Data from the Series 13 

NATIONAL HEALTH SURVEY Number 13 

Averagelength of Stay 

in Short-Stay Hospitals: 

DemographicFactors 

UnitedStates-1968 

Statistics are presented on the utilization of short-stay 

hospitals based on data collected in the Hospital Discharge 

Survey from a national sample of hospital records of 

discharged patients. Average length of stay is presented 

by patient characteristics of age, sex, marital status, -and 

color and for patients with deliveries in conjunction with 

hospital characteristics of size, ownership or control, and 

geographic region in which located. 

DHEW Publication No. (HSM) 73-1764 

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

Public Health Service 

Health Services and Mental Health Administration 

National Center for Health Statistics 

Rockville, Md. April 1973 
Vital and Health Statistics-Series 13-No, 13 

For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Qovernment Printing Office, Washington, D.C. 20402 

Price $1.26domesticpostpaid of $1 QPO Bookstore 
NATIONAL CENTER FOR HEALTH STATISTICS 

THEODORE D. WOOLSEY, Director 

EDWARD B. PERRIN, Ph.D., Deputy Director b 

PHILIP S. LAWRENCE, Sc.D, Associate Director 

OSWALD K. SAGEN, Ph.D., Assistant Director fir Health Statistics Development 

WALT R. SIMMONS, M.A., Assistant Director fo;‘Research and Scientific Development 

JOHN J. HANLON, M.D., Medical Advisor 

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

EDWARD E. MINTY, Executive Officer 

ALICE HAYWOOD, Information Officer 

DIVISION OF ‘HEALTH RESOURCES STATISTICS 

SIEGFRIED A. HOERMANN, Director 

PETER L. HURLEY, Deputy Director 

GRACE K. WHITE, Chief, Hospital Discharge Survey Branch 

HENRY S. MOUNT, Chief, Health Manpower Statistics Branch 

G. GLORIA HOLLIS, Chief, Health Facilities Statistics Branch 

PETER L. HURLEY, Acting Chief, Family Pkznning Statistics Branch 

COOPERATION OF THE BUREAU OF THE CENSUS 

Under the legislation establishing the National Health Survey, the Public Health 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 OP the Census, under a contractual arrangement, participated in planning the survey and collecting the data. 

Vital and Health Statistics-Series 13-No. 13 

DHEW Publication No. (HSM) 73-1764 

Library of Congress Gztalog Card Number 72-600222 
------ 

------ 

----------- 

---- 

CONTENTS 

Page 

.Introduction ________________________________________------------------

Background of Study _______________---_-____________________--------

Scope of Study and PIan of Report ___------- -________ --_________ 

Geographic Region ________________________________________-----------

Sex __________-_____________________________-----------------------

Age---------------------------------------------------------------

Age and Sex--------------------------------------------------------

Hospital Size ________________________________________-----------------

Age---------------------------------------------------------------

Marital Status---------------------,------~--------------------------

Deliveries---------------------------------------------------------

patients 65 years and Over _________-_--- - -_________---______________ 

Color ________________________________________---------------------

Hospital Ownership (Control) _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _- - - _ __ __ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _- _ _ 

Sex _____________-__________________________-----------------------

Sex andAge--------------_-----------------------------------------

Marital Status------------------------------------------------------

Deliveries---------------------------------------------------------

Size and Ownership of Hospital __ ___- _________________ ____________ ____ -_ 

Conclusion ________________________________________-------------------

List of Detailed Tables __ _ _ _______________________ - ________ ___ _ ____ -_-_ 

Appendix 1. Technical Notes on Methods _-__ - -----_ ______________ 

Statistical Design of the Hospital Discharge Survey--------------------- General Qualifications----------------------------------------------

Reliability of Estimates ________________________________________-----

Appendix II. Definitions of Certain Terms Used in This Report 

Terms Relating to Hospitalization ___- -_____________-_____________ 

Hospitals and Hospital Characteristics--------------------------------

Demogra$ic Terms------------------------------------------------

1 

1 

1 

3 

4 

4 

4 

6 

7 

9 

9 

9 

9 

10 

10 

12 

13 

15 

32 

32 

35 

35 

40 

40 

40 

40 

. . . III 
SYMBOLS 

Data not available _-___-_______ ____-__-_-- -__ 

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

Quantity zero ____________________________ _ 

Quantity more than 0 but less than O.OS---- 0.0 

Figure does not meet standards of * reliability or precision-----------------­

iv 
AVERAGE LENGTH 

OF STAY IN SHORT-STAY HOSPITALS: 

DEMOGRAPHIC FACTORS 

Evelyn W. Gordon, Ph.D., Division 

INTRODUCTION 

Background of Study 

Hospital statistics are part of the fund of 

health data provided by the National Center for 

Health Statistics for use by health workers, planners, researchers, and others. As the Nation 

seeks to provide better health care for its citizens, 

reliable information of this type becomes increasingly important. 

This report presents a special analysis of 

average length of stay in short-stay hospitals, 

using data from the fourth continuous year of the 

Hospital Discharge Survey. Other data previously 

published from the 1968 survey include rate of 

discharges, days of care, discharge status, diagnosis, and surgery.l-4 

Scope of Study and Plan of Report 

The study covers noninstitutional hospitals 

with six or more beds whose average patient 

length of stay is less than 30 days; it excludes 

information on the newborn, as defined by the 

survey. 

The sample, which represents approximately 

7,000 hospitals, has increased with the inclusion 

of two more panels-from 289 participating hospitals in the year 1967 to 413 in 1968. These additions make two things possible: 1) smaller 

standard errors for the same kinds of nonmedical 

data published in previous years and 2) more 

finely differentiated units of analysis. 

Average length of stay is one means by which 

comparisons can be made in hospital utilization. 

of Health Resources Statistics 

Differences in average lengths of stay between 

hospitals could be related indirectly to their size, 

ownership, or geographical location 3s these 

variables reflect differences in availability of 

services. But in addition to these factors, differences among hospitals could be related to the 

characteristics of the patients who were discharged from them. This report will look at the 

differences in average lengths of stay for each 

variable or combination of variables and show 

how they affect the average length of stay. First, 

patient characteristics for the Nation, and then 

for each region, will be compared and discussed. 

This will be followed by a presentation of hospitals 

by size and by ownership. 

GEOGRAPHIC REGION 

Sex 

Although males have longer lengths of stay 

than females, sex as a variable does not offer 

a plausible reason for differences in average 

length of stay. The average length of stay in 1968 

for the Unired States was 8.5 days with 9.0 days 

for males and 8.1 days for females (table 1). Observing that, for the Nation as a whole, females 

had shorter average lengths of stay than males, 

the assumption might be that the larger the proportion of discharged females in a region, the 

shorter the average length of stay. In fact the 

reverse was true, for the Northeast Region had 

about the same difference in the percentage of 

females over males, 20.3, as did the West Region, 
--------------------------------- 

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

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

4:9 12.7 

19.4 (table 2), and yet the Northeast Region had 

the highest average length of stay, 9.9 days, and 

the West Region, the lowest, 7.1 days (table 1). 

The North Central Region with 19.8 percent difference between the sexes and the South Region 

with 20.1 percent followed this same pattern with 

respect to average lengths of stay (table 2). Therefore sex alone did not explain the difference in 

average length of stay between regions. 

Age 

Like sex, age alone does not explain length of 

stay. However, older people in general stay longer 

than others, primarily because they recuperate 

more slowly. In all regions, as age increased, the 

average length of stay increased. But differences 

in average length of stay were noted when respective age groups were compared between regions. 

For each age group the longest average length of 

stay was in the Northeast and the shortest in the 

West Region. Among the under 15 year old group 

the average length of stay ranged from a high of 

5.6 days in the Northeast Region to a low of 3.9 

days in the West Region; for the 15-44 year olds 

from a high of 6.9 days to a low of 5.1 days; for 

those 45-64 years of age from a highof 11.7 days 

to a low of 8.6 days. For those aged 65 and over, 

the longest average length of stay (17.2 days) was 

also in the Northeast Region and the shortest (11.9 

days) in the West Region. Between the longest 

average length of stay for the Northeast and the 

shortest length of stay for the West were the North 

Central and South Regions where theNorth Central 

Region at each age level had a longer average 

Table A. Average length of stay, percent of days of care, and percent of discharges, by age and geographic region: United States, 1968 

Age in years 

Geographic region Under 15 1 15-44 j 45-64 1 ‘z,Er;” 

Average length of stay in days 

Unit-d States--------------------------- 5.0 1 ,6.1 1 10.0 1 14.2 

I 1 I 

Northeast------------------------------------- 6.9 11.7 17.2 

North Central

South----------------------------------------- 9; E 10.3 14.6 

West------------------------------------------ 3.9 5:1 2: 11.9 

Percent of days of care 

United Stat.es 

Northeast -----------------c-------------------

North Central f South

West-----------------------------------------­

Percent of discharges 

United States --------_------------------ 14.2 1 42.8 1 23.2 1 19.6 

Northeast------------------------------------- 13.7 42.4 23.9 19.7 

North Central--------------------------------- 15.3 41.8 22.4 20.3 

South----------------------------------------- 14.0 43.5 22.9 19.3 

West------------------------------------------ 13.0 44.0 24.1 18.7 

i 

2 
length of stay than the South (table A). In other 

words, although regions had different average 

lengths of stay, therelationshipsfor age-specific 

groups remained constant over the regions. 

These differences were analyzed in terms 

of percentages of age groups and.percentages of 

days of care for each group. It was found that 

between the Northeast and West there was a 0.7 

percent difference inrespectivepercentagepoints 

of under 15 year olddischarges anda0.7 percentagepoints difference in respective days of care for 

this same age group but that the average length of 

stay for this age group was 5.6daysin the Northeast and 3.9 days in the West. The difference 

in average length of stay of 1.7 days between 

regions of the Northeast and West for this age 

group would appear then to be a real difference 

(table A). 

For other age groups, the differences were 

not so clear-cut. For instance, in the West 

Region among the 15-44 year old discharged 

patients, there was a difference in discharges of 

1.6 more percentage points than the Northeast 

and a difference in days of care of 2.4 more 

percentage points. Yet the average length of stay 

’ for the Northeast was longer than for the West. 

The West, with its smaller increase in percent 

discharged for this age group and a more than 

proportionate percentage increase in days of care, 

had a 1.8 days shorter average length of stay 

than the Northeast (table A). 

In the same way the 45-64 year olds in the 

West showed 0.2 percentage points more in respective percentages of discharges than theNortheast and 0.9 percentage points more in days of 

care, but again the West showed a shorter average 

length of stay by 3.1 days (table A). For those 

65 years and over, the Northeast had l.Opercentage point more discharges than did the West and 

2.6 percentage points more days of care, but also 

showed a longer average length of stay than the 

West by 5.3 days (table A). So, even though in­

’ crease in age increased the average length of 

stay, it did not fully explain it. 

Age and Sex 

When age and sex are considered concomitantly, it is possible ‘to learn more about the differences associated with average length of stay. 

When age and sex are combined, females under 

age 15 had shorter average lengths of stay than 

did males in all regions except the West where 

females’ average length of stay exceeded that of 

males by one-fifth of a day. In the Northeast and 

South females stayed one-fifth of a day less, and 

in the North Central, four-fifths of adayless than 

did males (table 1). 

For the 15-44 year olds, again females averaged shorter lengths of stay than males, ranging 

from 1.2 days shorter in the North Central to 2.4 

days shorter in the Northeast (table 1). 

Unlike the 15-44 year olds, females 45-64 

years of age averaged more than males by onetenth of a day in the South and West and one-fifth 

of a day more in the North Central Region but 

one-half day shorter stay than males in the 

Northeast Region (table 1). 

Similarly, for those 65 years and over, females averaged 1.2 days longer stay per hospital 

episode than did males in the United States. In 

the Northeast females averaged 2 days longer with 

18.1 days average stay, but only one-half a day 

longer in the West with 12.1 days average length 

of stay (table 1). 

Generally speaking, females under 65years of 

age had shorter lengths of stay than did males 

and females 65 years and over had longer lengths 

of stay than males. Regional differences in average length of ‘stay for different sizes ofhospitals, 

ownership of hospitals, or both are correlated 

with age and sex. Other characteristics ofpatients 

will also be explored in conjunction with average 

length of stay. 

HOSPITAL SIZE 

The average length of stay by hospital size 

showed that as the size of the hospital increased, 

the length of stay increased from 7.1 days in 

small hospitals (6-99 beds) to 10.3 in large hospitals (500 or more beds). This is to be expected 

since larger hospitals perhaps deliver care to 

more seriously ill patients or handle more complicated cases which require longer stays. 

The national length of stay pattern by hospital 

size held true for each region as well, although 

the Northeast Region exceeded the North Central 

Region by an increasing length of stay as the size 

of the hospital increased. In turn, the North 

3 
Central Region’s average length of stay exceeded 

that of the South in the same way. The West 

Region also followed this trend for small and 

medium-size hospitals, but there was a sharp 

decline (1.2 days) from the length of stay for the 

South to that of the West for small hospitals as 

opposed to a more gradual decline between these 

regions for the medium-size hospitals (table 1). 

Age 

The average length of stay increased by hospital size in all regions for all ages except for 

those 65 and over in the South and West. In the 

South the pattern was broken only in large hospitals where the average length of stay decreased 

from medium to large hospitals. In the West 

Region, the average length of stay decreased from 

small to medium-size hospitals among females 

only (table 1). Why didn’t the average length of 

stay increase in all regions as age and hospital 

size increased? Explanations may lie in the distributions of patients by marital status (if marital 

status is used as an indicator of living arrangements) and/or the distribution of patients 65 years 

and over or the distribution of females with deliveries. 

Marital Status 

Married persons, who generally have someone at home to care for them in the recuperative 

stage, can leave the hospital somewhat sooner 

than the unmarried. Of persons 15 years of age 

and over, 59 percent were married. Of the patients 15 years of age and over, 13.1 percent 

married persons and 5.7 percent unmarried persons were discharged from small hospitals; 37.3 

percent married and 16.1 percent unmarried, 

from medium hospitals; and 8.5 percent married 

and 4.8 percent unmarried, from large hospitals 

(table 3). 

In small hospitals for all persons over 14 

years of age the unmarried averaged 2.6 days 

longer stay than did the married. In medium hospitals, the stay was 2.9 days longer and in large 

hospitals, 2.4 days longer (table 4). 

The unmarried persons aged 15-44 in small 

hospitals averaged 0.4 of a day longer than did 

the married; in medium hospitals, 0.8 of a day; 

and in large hospitals, 1.3 days longer. For the 

45-64 year olds it was 1.9, 2.7, and 2.6 days 

longer, respectively, for the unmarried. For those 

65 years and over who were unmarried, it was 2 

days, 2.3 days, and 2.4 days longer,respectively, 

for small, medium, and large hospitals (table 4). 

Therefore the proportions of unmarried at 

various ages in the three sizes of hospitals explained part of the differences in average lengths 

of stay. 

Deliveries 

The national average length of stay for females with deliveries is relatively short, 4.3 days 

(table B). Because of the larger number of these 

patients, the average length of stay for all patients 

is lowered. As seen previously for the country as 

a whole and the four regions individually in all 

sized hospitals combined, as ageincreased, average length of stay increased for both males and 

females. However, when looking at the length of 

stay by hospital size, the notable exception is for 

females 15-44 years of age in large hospitals, 

where the average length of stay, instead ofbeing 

longer than for those under 15 years of age, was 

shorter. However, it increased sharply for the 

45-64 year old group (table 1). Since the 15-44 

age group was the one where 99 percent of the 

deliveries occurred and it was this category of 

diagnosis which had a relatively short average 

length of stay (table B), it would seem that deliveries helped to lower the average length of stay 

for this age group as a whole. But why did the 

average length of stay decline from the under 15 

year old females to the 15-44 year old females in 

large hospitals only? 

The proportion of deliveries to total discharges was 10.4 percent of discharges in small 

hospitals, 12.0 percent in medium hospitals, and 

13.8 percent’ in large hospitals (table B). So in 

terms of size, large hospitals, which had a larger 

proportion of discharges with deliveries than 

other size hospitals, were largely responsible for 

the shorter average lengths of stay for women in 

the childbearing ages. 

Therefore variations in the pattern of decreasing length of stay in the 15-44 age group 

nationally can be ascribed to the influence of the 

obstetric experience and to the.fact that large 

4 
'21.7 

18.4 

Table B. Average length of stay liveries, and percent of total 

.and geographic region: United 

Bed size and 

geographic region 

All bed sizes 

Unifed States------------

Northeast----------------------

North Central------------------

South --------___________-______ 

West -_--_--___-__-__-_-________ 

6-99 beds 

United States------------

Northeast----------------------

North Central------------------

South --_----_-__-_---_-_-_____c 

West ------------------------'--

loo-499 beds 

United States------------

Northeast----------------------

North Central------------------

South ------_-----____-__-______ 

West -I-------------------------

500 beds or more 

United States------------

Northeast----------------------

North Central------------------

South -__---__-__--_-_--________ 

West --____-__--______--_-------

for delivekies, percent of discharged females with dedischarges with deliveries, by bed size of hospital States, 1968 

p--a:, Percent of deliveries of total discharges 

4.3 19.9 11.9 

13.0 

2: 20.1 12.0 

11.0 

2 20.2 12.0 

3.8 1 17.5 10.4 

i:t 21.5 13.1 

2:: 12.921.1 127:; 

20.0 12.0 

21.5 13.0 

11.7 

z-i . 19.1 

11.7 

11.3 

20.8 ' 11.5 

4.5 23.2 13.8 

22.8 13.8 

t*; 24.8 ' 12,2

414 26.2 16.0 

3.8 23.5 13.7 

Northeast Region. But unlike the other three re­

. gions, the average length of stay for deliveries in 

the Northeast Region decreased as the size oPthe 

hospital increased (table B). Part of the Northeast Region's longer average length of stay for 

deliveries may be due to the fact that it had a 

higher percentage of obstetrical surgery thandny 

other region.” 

5 

hospitals had a larger percentage of deliveries 

than other size hospitals. 

Regionally the average length of stay for deliveries without regard to hospital size was shortest for hospitals in the West followed in increasing average lengths of stay by hospitals in the 

South, North Central, and Northeast Regions. Regardless of the size of the hospital, the longest 

average length of stay for deliveries was in the 

c 
-------------------------- 

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

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

As the size of the hospital increased, the proportion of discharges with deliveries to totaldischarges increased in the Northeast and South. The 

North Central Region on the other hand, had the 

highest percentage of deliveries in its small hospitals (13.1). The West Region had a lower percentage of deliveries in its medium than in its 

small hospitals, but in its large hospitals the 

national pattern was followed (table B). The 

reasons for these deviations from the national 

pattern are not clear; the expectation would be 

that complications associated with deliveries 

were proportionally distributed by region. Some 

di%f&-ences may be explained by variations among 

regions in health plans, administrative decisions, 

philosophies of medical care, or other factors 

beyond the scope of this report. 

Patients 65 Years and Over 

In addition to deliveries among those 15-44 

years of age, the distribution of discharges among 

those 65 years and over can be seen as an explanation of variations in average length of stay. 

It has been noted that the younger the patient 

age group, the shorter its average length of stay. 

Those 65 years and over with the longest average 

lengths of stay, therefore, tend to increase the 

average length of stay for a hospital. The average 

length of stay for males 65 and over was 13.6 

days and for females, 14.8 days. 

Males 65 years and over represented 8.9 percent of the discharges and 14.2 percent of the 

days of care. Females in the same age group comprised 10.7 percent of all diskharges and utilized 

18.8 percent of the days of care (table 2 and figure 1). 

70 

60 

u 

% 50 

8 

g .40 

d 

!$ 30 

5 

; 20 

$ 

10 

0 

AGE IN YEARS 

Figure 1. Percent of days of care by age and sex: United States, 

1968. 

Regionally, the West had the lowestpercentages of discharges and one of the two 1,owest 

percentages of days of care for those aged65 and 

over (table A). Sex ratios in the fourregions help 

to explain the differences. The West discharged 

only 115 females to every 100 males 65 and over, 

whereas theother three regions varied from 120 

to 125 females 65 and over for every 100 males 

in this age gf-oup (table C). 

Table C. Sex ratios of discharges and days of care for patients aged 65 and over by

geographic region: United States, 1968 

Geographic region Females discharged Days of care for 

per 100 males females per day for males 

United States--------------------

Northeast------------------------------

North Central 

South 

West 

121 1.3 

120 1.4 

121 1.3 

125 1.4 

115 1.2 

6 
8.5 8.5 8.5 10.3 

8.1 8.3 9.6 9.6 1o:o 12.2 

8.8 8.4 8..6 8.6 8.5 10.5 

7.9 7.8 8.; 8.8 

7.2 7.2 7.3 7.3 7.6 8.9 

Co&elating sex ratios of discharges with sex 

ratios of days of care it is seen that for every day 

of care for males, there were 1.3 days of care for 

females 65 and over, nationally. For the West 

there was only 0.2 of a daymorefor females than 

males, which indicates that females were hospitalized longer than males in all regions except the 

West, where the male and female stays were of 

more equal duration (table i=). Therefore the West 

differed from other regions for the 65 years and 

over group in three ways-they had a smaller percentage of their discharges in this age bracket; 

they had a smaller ratio of discharged females to 

males; .and they had a smaller differentialindays 

of care for males and females 65 years and over. 

Color 

Patients with deliveries andthe patient characteristics of age, sex, and marital status have 

been examined. Another patient variable which 

seems to have had an influence on average length 

of stay is color. 

For color, as for other characteristics, as 

age increased, average length of stay with one’ 

exception increased, but in each age group the 

average length of stay for white patients was 

shorter than that for all other patients (figure 2). 

Although there were more patients dischargedfor 

whom color was not stated than there were for 

Under 15 1544 i564 65 and over 

AGE IN YEARS 

Figure 2. Average length of stay by color and age:United States, 

1968. 

patients other than white, the distributionof those 

for whom color was not stated suggests that they 

were proportional by color to those for whom it 

was stated (table D). However, on the basisof the 

estimated numbers of those for whom color was 

stated, the average length of stay for white patients was 8.5 days and for all others, 8.8 days 

(table 4). 

Table D. Average length of stay by geographic region and bed size of hospital and color of patient: United 

States, 1968 

Geographic

region 

United 

StatesNortheast-­

North

Central---

South------

West-------

Bed size 

6-99 beds 'loo-499 beds 500 beds or more 

Total White ,$;,1, Total White ,$& Total White A11 other 

Average length of stay in days 

8.5 8.5 8.8 7.9 7.1 7.2 6.8 8.5 8.5 8.5 10.3 10.3 10.5 

9.9 9.9 11.4 8.1 8.3 8.3 5.7 9.6 9.6 1o:o 12.2 12.0 13.3 

8.8 8.8 8.4 8.7 7.6 7.7 -.. 6.5 8..6 8.6 8.5 10.5 10.8 9.0 

7.8 7.7 8.4 7.6 .7.1 7.2 7.4 7.9 7.8 8.1 8.8 8.4 9.7 

7.1 7.2 7.2 6.7 5.9 6.2 5.3 7.3 7.3 7.6 8.9 9.0 8.5 

7 
And again, as the size of the hospitai increased, the average length of stay also increased, 

but white persons had longer lengths of stay than 

all others in small hospitals; the same lengths of 

stay in medium-size hospitals; and one-fifth of a 

day shorter stay in large hospitals (table D). 

Although the average length of stay increased 

within each geographic region as the age of patients and the size of the hospital increased, the 

average-length-of-stay pattern was not consistent 

among regions when color was considered. For 

instance, the shortest average length of stay for 

white persons and for all others was in the West 

(7.2 days) yet white patients in small and large 

hospitals had longer average lengths of stay than 

all other patients in this region (table D). 

In the South, on the other hand, white patients had shorter average lengths of stay than ..--. _ _- all others in hospitals of all sizes. The %&h 

Central Region was just thereverse, sinceinhospitals of all sizes the average length of stay for 

white patients was longer than for all others. The 

Northeast Region also had a longer average length 

of stay for white patients in its small hospitals, 

but in its medium- and large-size hospitals, the 

opposite was true (table D). 

The main differences then were thattrends in 

the North Central and South were exactly opposite 

and that in small hospitals in the Southonly white 

patients had shorter average lengths of stay than 

all other patients. 

The first difference may be explained partly 

by the proportions of white persons 65 years and 

over discharged in the respective regions. The 

expectation was that the North Central Region, 

with longer average lengths of stay for white persons in this age group, would have had a larger 

proportion of white persons discharged than did 

the other regions and that the South Region, with 

shorter average lengths of stay for white persons, 

would have discharged a smaller proportion of 

white persons in this age group than did the other 

regions. This indeed was the case; the North 

Central Region had the highest proportion (96.7 

percent) and the South, the lowest proportion 

(87.3 percent) of white discharges. The difference 

may also lie in the fact that the North Central 

Region had the highest proportion of white married discharges (93.6 percent) and the South the 

lowest (87.4 percent) (table E). The type of ownership may also have been operating as a reason 

for these regional differences. 

‘Table E. Percent distributions of discharges for married persons over 14 years of age 

and 65 years and over, by color according to geographic region: United States, 1968 

Geographic region 

Patient characteristic 

North Northeast Central South West 

15 years and over Percent -

Total -___--_-_-_---____-_-------- 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 

White __--_--____--__----_--------------

All other------------------------------

92.8 

7.2 “E . 87.4 

12.6 

90.5 

9.5 

65 years and over 

Total -_-_-_--_____-__-_-_-------- 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 

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

All other ----____---___--_---__________ 

95.9 

4.1 

96.7 

3.3 

87.3 

12.7 

93.8 

6.2 

IPercents of those for whom color was stated. 

8 

c 
HOSPITAL OWNERSHIP (CONTROJ) 

Ideally, a,comparison of hospitals by hospital 

ownership for each region should be made, but 

sampling errors on this cross-tabulation are too 

large. However, hospital ownership by patient 

characteristics can give some additional insights 

into differences in average length of stay. 

Voluntary hospitals had the longest average 

length of stay (8.6 days) followed closely by government hospitals with 8.3 days and proprietary 

hospitals with 7.2 days (table 5). Related to’these 

data is the fact that most of the large hospitals 

which have the longest average lengths of stay are 

voluntary hospitals. 

Sex 

The average stay for males involuntaryhospitals was 9.2 days and in government hospitals 

9.1 days, but the average length of stayfor males 

in proprietary hospitals was approximately 2 days 

shorter (7.2 days). For females the average length 

of stay in government hospitals was 7.7 days, about 

one-half day less than involuntary hospitals, which 

had 8.3 days (table 5). 

Sex and Age 

For each type of ownership as for each size 

hospital, as age increased, average length of stay 

increased. In government hospitals, females in 

all age groups except those 65years andover, exeluding deliveries, had shorter lengths of stay 

than males (table 5). When deliveries were included, the average stay was again shorter for 

females in the childbearing ages and for females 

under 45 years of age. This followed the same 

pattern for these ages when other variables such 

as geographic region and size were considered 

(table 1). 

The pattern in voluntary hospitals was somewhat similar. In voluntary hospitals when lengths 

of stay of males were compared with those of females excluding deliveries, females up to 45 years 

of age had shorter stays and thoseover 45, longer 

average lengths of stay. As with other types of 

hospital ownership when deliveries were included 

females under 45 had shorter lengths of stay than 

males. But for those 65 years and over, the stay 

of females was 1.2 days longer than that of males. 

Unlike voluntary and government hospitals, 

females in proprietary hospitals, excluding deliveries, had 0.4 day longer length of stay than 

males. Longer stays for these females was the 

case for all ‘ages except the 15-44 year group, 

where the difference was only one-tenth of a day 

(table 5). 

Marital Status 

For all discharges 15 years of age and over, 

the unmarried had longer lengths of stay than the 

married by 2.8 days for all types of hospital 

ownership (table 6). In government hospitals, 

marital status made as much of a difference as 

3.6 days longer stay for the unmarried; in voluntary hospitals, 2.7 days; and in ‘proprietary 

hospitals, 1.4 days (table 6). 

The average length of stay for* the&married 

persons 15-64 years of age increased from voluntary to government hospitals; For persons 

15-44 years of age it increased from 6.8 days in 

voluntary hospitals to 7.2 days in government 

hospitals. For persons 45-64 years of age theincrease was from 12.0 days in voluntary hospitals 

to 12.6 days in government hospitals (table 6). Why 

should this have been when there was adecline in 

length of stay for married persons? It seemed to 

be due primarily to the influence of unmarried 

males 15-64 years of age. There was in fact a 

higher proportion of unmarried males 15-44 

years of age in government than in voluntary or 

proprietary hospitals and a much higher proportion than among those 45-64 years of age.One 

answer to the puzzle of why only males 45-64 

years of age in government hospitals had longer 

stays than females was that the largest proportion 

of unmarried males (20.4 percent) was found in 

this type of hospital compared with 13.8 percent 

in voluntary and 10.6 percent in proprietary hosljitals (figure 3). 

There was only one exception to the general 

trend that the unmarried in each age group had a 

longer length of stay than did the married; this 

was for unmarried persons 15-44 years of age in 

. 

9 
:: 

g 

F 

2 70 1544 yean Of ag 

q

I 

w 4w-l pan Of a* 

D 50 

3 ‘lo 

P 

E 

% 30 

z 20 

$ 

x 10 

E 0 

V0lUllt.W Govemnmt Proprietary 

HOSPITAL OWNERSHIP 

Figure 3. Percent of discharged unmarried males 15-64 years of 

age by hospital ownership: United States, 1968. 

proprietary hospitals who had a one-half day 

shorter stay than their inarried counterparts 

(table 6). 

Deliveries 

One probability is that proprietary hospitals 

had a smaller proportion of deliveries than the 

other two ,types. Since most deliveries occurred 

among those identi?ed as married and deliveries 

lowered average lengths of stay in 15-44 year old 

groups, a smaller ‘proportion of deliveries in 

proprietary hospitals’ could have resulted in a 

slightly longer length of stay in this type of hospital. 

Indeed, the data showed that proprietary hospitals had only 4.3 percent of their female patients 

15-44 years of age discharged with deliveries as 

bpkbed to 6.1 percent for voluntary and 6.2 percent for government hospitals (figure 4). This 

would seem to explain the exception of proprietary 

hospitals to the general trend of shorter average 

lengths of stay ,f& the unmarried as opposed to 

the married 15-44 patients. 

SIZE. AND QWNERSHIP 

OF HOSPITAL 

Average length of stay increased from small 

(7.1 days) to large (10.3 days) hospitals (table 4) 

and average length of stay decreased from voluntary (8.6 days) to government (8.3 days) toproIncluding deliveri~ 

Excluding deliveries 

m Deliveries 

HOSPITAL OWNERSHIP 

Figuke 4. Percent of discharged females 15-44 Gears of age witti 

and without deliveries, and percent of deliveries, by hospital ownership: United States, 1968. 

prietary hospitals (7.2 dais) (table 5). Ownership, 

taken in conjunciion with hospital size, showed 

that small hospitals followed the expected trend 

of decreasing lengths of stay from voluntary to 

government but that the average length of stay for 

medium-size hospitals, while it decreased from 

voluntary to government, increased from government to proprietary. For large-size hospitals, 

the average length of stay increased from voluntary to government (table F). (No attempt will 

be made to explain the proprietary figures due tb 

their very high relative standard error.) 

The question then is why did small ahd 

medium hospitals decrease their average lengths 

of stay as they moved from voluntary to government ownership and large-size hospitals increase 

theirs for these same types of ownership? The 

answer is not clearcut, for it was noted that in 

small hospitals at all age and sex levels, the average length of stay decreased from voluntary to 

government hospitals. This would seem to indi? 

cate that small government hospitals had shorter 

average lengths of stay than small voluntary ones. 

While small voluntary hospitals had the’shortest 

lengths of stay, how they differed from ,small 

government hospitals had to be determined. 

Did small voluntary hospitals differ from 

small government hospitals in percentages of 

patients 65 yetis and over, in percentages of deliveries, or in percentages of married persons; 

10 
----------------------------- 

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

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

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

Table F. Average length of stay 3n voluntary and government hospitals by size, and by 

age and sex of patient: United States, 1968 -

-4­

!i!ype of ‘hospital 

Age and sex 

Average length of stay in .days 

Both sexes, all ages----------t--- 7.‘5 8.6 9.9 6.9 7;8 

Male -------------------------------- 7.7 9.1 11.0 7.2 8.4 

Under 15 years ----------_--------------- 5.0 

15-44 years -------_----_------_--------- Lj.”B !?:: % 

45-64 years --------------,---,,------~-- 124 .12:2 14:o 65 years ad over----------------------- I 1;:: 13:8 15.9 18.3 

Female, ‘including deliveries--------’ 

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

15-44 years 45-64 years ,65 years and over-----------------------

Female excluding deliveries---------

Under 15 years, 15-44 years ----------------------------;

45-64 years 65 yews a@ over----------------------­

did large voluntary hospitals differ from ‘large 

‘government’hospitals in these same variables; 

and, finally, did small voluntary hospitals differ 

Tom large government hospitals in these same 

variables .in a way which would explain these differences? 

It can be seen in table G that of the three patient variables-over 65 years of age, married, . and those _with deliveries-the shorter average 

length of ‘stay of small voluntary ,hospitals was 

primarily. atki~utahle to the fact that their percentage Jof* *deliveries was larger than that pf 

7.3 8.2 9.2 

5:; 10: 

g.8’ 4.9 10.6 

2’7i 11:9 9’*; 1E 

14:2 15.2 15.7 1612 17:5 

8;2 9.1 ‘10.5 8.6 11.6 

4.0 10.8

t?; 2: 3.1 ‘8.6

85’63 1o:l’ 11:9 2; 13.9

14:2 15.2 15.7 12: 2 17.5 -

government hospitals of the same size group. 

Using the same three variables, the. longer average length of stay of large government hospitals 

was essentially due to, the fact of their smaller 

percentage of married batients ‘(lteks F and G). 

Between small voluntary And large government hospitals, the characteristic which appears 

to have made the most difftience was their respebtive percentages of married patients althoughrespeciive percentage of deliver:es also contributed 

to these differences. The differences between them. 

in percentage points were 8.8 -more for small 

11 

9.7 
Table C. Comparison of discharges of small and large voluntary and government hospitals in percentage of patients 65 years and over, of deliveries; and of married patients: United States, 1968 

I I I I, 

Large Large Sulall Small Characteristic voluntary government voluntary I government 

Patients 65 years and over-------------

Patients with deliveries-----------A---

Married patients----------------------­

voluntary for the 65 years and over group; 4.8 

percentage points more for large government 

hospitals on deliveries; and 16.9 more percentage points for small voluntary .ho,spitals in terms 

of married patients (table G). The conclusion is 

that the percentage of married patients had the 

‘biggest influence on average length of stay. 

Tables 7-10 ‘are not, per se, the subject of 

analysis in this report but are includedsince they 

contain the rounded base figures of theunrounded 

estimates used in computation of the report’s 

average lengths’ of stay and percentages. They 

also enable the reader to determine the standard 

errors for these computations. 

CONCLUSION 

Average lengths of stay have been examined 

in terms of the size, geographic region, and 

ownership of the hospitals in conjunction with 

their patients’ characteristics. Generalizations 

emerging from this analysis are that: 

1. The older the patient, the longer the average length of stay. 

Percent of discharges 1 

17.9 13.7 22.5 27.3 

21;8 25.6 20.8 16.4 

69.1 48.4 '65.3 68.0 

2. The larger the hospital, the longer the’ 

average length of stay. 

3. A voluntary hospital episode was associated with the ‘longest, and a proprietary 

hospital with the shortest average. length 

of stay. 

4. Unmarried patients over 14 years of age 

had longer lengths of stay than the mar-. 

ried. 

5. Deliveries-. shortened the average length 

of stay of those ‘15144 years of age. 

No generalizations could be made with reference to color except that nationally, white 

persons had shorter stays than all others. 

Explanations have been made to account for 

some of the differences in average length of stay 

in different types of short-stay’ hospitals. Some 

small observable, differences may be explained 

fully by sampling errors (see section on Reli-’ 

ability of Estimates in appendix I). Other factors 

beyond the scope of this report to which differences 

may be attributed are variations in types ofdiagnoses; inappropriatebospitaldays, administrative 

decisions, regional philosophies of medical care,’ 

and similar factors. 

12 
-- 

REFERENCES 

INational Center for Health Statistics: Utilization of 

short-stay hospitals, 1968. Monthly Vital Statistics Report. 

Vol. 21, No. 2, Supplement. Rockville,. Md. Public Health 

Service, May 11,1972. 

aNational Center for Health Statistics: Surgery in shortstay hospitals of the United States, 1968. Monthly Vital 

Statistics Report. Vol. 21, No. 3, Supplement (2). Rockville, 

Md. Public Health Service, June 9,1972. 

3Nationd Center for Health Statistics: Surgical operations 

in short-stay hospitals, 1968. Vital and Health Statistics. 

Series 13, No. 11. DHEW Pub. No. (HSM) 73-1762. Washington. U.S.Government Printing Office, Jan. 1973. 

41!TationalCenter for Health Statistics: Inpatient utilization 

of short-stay hospitals, diagnostic data, United States, 1968. 

Vital and Health Statistics. Series 13, No. 12. DHEW Pub. NO: 

(HSM) 73-1763. Washington. U.S. Government Printing Office, 

Apr. 1973. 

-000 

“National Center for Health Statistics: Development and 

maintenance of a national inventory of hospitals and institutions. Vital and Health Statistics. PHS Pub. No. lOOO-Series 

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

Printing Office, Feb. 1965. 

‘National Center for Health Statistics: Utilization of shortstay hospitals, summary of nonmedical statistics, United States, 

1965. VitaZ and Health Statistics. PHS Pub. No. lOOO-Series . 

13-No. 2. Public Health Service. Washington. U.S. Government _ 

Printing Office, Aug. 1967. 

‘7 National Center for Health Statistics: Utilization of short-. 

stay hospitals by characteristics of discharged patients,dUnited 

States, 1965. Vital and Health Statistics. PHS Pub. No. 

lOOO-Series 13-No. 3. Public Health Service. Washington. U.S. 

.Government Printing Office, Dec. 1968. 

13 
Table 1. 

2. 

3. 

4. 

5: 

6. 

7. 

8. 

9. 

10. 

LIST OF DETAILED TABLES 

bed size of hospital: United Average length of stay in days by age and sex of patient, geographic region, and States, 1968----------------------------------------

Percent of discharges States, and sex of patient, geographic of hospital: United by age 1968---------------------------------;----~----------regiori, and bed size 

and bed sizedischarges United Percent of and marital status of patient, geographic region, of hospital:by color States, 1968------------------------.-----------

Average length of stay by color and marital status of patient, geographic region, and bed size of hospital: United States, 1968------------------------------------

Average lengthof stay by age and sex of patient and ownership of hospital:U&ted States, 1968---------------------------------------------------~-----~----------

Average length of Unitedstay by age, color, and marital status of patient and ownership of hospital: States, 1968----7--------------------------------------------

Number of discharges by age and sexofpatient, geographic region, and bed size of hospital: United States, 1968------------------------------------------~---------

Number of discharges by color and marital status of patient, geographic region, and bed size of hospital: United States, 1968------------------------------y-----

Number of discharges by age and sex of patient and ownership of hospital: United states, 1968---------------------------------------------------------~-----------

Number of discharges by age, color, and marital status ofpatient and ownership of

hospital: United States, 1968----------------------------------------------------

Page 

16 

* 

18 

20 

22 

24 

25 

26 

28 

30 

31 

15. 
---- 

-- 

Table 1. Average length of stay in days by age and sex of patient, geographic region, and bed size of hospital: United States, 1968 

II Male 

Geographic region and bed size 

Average length of stay in days 

United States---------------- 8.5 9.0 5.2 7.3 10.0 13.6 

6-99 beds-- ______-_ _-__________ 7.1 7.3 4.2 5.2 7.6 11.6 

loo-499 beds----------------- ______ 8.5 9.0 5.0 7.3 10.1 13,7 

500 be& or more------------------- 10.3 11.7 7.6 10.1 ,12.8 16.6 

Northeast---------------------- 9.9 10.7 5.7 8.7 

6-99 beds --__----_-----__-__------- 8.3 7.9 4.1 6.3 

100-499 be&----------- ____________ 9.6 10.3 5.4 8.3 

500 beds or more------------------- 12.2 14.1 8.4 11.3 

North Central----------- _______ 8.8 9.2 5.5 7.3 

6-99 beds - ______ ------__- __________ 7.6 7.8 4.7 5.1 

loo-&g9 beds----------------------- 8.6 8.9 5.4 6.9 

500 beds or more------------------- 10.5 11.7 7.2 10.3 

South-------------------------- 7.8 8.3 5.0 6.9 

6-99 beds -____ ___________________ 7.1 7.3 4.5 5.4 

100499 beds----------------- ____ -_ 7.9 8.4 4.7 7.1 

500 be& or more------------------- 8.8 10.1 7.8 9.6 

West-------------- _____________ 7.1 7.6 3.8 6.4 

6-99 beds-------------------------- 5.9 6.0 3.0 4.4 

100-499 beds -----_-----_--_--___--- 7.3 7.9 3.8 6.e 

500 be& 01: more------------------- 8.9 10.2 6.5 8.6 

12.0 16.1 

7.5 13.2 

11.7 15.4 

15.5 20.7 

10.2 14.0 

8.4 11.8 

9.9 1‘4.1' 

12.4 17.0 

9.0 12.2 

7.7 11.5 

9.3 12.6 

11.2 12.1 

8.5 11.6 

6.6 10.8 

8.7 11.6 

11.5 14.3 

16 
-- 

f 

Table 1. Average length of stay in days.by age and sex of patient, geographic region, and bed size of hospital: United States, 1968,-Con. 

-

Female, incl'uding deliveries Female, excluding deliveries 

All Under 15-44 45-64 65+ All Under 15-44 45-64 65+ 15 15 

-r 

ages I years years years years ages years years years years 

Average length of stay in days 

8.1 -= 4.8 5.7 10.0 14.8 9.0 4.8 6.5 10.0 14.8 -

7.0 3.8 4.8 7.8 13.0 7:7 3.8 5.3 7.8 13.0 

8.1 4.6 5.6 10.1 15.2 9.1 4.6 6.4 10.1 15.2 

9.4 7.5 6.8 12.4 16.2 10.8 7.6 8.4 12.4 16.2 

9.4 5.5 6.3 11.5 18.1 lo.,6 5.5 7.2 11.6 18.1 

8.6 4.1 5.3 9.5 16.4 9.5 4.1 5.5 9.5 16.4 

9.1 4.9 6.0 11.3 17.7 10.2 4.9 6.7 11.3 17.7 

11.1 8.5 7.9 .13.4 21.1 12.9 8.6 10.0 13.5 21.1 

8.5 4.7 6.1 10.4 15.2 9.4 4.7 7.0 10.4 15.2 

7.5 3.7 5.1 8.7 13.3 8.4 3.7 5.8 8.7 13.3 

8.4 4.3 6.1 10.2 15.7 . 9.3 4.3 7.0 10.2 15.7 

9.7 7.3 7.1 12.7 15.8 11.1 7.4 8.7 12.7 15.8 

7.4 4.8 5.3 9.1 13.2 8.2 4.8 6.1 9.1 13.2 

7.0 4.2 4.9 7.6 12.2 7.5 4.2 5.5 7.6 12.2 

7.5 4.8 5.4 9.5 14.0 8.4 4.8 6.2 9.5 14.0 

7.9 6.8 6.0 11.4 12.9 9.2 6.9 7.2 11.4 12.9 

6.7 4.0 4.6 8.6 12.1 7.4 4.0 5.3 8.6 12.1 

. 5.9 3.3 4.1 6.8 12.9 6.5 3.3 4.4 6.8 12.9 

6.8 4.0 4.6 8.9 11.7 7.6 4.0 5.2 8.9 11.7 

8.1 7.7 6.1 11.6 12.5 9.4 7.7 7.6 11.6 12.5 

17 
-- 

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

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

-- 

Table 2. Percent of discharges by age and sex of patient, geographic region, and bed 

size of hospital: United States, 1968 

Male ' 

Both 

Geographic region sexes,

and bed size all All Under 15-44 45-64 65+ ages 15 ages years years ,years years 

Percent of discharges 

United States---------------- 100.0 39.9 8.0 12.0 11.1 8.9 

6-99 beds----------------- ______ -_- 22.1 8.9 1.7 2.6 2.3 2.2 

loo-499 beds----------------------- 62.5 24.8 5.2 7.3 7.0 5.4 

500 be& or more------------------- 15.4 6.2 1.1 2.1 1.8 1.2 

Northeast---------------------- 100.0 39.7 7.8 11.2 11.6 8.9 

6-99 beds-------------------- ____ 8.9 3.9 0.7 1.1 1.2 1.0 

100~99 beds----------------------- 73.6 28.9 5.9 8.0 8.5 6.5 

500 beds 01: more------------------- 17.5 6.9 1.2 2.1 2.0 1.5 

Nor-h Central------------------ 100.0 40.0 8.6 11.6 10.6 9.2 

6-99 beds 18.5 7.2 1.4 2.0 1.6 2.2 

'100~99 beds----------------------- 64.0 25.5 5.8 7.3 6.9 5.5 

500 beds or more------------------- 17.5 7.2 i.4 2.3 2.1 i.4 

south-------------------------- 100.0 39.8 7.8 12.5 11.0 8.6 

6-99 beds --_-_--_--_-------__------ 31.5 12.9 2.3 4.0 3.5 3.1 

loo-.&g9 be& 54.7 21.6 4.5 6.6 6.0 '4.5 . , 

500 beds --_-_-----_--_-_----------- 13.7 5.3 1.0 1.9 1.4 0.9. 

West-------------------- _____ 100.0 40.2 7.3 12.7 11.4 8.7 

6-99 beds --------------,----------- 29.4 11.4 i.4 3.6 3.1 2.4 

10()..499 beds-~--------------------- 59.2 24.1 4.3 7.3 7.0 5.5 

500 be& 01: more------------------- 11.4 4.7 0.6 1.9 1.4 0.8 

18 
‘1 

I 

Table 2. Percent of discharges by age and sex of patient, geographic region, and bed

size of hospital: United States, 1968~Con. 

Female,- including deliveries I Pemale, excluding deliveries 

All 

ages 

Under 

15 

years 

15-44 

years 

45-64 65+ All 

years years ages 

Percent of discharges 

59.9 6.2 30.8 12.1 10.7 b7.9 6.1 19.0 12.1 10.7 

13.1 1.4 6.4 2.5 2:8 10.8 1.4 4.1 2.5 2.8 

37.5 ,4.0 19.3 7.7 6.6 30.0 3.9 11.8 7;7 6.6 

9.2 0.9 5.1 1.9 1.3 7.1 0.8 3.0 1.9 1.3 

60.0 5.8 31.2 12.2 10.8 47.0 5.8 18.2 12.2 10.8 

'4.9 0.5 2.4 0.9 1.2 3.9 0.5 1.4 0.9 1.2 

44.5 4.3 22.9 9.2 8.0 34.9 4.3 13.4 9.2 8.0 

10.6 1.0 5.9 2.2 1.6 8.2 1.0 3.5 2.2 1.6 

59.9 6.7 30.2 11.8 11.1 47.8 6.6 18.2 11.8 11.1 

11.3 1.1 5.6 2.0 2.6 8.8 1.1 3.2 Ii.0 2.6 

38.3 4.5 19.3 7.7 6.9 30.8 4.5 11.9 7.7 6.9 

10.2 1.1 5.2 2.2 1.7 8.1 1.1 3.1 2.2 1.7 

59.9 6.2 31.0 11.9 10.7 48.9 6.2 20.1 11.9 10.7 

18.5 1.9 8.6 3.9 4.1 l!6.1 1.9 6.2 3.9 4.1 

33.0 3.6 17.4 6.5 5.5 26.6 3.6 11.0 6.5 5.5 

8.4 0.7 5.0 1.6 1.1 6.2 0.7 2.9 1.5 '1.1 

% 

59.6 5.7 31.2 12.7 10.0 47.6 5.7 19.2 12.7 10.0 

18.0 2.1 9.6 3.5 2.8 14.2 2.1 5.8 3.5 2.8 

35.0 3.1 17.6 7.8 6.4 28.3 3.1 Ii.0 7.'8 6.4 

6.6 0.4 4.1 1.4 0.8 5.1 0.4 2.5 1.4 0.8 

19 
Table 3. Percent of discharges by color and marital status of patient, geographic region, and bed size of hospital: United States; 1968 

Color 

Geographic region and bed size 

of hospital Not Totall White stated 

/ 

Percent of discharges 

United States----------------------- 100.0 77.1 10.4 12.6 

6-99 beds -----_------_---_---_______L_____ 22.1 17.9 .l. 7 2.5 

loo-499 beds ----__----_-__--_------------- 62.5 47.8 5.4 9.3 

500 beds or more-------------------------- 15.4 11.3 3.3 0.8 

Northeast----------------------------- 100.0 85.8 9.6 4.7 

6-99 beds --------_-_---------_____________ 8.9 6.9 0.1 1.9 

loo-499 beds -------------_---------------- 73.6 65.9 5.4 2.3 

500 beds or more --_---------------_-______ 17.5 12.9 4.1 0.5 

North Central------------------------- 100.0 74.8 6.9 18.3 

6-99 beds- -----_-__-_---_--_______________ 18.5 15.0 1.1 2.4 

loo-499 beds ----__--,---------------------- 64.0 47.0 3.2 13.9 

500 beds or more _-------__---_---_--______ 17.5 12.8 2.7 '2.0 

South--------------------------------- 100.0 76.0 14.9 9.1 

6-99 beds ------__----__------_____________ 31.5 25.7 3.1 2.8 

loo-499 beds ---------__------------------- 54.7 4i.l 7.6 6.0 . 

500 beds or more -_--,---------_-_---------- 13.7 9.2 4.2 0.3 

West---------------------------------- 100.0 70.9 9.1 20.0 

6-99 beds -_------------------------------- 29.4 24.1 2.3 2.9 

100~4.99 beds------------------------------ 59.2 36.8 5.3 17.1 

500 beds or more-------------------------- 11.4 10.0 '1.4 0.0 

+cludes color, age, and marital status not stated.

RExcludes marital status not stated for patients 15 years and over. 

&Presently living with spouse. Single, divorced, separated, and widowed. 

?O 
Table 3. Percent of discharges by color and marital status of patient, geographic region, and bed size of hospital': United States, 1968-Con. 

Marital status 

Married' 

All 

statuses,

all ages2 Total, 15-44 45-64 65+ Total,

15-k 15+ 

years years years years years 

Percent of discharges 

100.0 59.0 31.2 18.3 9.5 26.5 

22.0 13.1 6.8 3.9 2.4 5.7 

62.7 37.3 19.7 11.8 5.9 16.1 

15.3 8.5 4.7 2.6 1.2 4.8 

100.0 57.7 30.1 18.3 9.3 28.4 

8.9 5.2 2.6 1.6 1.0 2.5 

73.8 43.6 22.8 13.9 6.9 19.8 

17.3 8.9 4.7 2.9 1.3 6.2 

100.0 58.5 30.7 18.0 9.9 26.0 

18.4 10.8 5.7 2.8 2.3 5.1 

64.1 37.5 19.7 11.8 6.0 16.1 

. 17.5 10.3 5.3 3.3 1.6 4.8 

100.0 60.2 32.4 18.4 9.4 25.4 

31.2 18.9 9.5 6.0 3.4 8.0 

55.3 33.6 18.3 10.2 5.1 13.4 

13.5 7.7 4.6 2.2 0.9 4.0 

100.0 59.2 31.2 19.0 9.0 27.3 

29.7 18.0 9.9 5.5 2.6 7.1 

58.9 35.1 17.8 11.7 5.7 16.1 

11.4 6.1 3.5 1.8 0.8 4.1 

Unmarried4 

15-44 45-64 65+ 

years years years 

11.8 4.9 9.8 

2.3 0.9 2.5 

7.0 3.0 601 

2.5 1.0 1.3 

12.5 5.6 10.3 

0.9 0.5 1.1 

8.3 3.9 7.6 

3.2 1.3 1.7 

11.3 4.5 10.2 

2.0 0.7 2.4 

7.0 2.8 6.3 

2.3 1.0 1.5 

11.2 4.6 9.6 

3.1 1.3 3.6 

6.C 2.5 4.9 

2.2 0.8 1.1 

13.; 5.2 8.8 

3.: 1.1 2.4 

7.: 3.1 5.7 

2.4 1.0 0.8 

21 
--------- 

--- 

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

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

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

Table 4. Average length of stay by color and marital status of patient, geographic region, and bed size of hospital: United States, 1968 

Color 

Geographic region and bed size 

of hospital Not Lqq-y stated 

Avel ;e length of stay in days 

United States----------------------- 8.5 8.5 8.8 7.9 = 

6-99 beds--------------------------------- 7.1 7.2 6.8 6.7 

100-499 beds -_---------------------------- 8.5 8.5 8.5 8.0 

500 beds or more-------------------------- 10.3 10.3 10.5 10.0 

Northeast--------------- -____ 9.9 9.9 11.4 8.1 

6-99 beds----------- -____ ---__-__-------_- 8.3 8.3 5.7 8.2 

100~99 beds------------------------------ 9.6 9.6 10.0 7.9 

500 beds 'or more --------_----------------- 12.2 12.0 13.3 8.5 

North Central _______ ------_--L------_- 8.8 8.8 8.4 8:7 

6-99 beds _____..____ - _____- - __-___ -__-__ 7.6 7.7 6.5 7.7 

1O().d+gg beds----------------- -_-_ ------___ 8.6 8.6 8.5 8.6 

500 beds or more 10.5 10.8 9.0 10.6 

South--------------------------------- 7.8 7.7 8.4 7.6 

. 6-99 beds--------------------------------- 7.1 7.2 7.4 6.2 

100~99 beds------------------------------ 7.9 7.8 8.1 8.2 

500 beds or more-------------------------- 8.8 8.4 9.7 7.7 

West---------------------------------- 7.1 7.2 7.2 6.7 

6-99 beds -_------------------------------- 5.9 6.2 5.3 4.6 

loo-499 beds 7.3 7.3 7.6 7.0 

500 beds or more 8.9 9.0 8.5 8.7 

iIncludes color, age, and marital status not stated. 

3Excludes marital status not stated for patients 15 years and over. 

4Presently living with spouse. Single, divorced, separated, and widowed. 

22 
Table 4. Average length of stay by color and marital status of patient, geographic region, and bed size of hospital: United States, 1968-Con. 

all 15+ 

years years years years 15+. years 

15-44 

years 

45-64 

years 

65+ 

years 

Average length of stay in days 

8.4 8.1 5.9 9.4 13.1 10.9 15.4 

7.1 6.8 4.8 7.3 11.4 9.4 5.2 9.2 13.4 

8.4 8.2 5.9 9.5 13.4 11.1 6.7 12.2 15.7 

10.3 9.8 7.3 ,11.8 15.1 12.2 8.6 14.4 17.5 

9.9 9.3 6.4 11.0 15.5 13.1 8.1 ,14.1 _ 18.7 

Marital status 

Married' Unmarried1 

All 

statuses, ages2 Total, 15-44 45-64 65+ Total, 

8.3 7.6 5.4 8.0 12.3 11.7 6.1 9.4 

9.6 9.1 6.2 10.8 15.3 12.8 7.6 13.9 

12.2 11.4 8.1 13.2 18.6 14.7 10.0 16.1 

8.7 8.5 6.2 9.9 13.5 11.3 7.0 12.0 

7.5 7.2 5.0 8.1 11.6 9.8 

8.6 8.4 6.1 9.6 13.8 11..4 

10.5 10.4 7.6 12.2 15.4 12.6 

7.7 7.5 5.6 8.5 11.9 9.9 

7.1 6.7 4.9 7.0 11.1 9.5 

7.9 7.8 5.8 8.9 12.6 10.0 

8.7 8.2 6.5 10.5 11.3 10.3 

6.9 6.8 4.9 7.8 11.2 8.9 

5.8 5.9 4.1 6.6 11.7 7.4 

7.1 6.9 5.0 8.0 10.6 9.3 

8.9 8.6 6.7 10.0 13.9 9.8 7.2 I 13.7 

17.5 

18.0 

22.6 

15.7 

13.4 

16.1 

17.3 

13.6 

13.0 

14.1 

13.5 

12.8 

/

12.0 

13.1 

13.3 

23 
------------------------------ 

Table 5. Average length of stay by age and sex of patient and ownership of hospital: United States, 

-

1968 -

Type of ownership 

Age and sex 

Total Voluntary Government Proprietary 

Both sexes------------------------- 8.6 8.3 -

Under 15 years -_------_-__--_-__-________ 5.0 .4.9 5.7 '4.4 

15-44 years ---__-__---___--_-_--------"-- 6.1 6.2 6.0 5.7 

45-64 years ----_---___-_--__-_-__________ 10.0 10.2 9.8 8.4 

65 years and over------------------------ 14.\2 14.5 13.6 12.1 

I8.5 

Average length of stay in days 

7.2 

Male ----_-_-_---_------_------------- 9.0 9.2 9.1 7.2 

Under 15 years -----------__---_---------- 5.2 5.1 5.8 4.1 

15-44 years -_----__---------------------- 7.3 7.4 7.6 6.0 

45-64 years 10.0 10.1 10.1 8.1 

65 years and over------------------------ 13.6 13.9 12.9 11.7 

Female, including deliveries-------------------------- 8.1 8.3 7.7 7.2 

Under 15 years--------------------------- 4.8 4.6 5.5 4.7 

15-44 years ----------_------------------- 5.7 5.8 5.3 5.5 

45-64 years -----_----_------------------- 10.0 10.2 9.5 8.6 

65 years and over------------------------ 14.8 15.1 14.3 12.5 

Female, excluding deliveries-------------------------- 9.0 9.2 8.8 7.6 

Under 15 years -__-------__---__--_--~---- 4.8 4.6 5.6 4.7 

15-44 years -_-__-__----__----__---------- 6-. 5 6.7 6.3 5.9 

45-64 years------------------------------ 10.0 10.2 9.5 8.7 

65 years and over------------------------ 14.8 15.1 14.3 12.5 

24 
Table 6. Average length of stay by age,color, and marital status of patient and ownership of hospital: United States, 1968 

Type of ownership 

Color and marital status 

Total Voluntary Government Proprietary 

Color Average length of stay in days 

Total------------------------------ 8.5 8.6 8.3 7.2 

White------------------------------------ 8.5 8.7 8.1 7.2 

All other --------_-----_-_---____________ 8.8 8.5 9.4 7.0 

Not stated --------_---------------------- 7.9 8.1 7.4 7.1 

Marital status 

All statuses, 15+ years------------ 8.6 8.8 8.7 7.3 

Married, 15-4 years------------------- 8.1 8.4 7.3 7.3 

15-44 years -,L,,,,,,,,,-,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,- 5.9 6.0 5.3 5.8 

45-64 years ----___--____----------------- 9.4 9.7 8.6 8.0 

65 years and over------------------------ 13.1 13.6 11.8 11.8 

Unmarried, 15+ years----------------- 10.9 11.1. 10.9 8.7 

15-44 years ----_----__----_-------------- 6.8 6.8 7.2 5.3 

45-64 years -__---_-_--------------------- 12.0 12.0 12.6 10,2 

65 years and over------------------------ 15.4 15.6 15.3 12.5 

Marital status not stated---------------- 10.1 9.8 10.5 9.1 

25 
Table 7. Number of discharges by age and sex of patient, geographic region, and bed 

size of hospital: United States, 1968 

Male 

Both 

Geographic region and bed size sexes, of hospital all 

ages1 fi 

Number in thousands 

Un$ted States---------------- 28,070 11,204 2,239 3,364 3,111 2,486 

6-99 beds -------------------------- 6,208 2,501 471 743 655 629 

100-499 .beds ~~~~~__~~~~~~__-_----_- 17,541 6,970 1,456 2,036 1,957 1,519 

500 beds 01: more------------------- 4,322 1,734 311 585 499 338 

Northeast---------------------- 6,279 2,494 496 705 731 561 

6-99 beds-------------------------- 558 247 47 67 72 60 

l()()-L+gg beds----------------------- 4,619 1,814 372 504 531 406 

500 beds 01: more------------------- 1,102 433 76 134 128 95 

North Central------------------ 8,679 3,471 745 1,007 921 797 

6-99 beds-------------------------- 1,606 626 120 174 141 190 

100-499 beds----------------------- 5,555 2,216 507 633 595 481 

500 beds or more------------------- 1,518 629 119 200 185 125 

South-------------------------- 8,872 3,534 688 1,111 974 759 

6-99 beds-------------------------- 2,798 1,146 204 351 312 279 

100-499 beds----------------------- 4,855 1,917 395 590 534 397 

500 beds or more------------------- 1,218 471 89 170 128 83 

West--------------------------- 4,241 1,705 310 541 484 370 

6-99 beds-------------------------- 1,247 482 100 151 130 160 

100-499 beds----------------------- 2,511 1,022 182 309 297 234 

500 beds or more------------------- 484 201 327 81 58 335 

1Includes age and sex not stated. 

:Includes age not stated. _ 3Caution should be exercised in the use of this figure since the approximate rela-. 

tive standard error of the estimated number of discharges exceeds 25 percent. See "Reliability of Estimates," appendix I. 

26 
Table 7. Number of discharges by age and sex of patient, geographic region, and bed 

size of hospital: United States, 1968-Con. 

Female, including deliveries I Female, excluding deliveries 

All ages2 15 15 Under 15-44 45-64 65+ All Under 15-44 45-64 65+. 

years years years years ages2 years years years years 

Number in thousands 

16,801 1,739 8,654 3,389 3,015 13,455 1,726 5,327 3,383 3,Q15 

3,693 387 1,806 716 783 3,045 385 1,162 714 783 

10,528 1,111 5,405 2,152 1,859 8,427 1,104 3,314 2,148 1,859 

2,580 241 1,443 522 373 1,982 237 851 521 373 

3,770 365 1,958 769 677 2,952 363 1,145 767 677 

309 "32 149 54 74 245 332 85 53 74 

2,794 271 1,440 579 504 2,193 269 841 579 504 

667 62 370 136 99 515 62 219 135 99 

5,188 579 2,618 1,025 965 4,145 575 1,580 1,024 965 

977 94 488 171 223 767 93 279 171 223 

3,325 390 1,674 665 595 2,676 387 1,029 664 595 

886 95 455 189 147 701 94 271 189 147 

5,315 554 2,753 1,057 949 4,339 548 1,786 1,054 949 

1,644 171 762 343 367 1,432 170 552 343 367 

2,926 318 1,544 576 487 2,357 315 980 574 487 

745 65 446 138 96 550 63 254 137 96 

2,529 241 1,325 538 425 2,019 240 816 537 425 

763 90 406 147 119 602 90 246 147 119 

1,484 133 747 331 273 1,201 132 465 331 273 

282 "18 172 59 332 216 '18 106 59 332 

27 
-------------------------- 

Table a. Number of discharges by color and marital status of patient, geographic region, and bed size of'hospital: United States, 1968 

Color 

Geographic region and bed size 

_..-; 

Number of discharges 

United States----------------------- 28,070 21,629 2,907 3,535 

6-99 beds--------------------------------- 6,208 5,036 474 697 

100-499 beds ---_-------_----_------------- 17,541 13,427 1,508 2,606 

500 beds or'more. 4,322 3,165 925 ,231 

Northeast----------------------------- 6,279 5,384 602 293 

6-99 beds --__-_-_----__----_-------------- 558 '434 >Y 119 

loo-499 beds -_-_-------_-----__-__________ 4,619 4,138 337 144 

500 be& or more-------------------------- 1,102 al2 259 '30 

North Central------------------------- 8,679 6,492 602 ii584 - 6-99 beds -_------_----_---__-_____________ 1,606 1,300 96 210 

loo-499 beds ------------------------------ 5,555 4,077 276 1,202 

500 beds or more-------------------------- 1,518 1,115 231 172 

South -_------------------------------- 8,872 6,745 1,318 809 

6-99 beds --_----_-----_----_-------------- 2,798 2,280 274 ,244 

100-499 ,beds------------------------------ 4,855 3,649 670 536 

500 be& or more-------------------------- 1,218 816 374 52a 

West---------------------------------- 4,241 3,008. 384 a49 

6-99 beds--------------------------------- 1,247 1,024 99 124 

100-499 beds ---_----_--------------------- 2,511 1,562 225 724 

500 beds or more-------------------------- 484 422 60 * 

'Includes color' age, and marital status not stated. 

2Excludes mari& status not stated for patients 15 years and over. 

3Presently living with spouse. 4Single, divorced, separated, widowed. 

kaution 

standard 

should be exercised in the use of this figure since the approximate relative error of the,estimated number of discharges exceeds 25 percent. See "Reliability of Estimates," appendix I. 

28 
Table 8. Number of discharges by color‘and marital status of patient, geographic region, and bed size of hospital: United States, 1968-Con. 

Marital 

Married' 

All 

statuses,

all ages2 Total, 15-44 45-64 15+ 

27,469 

6,030 

\17,234 

4,206 

6,210 

553 

4,581 

1,076 

8,555 

1,573 

5,483 

1,500 

8,626 

2,692 

4,768 

1,167 

'4,077 

1,212 

2,402 

464 

years years years 

Number of 

16,197 ,8,558 5,036 

3,604 1,867 1,081 

10,246 5,407 3,231 

2,346 1,284 724 

3,583 1,867 1,139 

320 159 96 

2,710 1,416 865 

553 292 177 

5,006 2,625 1,537 

923 487 243 

3,207 1,687 1,010 

877 452 284 

5,194 2,794 1,586 

1,628 817 517 

2,899 1,580 879 

668 397 189 

2,414 1,272 773 

734 404 224 

1,431 724 476 

249 144 73 

status 

65+ Total, 15+ years years 

discharges 

2,603 7,292 

657 1,565 

1,609 . 4,418 

338 1,308 

577 1,766 

65 153 

429 1,228 

83 385 

844 2,224 

193 436 

510 1,380 

141 408 

814 2,190 

293 688 

440 1,156 

82 346 

368 1,113 

105 288 

231 656 

"32 169 

Unmarried4 

15-44 45-64 ' 65+ 

years years years 

3,249 1,344 2,698 

631 252 682 

1,935 819 1,664 

682 274 

774 350 

57 529 

517 240 

200 81 

965 387 

168 62 

601 239 

196 '86 

970 395 

263 114 

520 213 

187 68 

539 213 

143 46 

297 128 

99 “39 

352 

642 

67 

470 

104 

872 

205 

540 

127 

825 

311 

423 

91 

360 

99 

231 

531 

29 
---- ----------------- 

Table 9. Number of discharges by age and sex of patient and ownership of hospital:

United States, 1968 

Type of ownership 

Age and sex 

Total _-------

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

15-44 years-----------------------------

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

65 years and over-----------------------

Male. --------------------------------

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

15-44 years ----_---------------_________ 

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

65 years and over-----------------------

Female, including deliveries-------------------------

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

15-44 years -_--_------------_-----------

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

65 years and over-----------------------

Female, excluding deliveries-------------------------

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

15-44 years -------_-_-------------------

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

65 years and over----------------------­

'Includes age and sex not stated. 

2Caution should be exercised in 

tive standard error of the estimated 

liability of Estimates," appendix 

Total Voluntary Government Proprietary 

Number in thousands 

'28,070 20,264 5,916 1,890 

3,988 2,880 818 290 

12,036 8,550 2,652 834 

6,517 4,811 1,270 437 

5,520 4,017 1,174 328 

11,204 7,999 2,436 769 

2,239 1,617 465 2157 

3,364 2,310 792 261 

3,111 2,271 633 207 

2,486 1,798 546 2143 

16,801 12,218 3,465 1,118 

1,739 1,256 351 2133 

8,654 6,226 1,856 571 

3,389 2,527 633 228 

3,015 2,206 624 "185 

13,455 9,781 2,696 978 

1,726 1,247 346 "133 

5,327 3,801 1,094 432 

3,383 2,523 632 228 

3,015 2,206 624 "185 

the use of this figure since the approximate relanumber of discharges exceeds 25 percent. See "ReI. 

30 
Table 10. Number of discharges by age, coldrz and marital status of patient and ownership of hospital: United States, 1968 -

Type of ownership 

Color and marital status 

Total Voluntary Government Proprietary. 

Color i Number in thousands 

Total---------------------------- 20,264' 5,916 1,890 

White---------------------------------- 15,761 4,253 1,615 

All other------------------------------ 1,142 267 

Not stated----------------------------- 521 208 

Marital status 

All statuses, 15+ years---------- 5,661 1,859 

Married, 15+ years----------------- 16,197 11,910. 3,148 1,138 

1544 years---------------------------- 8,558 6,222 1,719 617 

45-64 years---------------------------- 5,036 3,780 897 359 

65 years and over---------------------- 2,603 1,908 533 2162 

Unmarried, 15+ years--------------- 7,292 5,162 1,699 431 

15-44 years---------------------------- 3,249 2,229 815 205 

45-64 years---------------------------- 1,344 964 311 2fO 

65 years and over---------------------- 2,698 1,969 574 155 

Marital status not stateda------------- 601 315 255 * 

use since the approximate relative standard error of the estimated number of discharges exceeds 25 percent. See "Reliability of Estimates," appendix I. 

31ncludes marital status not,stated for all age groups. 

iIncludes color age, and marital status not stated. 

kaution should'be exercised in the of this figure 

31 
APPENDIX I 

TECHNICAL NOTES ON METHODS 

Statistical Design of the 

Hospital Discharge Survey 

Scope of the szcvvey.--The scope of the Hospital 

Discharge Survey (HDS) encompasses patients discharged from noninstitutional hospitals exclusive of 

military and VA hospitals which have six bedsor more 

for inpatient use, which are located in the50 States and 

the District of Columbia, and which have an average 

length of stay of less than 30 days. Although all discharges of inpatients from these hospitals are within 

the scope of the survey, all newborn infants are excluded from this report. 

Sampling @ame and size of hospital.-The universe 

(sampling frame) for the Hospital Discharge Survey 

consists of the short-stay hospitals, exclusive of military and VA hospitals, which are included in the Master 

Facility Inventory of Hospitals and Institutions (MFI). 

A detailed description of how the MFI was developed, 

its content, plans for maintaining it, andprocedures for 

assessing the completeness of its coverage is published 

in an earlier report.5 

There were 6,965 hospitals in the universe. The 

distribution of short-stay hospitals by bed size and 

region in the universe and in the HDS sample is shown 

in table I. The sample for 1968’consisted of 465 hospitals, an increase over 1967 attributable. to the addition of two more panels of hospitals. Of these 465 

hospitals 17 were ruled out of scope of the survey because they failed to meet the definition of a short-stay 

hospital and 35 hospitals refused to participate. Approximately 210,000 abstracts were received from the 

remaining 413 hospitals that participated during 1968. 

Sample design. -All hospitals with 1,000 beds or 

more in’ the universe of short-stay hospitals were 

selected with certainty in the sample. All hospitals 

with fewer than 1,000 beds were stratified, the primary strata being the 24 size-by-region classes shown 

in table I. Within each of these 24 primary strata, 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 

NOTE: The list of references follows the text. 

drawn with probabiiities ranging from, certainty for 

the largest hospitals to one in 40 for the smallest 

hospitals. 

The within-hospital sampling ratio for selecting 

discharges varied inversely with the probabilty of selection of the hospital. The smallest sampling fraction 

of discharged patients was taken’in the largest hospitals, and the largest fraction was taken in the smallest 

hospitals. This was done to compensate for the fact 

that hospitals were selected with probabilities ‘proportiohate to their size class and to 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 a random technique, usually on the basis of the terminal 

digit(s) of the patient’s medical record number-a 

number assigned when the patient is 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 therafter. 

Estimation.-Statistics produced by HDS are derived by a complex .procedure. The basic unit of estimation is the sample patient abstract. The estimating 

procedure used to produce essentially unbiased na­

:tional estimates has three principal components: (1) 

inflation of reciprocals’of the probabilities of sample 

selection, (2) adjustment for nonresponse, and (3) ratio 

adjustments to fixed totals. These components are 

described in appendix I of two earlier publications!?7 

Data collection. -Depending on the study procedure 

agreed on with the hospital administrator, the sample 

selection and the transcription of information from the 

hospital records to the abstract forms were performed 

either by the hospital staff or by representatives of the 

National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS), or by both. 

In more than half of the hospitals that participated in 

HDS during 1968, this work was performed by the /_ 

,medical records department of the hospital. In the remaining hospitals, nearly all the work was performed 

by personnel of the U.S. Bureau of the Census acting 

for NCHS. 

32 
7 

CONFIDENTIAL- All information which would permit identification of an individual or an establishment will be held cotidential, will be used only = 

by persons engaged in and for the purposes of the survey and will not be disclbsed or released to other persons or wed for any other = 

purpose (22 FR 1687). 

DEPARTMENT OF Torn Aew0r.d: 

HEALTH, EDUCATION. AND WELFARE B”d”t b,..” “0. 6*.1110 m-2 

PHS4,34-2 PUBLIC HULTH SERVICE REV. 11-66 NATIONAL CENTER FOR HEALTH STATISTICS @ 1. HOSPiTAL NUMBER 

ABSTRACT OF PATIENT RECORD-Hospital Discharge Survey 

2. HDS NUMBER 

3. MEDICAL RECORD NUMBER 

4.~3. DAK OF BIRTH 

Complete 4b and 4c if 

date of birth is not given. 

4.b. AGE 

4x. AGE IS STATED IN 

5. SEX 

6. RACE OR COLOR 

7. MARITAL STATUS 

8. DATE OF ADMISSION 

9. DATE OF DlSCHARGE 

10. DISCHARGE STATUS 

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

33. 
HSb,-851 (Formerly PHS 4734-1) 

lO/Gi 

CCJNFIDENT~.M. - .$ll information arhicb would permir identification of an individual 01 of an esrablishmeat will be held confidential. will be used ’ 

only by persons engaged in aad for the purposes of the survey and will noz be disclosed or released to other persons or used for any orberpurpose. 

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH, EDUCATION, AND WELFARE 

Public Hsolth Service 

Health Services and Msnt.1 He&h Administration 

Notional Center for Health Stotirtlcs. 

MEDICAL ABSTRACT - HOSPITAL DISCHARGE SURVEY 

I. Patient Identification 

1. Hospital number . . . . . . . . . . .1. 4. Date of admission 

Month w Year 

2. HDS number . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5. D&e of discharge 

3. Medical record number..... Month Day Year 

II. Patient Characteristics 

1. Date of birth: - - - 2. .Age (complete ONLY 1 IJysars 

Month Dw Year if date of birth not given): 

Units 2 C]mmths 

f 3 Odays I, 

3. Sex: 1 0 Male 

4. Race or color:’ 1 I-J White .2 0 Negro 3 17 Other nonwhite 4 [7 “Nonwhite” 5 0 Not stated 

5. Marital status: 1 0 Married 2 0 Single 3 0 Widowed 4 0 Divorced 5 0 Separate& 6 IJ Not stated 

6. Discharge status: 1 0 Alive 2 IJ Dead 

III. Diagnoses and Operations 

1. Final diagnoses: 

2. Operations: 

Completed by 

FOR NCHS USE ONLY 

Diagnoses 

Operations 

. 

0 see reverse side 

q see revstsa side 

Date 

figure II. Medical abstract for the Hospital Discharge Survey. 

34 
During the last quarter of 1968, nearly all survey 

hospitals changed from an optical mark page reader 

form (figure I), on which was transcribed data from 

hospital records, to the form shown ‘in figure Il. 

Data @-ocessiq and editing of data.-Shipments of _~.~ completed abstract forms for each sample hospital were 

transmitted along with sample selection control sheets 

to NCHS for processing. Every shipment of abstracts 

was reviewed; each abstract form was checked for 

completeness; and, when necessary, problems were 

referred to the hospitals for clarification and correction. 

The nonmedical data in sections I and II of the 

Medical Abstract form were converted to tape. The 

abstract forms were then transmitted to the medical 

coding section, where the diagnoses andoperations were 

coded. 

After the diagnoses and operations were coded, 

they were converted to tape and matched with the 

corresponding nonmedical portion. 

Final editing was done by computer inspection of 

the medical data compared with the age and sex information. If sex and/or age of the patient was incompatible with the recorded medical information, priority 

was given to the latter in the editing’decision. 

The majority of rejects were corrected by reviewing 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 . ‘I This procedure was applied to all items except “date of admission” and “date 

of discharge,” which were not permitted to be coded 

as “not stated . ‘I 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 asan additionalsource of&formation. 

General Qualifications 

Rounding of numims .-Percents and average 

lengths of stay were calculated on the basis of unrounded figures and then rounded for presentation. 

Therefore figures within the tables may not add to presented totals. 

Patient characteristics 9wt st+ed.“-Age and/or 

sex was not stated for less than 1 percent of all discharges. However, color was not stated for approximately I3 percent of the pateints discharged. The proportion of sample hospital records with color not stated 

varied considerably among the sample hospitals. 

Reliability of Estimates 

‘Estimates from sample surveys such as the HOSpitaI Discharge Survey are subject to two types of 

errors-measurement of nonsampling errors and 

sampling errors. Measurement errors (nonsampling 

errors) can occur in a complete count or census as 

well as in a sample survey. Sampling errors, on the 

other hand, occur because a sample instead of a complete count is taken. 

Measurement ervors.~These include errors due 

to hospital nonresponse, missing abstracts, information 

incompIetely or inaccurately recorded on abstract 

forms, and processing errors. Some of these have been 

discussed in earlier sections. : 

Sampling ewoYs,- The standard error in this survey is primarily a measure of the sampling variabiIiq 

that occurs by chance because the estimates ye based 

on a sample of short-stay hospitals rather thanall discharges from all short-stay ‘hospitals. 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. 

The ‘chances are about 68 out of 100 that the value 

obtained iii 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. Applying the illustration at the bottom of 

figure III, the chances are about 68 out of 100 that the 

value that would be obtained in a complete enumeration 

is contained in the interval 504,000 + 9.4 percent of 

504,000 (between 457,000 and 551,000); 95 out of 100 

for the interval 504,000 + 9.4 percent of 504,000 muItiplied by 2; 99 out of 100 for the interval 504,000 + 9.4 

percent of 504,000 multiplied by 2.5. 

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, figure III and tables II and III provide general 

standard errors for a wide variety of estimates rather 

than the specific’error for ‘any statistic. 

The relative standard errors and approximate 

standard errors of percentages that have been prepared for this report are’ applicable to est&ates of 

discharges for patient characteristics (age, sex, color, 

and marital status, and cross-classifications, e.g., age

by sex) cross-classified by one of threehospitalgroupings as foI.Iows: (I). by geographic region (e.g., Northeast) and size (e.g., 6-99 beds), (2) by type of ownership (e.g., government), or (3) by hospitals summed 

over all regions, 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) and the 

hospital groupings with which the patient characteristic(s) is cross-classified. The procedures that apply 

are as follows: 

35 
1. Approximate relative standard errors of esti- 3. Approximate standard errors of estimated 

mated number of discharges are obtained from percentages of discharges when the characteristhe curves shown in figure III. tic(s) used to form the numerator of the per; 

2. Approximate relative standard errors of esti- centages is a subclass of the denominator are 

mated average lengths of stay discharges are shown in table III. 

shown in table II. 

36 
-------------------------------------- 

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

Table I. Distribution of short-stay hospitals in the universe (MET) and in the Hospital .Dischargd Survey sample and number of hospitals participating in the survey, by bed size of hospital and 

geographic region: United States, 1968 

Geographic region 

.Bed size of hospital II I I I. 

United North- North

States II east I central 1 South 1 West 

All sizes Number of hospitals 

Universe-----------------------------'--------- 6,,965 1,;;; 1,97! 2,620 1,259 Total s~ple---------------------------------- 465 135 135 Number participating -_----_---_--------------- 413 110 121 . 117 EE 

6-49 beds 

Total sample ---------------;--------,,---,---, 

Number participating _--------------_-_--------

3,113 

i; 

119 

z 

83(

1;

If 

1,438 

437 

646 

Ei 

50-99 beds 

Universe ----_---_----_------------------------ Total sample -_--_--__-------_----------------- Nmber participating ---_----------_-----------

1,623 

z: 

288 

:z 

442 

11: 

,587 

t:: 

306 

E 

loo-199 beds 

diverse-------------------------------------- i,l44 277 37: 332 

Universe--------------------------------------

Total sample ------------__--__---------------- '24 3c Number participating --------_------_---------- 2 23 25 $59 

200-299 beds 

Universe 182

Total sample ----------_--___--________________ '2 7

Number participating ---_---------------_------ 75 t69 22 

300-499' beds. 

Universe-------------------------------------- 386 110 129

Total sample ---------------------------------- 24

Number particpating --__-_-__--___------------- f T 19 ;; I 

500-999 beds 

Uiniverse-------------------------------------- 129 42 13 

Number participating zz t; 18 ; 

1,000 beds or more 

Universe --------__-_-_____-------------------- Total sample ---_--------------_--------------- Number.participating _---_--_--__-------------- i: 

18 ;

9 

: 

3 

:: 

1 

Total sample _-_------_------------------------ :: 
Figure I I I. Approximate relative standard errors of estimated numbers of patients discharged for patient characteristics, by 

geographic region and size of hospital and type of ovvnership and for all hospitals. 

Illustration,of use of, figure III: As shown in table 7. an estimated 504.000 male patients aged 15-44 years were discharged 

from hospitals with 100-499 beds within the Northeast Region. The relative standard’errof of-thisiesbniate as read from the 

line “Kegion and size group?’ is approximately 9.4 percent: the standard error of 504,000 is ‘47,376 (9.4 percent of 

504.000). 

33. 
5.4 31085'.4 77218.4 59086.5 34271.9 

Table II. Approximate standard errors of average lengths of stay shown in thisreportl %tAent 

characteristics cross-classifiedbygeographic region and size of-hospital and for aiihospitals 

[Standard errors for patient characteristics classified by type of ownership are two times the standard error s&own in this table] 

Average length of stay in days Number of discharges (base of average) 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 

Standard error in days 

O.!? '0.Z 0.9 1.4 1.3 1.5 1.7 1;9 

0.4 0.5 0.7 0.8 0.9 1.1 1.2 1.4 

0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.9 1.0 

0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.6 0.8 0.8 

0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 

0.1 0.2 0.3 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 

0.1 0.2 0.3 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 

0.1 0.2 0.3 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 

0.1 0.2 0.2 1 0.‘3 0.4 .0.5 0.6 0.7 

NOTE: Illustration of use of table II-Table 6 shows that the average length of stay was 8.1

da s for the estimated 4,253,OOO discharged patientsin government hospitals who were white (table 103. Linear interpolation between the values shown in table II will yield an approximate standard 

error of 0.3 days for an estimated average of 8.1 days with a base of 4,253,OOO. 

Table III. Approximate standard errors of percentages shown in this report for dischar_ges:Patient, characteristics cross-classifiedbygeographic region and size of hospital and for all hospitals 

Estimated percent 

Number of discharges (base of percent) 

or, 70 2

98 4 96or 1090or 2080or I 30 or I .50 

Standard error in percentage points 

2.4 3.3 5.0 1 6.7 

1.7 2.3 3.6 4.8 

1.0 1.3 2.1 2.7 

0.7 1.0 1.6 2.1 

0.5 0; 7 1.1 1.5 

0.3 0.4 0.7 0.9 I1.0 1.1 

0:2 0.3 0.5. 0.7 

0.2 $2 0.4 0.5 

Q.1 0.2 !0.3 0.4 

NOTE: Illustrationofuse of table III--Table 3 shows that 10.2 percentof the 8,626,OOO married 

patients aged 45-64 years (table 8) were discharged from hospitals with loo-499 beds within the 

South region. Linear interpolation between the values shown in table III will yield an'approxi­ mate'standard error of 0.6 percent for an estimate of 10.2 percent with a base of 8j626,OOO. 

39. 
APPENDIX, II 

DEFINITIONS OF CERTAIN TERMS uSED IN THIS REPORT 

Terms Relating to Hospitalization 

Inpatient. -A person who is formally admitted to 

the inpatient service of a short-stay hospital for observation, care, diagnosis, or treatment. In this report 

the number of inpatients refers to the number of discharges during 1968, including multiple discharges of 

the same individual (if any) from one short-stay hospital or more. All newborn infants, defined as those 

admitted by birth to the hospital, are excluded from 

this report. “Inpatient” and “patient” are used synonymously. 

Other infants.-Infants under 1 year of age at time 

of admission to the hospital inpatient service. In this 

report the number of discharges of “other infants” includes infants admitted on the day of birth, directly 

or by transfer from another medical facility, with or 

without mention of a disease, disorder, or immaturity. 

Discharge.-The formal release of an inpatient by 

a ‘hospital, that is; the termination of a period of hospitalization by death or by disposition to place of residence, nursing home, or another hospital. In this report, ‘klischarges” and “patients ( or inpatients) discharged” are used synonymously. 

Days of care.-The total number of inpatient days 

accumulated at time of discharge by patients discharged 

from short-stay hospitals during 1968. A stay of less 

than 1 day (inpatient admission and discharge on the 

same day) is counted as 1 day in the summation of 

total days of care. For patients admitted and discharged on different days, th.enumber of days of care 

is computed by counting all days from (and including) 

the date of admission to (but not including) the date of 

discharge. 

Average len&h of stay. -The total number of inpatient days accumulated at time of discharge by patients discharged during 1968 divided by the number 

of patients discharged. “Average duration,” “duration 

of stay,” and “length of stay” are usedinterchangeably. 

Hospitals and Hospital Characteristics 

Short-stay hospitals.,-General and short-term 

special hospitals having six beds or more for inpatient 

use, and an average (mean) length of stay of less than 

30 days. Federal hospitals and hospital units of institutions are not included.’ “Hospitals” and “shortstay hospitals” are used synonymously. 

Size of hospital;-Measured by the number of beds, 

cribs, and pediatric bassinets regularly maintained 

(set up and staffed for use) for inpatients; bassinets 

for newborn infants are not included. In this report 

the classification of hospitals by bed size is based on 

the number of beds at or near midyear reportedby 

the hospitals. 

Location of hospitals;-see “Geograp& region;” 

Type 03 ownership (control) of hosPital;-Refers to 

the type of organization that controls and operates the 

hospital. In, this report the classification of hospitals by 

type of ownership is based on responses provided by 

sample hospitals. The hospitals are grouped as follows: 

Voluntary nospit&.-Hospitals operated by a 

church or another nonprofit organization. 

Government hospitals.-Hospitalsoperatedby State 

and local governments. 

Proprietary hosDituls. -Hospitals controlled by 

individuals, partnerships, or corporations forprofit. 

Demographic Terms 

Age.-Refers to age at last birthday prior to admission to the hospital inpatient service (newborn infants excepted). 

CC$OY.-In this report patients are classified into 

two groups, “white” and “all other .” The ,“all other” 

classification includes all categories other than white 

which are too small for statistical purposes to be presented separately. ?Vhite” includesMexican andPuerto 

Rican unless otherwise identified on the patient’s record. 

40 
------- 

lMarituZ status.-In this report married includes 

all persons living with spouse; unmarried includes 

all persons 15 years and over who are single, separated, divorced, or widowed. 

Geogmphic re@on.-In this report hospitals are 

classified by &cation according to the four geographic 

regions of the United States which correspond to those 

used by the U.S. Bureau of the Census. 

Redon States IncZudEf 

Northeast Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, 

Massachusetts, Rhode Island, 

Connecticut, New York,New Jersey, 

and Pennsylvania 

North Central--- Michigan. Ohio, Illinois, Indiana, 

Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa, 

Missouri, North Dakota, South 

Dakota, Nebraska, and Kansas 

SOUR-------- Delaware, Maryland, District of 

Columbia, Virginia, West 

Virginia, North Carolina, South 

Carolina, Georgia, Florida, 

Kentucky, Tennessee; Alabama, 

Mississippi, Arkansas, Louisiana, 

Oklahoma, and Texas 

West ---.--i- Montana, Idaho, Wyoming,Colorado, 

New Mexico, Arizona, Utah,Nevada, 

Washington, Oregon, California, 

Hawaii, and Alaska 

000 

I u. s. axERNME NT PRINTING OFFICE : 1913 515~212/52 

41 
VITAL AND HEALTH STATISTICS PUBLICATION SERIES 

Originally Public Health Service Publication No. 1000 

Series 1. Propams and collection procedures.- Reports which describe the general programs of the National 

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

and other material necessary for understanding the data. 

Se&es 2. Data evaluation and methods research .-Studies of new statistical methodology including: experimental tests of new survey methods, studies of vital statistics collection methods, new analytical 

techniques, objective evaluations of reliability of collecteddata, contributions to statistical theory. 

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

statistics, carrying the analysis further than the expository 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 registration laws and revised 

birth and death certificates. 

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

of hospital, medical, dental, and other services, and other health-related topics, based on dam 

collected in a continuing national household interview survey. 

Series 11. Data fkom the Health Examination Survey. -Data from direct examination, testing, and measurement of national samples of the civilian, noninstitutional population provide the basis for two 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 tothe health characteristics of 

persons in institutions, and their 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 @om the Hospital Discharge Survey.- Statistics relating to discharged patients in short-stay 

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

Series 14. Data on health yesources: manpower and facilities .-Statistics on the numbers, geographic distribution, and characteristics of health resources including physicians,dentists, nurses, other health 

occupations, hospitals, nursing homes, and outpatient facilities. 

Series 20. Data on mo+zlity.-Various statistics on mortality other than as included in regular annual or 

monthly reports-special analyses by cause of death, age, and other demographic variables, also 

geographic andtime series analyses. 

Series 21. Data on natality,.ma~iage, and diwwce. -Various statistics on natality, marriage, and divorce 

other than. a&- included in reguhu- annual or monthly reports--special analyses by demographic 

variables, also gieograpbic’and time series analyses, studies of fertility. 

Series 22. Data porn the Nation@ Natality and gmtality 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 socioec.onomic class, hospital experience in the 

last year of life, medical care during pregnancy, health insurance coverage, etc. 

For a list of titles of reports published in these series, write to: Cffice of Information 

National ,Center for Health Statistics 

Public Health Service, HSMHA 

Rockville, Md. 20852