.-Well-newborn infants are 

those who satisfy all of the following criteria: 

1. The birth was at term or was not otherwise 

specified and there was no mention of immaturity or prematurity 

2. No diagnosis of any disease, condition, disorder, 

syndrome, injury, malformation, or defect was 

made by the physician attending the birth 

3. No operation (other than a routine circumcision) 

was performed 

4. The birth occurred under sterile conditions 

Discharge.-Discharge refers totheformalrelease 

of an inpatient by a hospital. Newborn infants, however, 

who satisfy the criteria for well-newborn (see definition) are not counted as being discharged. 

-000 

Discharge status.-Discharge status is the condition (i.e., either alive or dead) of a patient when discharged. 

Day of care.-This is the unit of measure denoting 

lodging facilities provided and services rendered to 

one inpatient between 2 successive days. 

Length of stay.-The length of stay is the number 

of days a patient is hospitalized exclusive of the day 

of discharge. When a patient is admitted and discharged 

in the same day, the length of stay is less than 1 day. 

Average length of stay.-The average length of 

stay is the aggregate days of care divided by the number of discharges. In computing the average length of 

stay, a stay of less than 1 day is counted as 1 day. 

Median length of stay. -This is the length of stay 

equaled or exceeded by 50 percent of the discharges. 

Percent of beds occupied.--This is the ratio of the 

number of days of care provided to the number that 

would have been provided if every bed had been occupied each day of the year. 

Hospital ownership.-Hospital ownership is a classification of hospitals according to the type of organization that controls and operates the hospital. The 

classification is based on responses provided by the 

sample hospitals. 

Demographic Terms 

Age.-Age refers to the age at last birthday at 

time of admission to hospital. Whenever possible, 

information is obtained on the date of birth. 

Cotor.-In this report, the population is divided 

into white and nonwhite persons. Mexicans and Puerto 

Ricans are considered white unless specifically identified as a member of a nonwhite race. The nonwhite 

group includes the Negro, American Indian, Asian 

Indian, Chinese, Japanese, Aleut, Eskimo, Hawaiian, 

Filipino, Korean, and Malayan races. 

Marital status.-Marital status applies only to 

persons 15 years of age and over. “Married” includes 

persons who are married or separated. YJnmarried” 

includes persons who are single, widowed, or divorced. 

United States.- The 50 States and the District of 

Columbia. 

29 

1 
OUTLINE OF REPORT SERIES FOR VITAL AND HEALTH STATISTICS 

Public Health Service Publication No. 1000 

S&vies 1. Programs and collection puoceducres .-Reports which describe the general programs of the National 

Center for Health Statistics and its offices and divisions, data collection methods used, definitions, 

and other material necessary for understanding the data. 

Series 2. Data evahation and methods 9-esearch. -Studies of new statistical methodology including: esperimental tests of new survey methods, studies of vital statistics collection methods, new analytical 

techniques, objective evaluations of reliability of collected data, contributions to statistical theory, 

Series 3. Analytical studies.- Reports presenting analytical or interpretive studies based on vital and health 

statistics, carrying the analysis further than the e5positor-y types of reports in the other series. 

Series 4. Documents and committee reports. -Final reports of major committees concerned with vital and 

health statistics, and documents such as recommended model vital regiscation laws and revised birth 

and death certificates. 

Series 10. Data from the Health Interview Survey. -Statistics on illness, accidental injuries, disability, use of 

hospital, medical, dental, and other services, and other health-related topics, based on data collected 

in a continuing national household interview survey. 

Series 11. Data fl*om the Health E3saminution Survey .-Data from direct esamination, testing, and measurement of national samples of the population provide the basis for ‘IXO types of reports: (1) estimates 

of the medically defined prevalence of specific diseases in the United States and the distributions of 

the population with respect to physical, physiological, and psychological characteristics; and (2) 

analysis of relationships among the various measurements without reference to an explicit finite 

universe of persons. 

Series 12. Data from the Institutional Population Surveys .-Statistics relating to the health characteristics of 

persons in institutions, and on medical, nursing, and personal care received, based on national 

samples of establishments providing these services and samples of the residents or patients. 

Series 13. Data from the Hospital Discharge Suvvev_ .-Statistics relating to discharged patients in short-stay 

hospitals, based on a sample of patient records in a national sample of hospitals. 

Sew& 14. Data on balth wsowces: manpowc~ and facilities .-Statistics on the numbers, geographic distribution, and characteristics of health resources including physicians, dentists, nurses, other health 

manpower occupations, hospitals, nursinr homes, and outpatientandosher inpatient facilities. 

Series 20. Data on mortality.-Various statistics on mortality other than as included in annual or monthly 

reports- special analyses by cause of death, age, andother demographic variables, also geographic 

and time series analyses. 

&vies 21. Data on zatality, mawkqe, and divorce .-Various statisticsonnatality, marriage, and divorce other 

than as included in annual or monthly reportcu-special analyses by demo;graphic variables, also 

geographic and time series analyses, studies of fertility. 

Series 22. Data from the National XataUty and Xo~taiity Surveys . -Statistics on characteristics of births and 

deaths not available from the vital records, based on sample surveys stemming from these records, 

including such topics as mortality by socioeconomic class, medical experience in the last year of 

life, characteristics of pregnancy. etc. 

For a list oftitles ofreports published in these series, write to: Office of Information 

National Center fOK Health Statistics 

U.S. Public Health Service 

Washington, D.C. 20201