NATIONAL CENTER Series 13 

For HEALTH STATISTICS I Number 5 

VITAL and HEALTH STATISTICS 

DATA FROM THE NATIONAL HEALTH SURVEY 

RegionalUtilizationof 

Short-StayHospitals 

UnitedStates-1965 

Statistics are presented on the utilization of short-stay hospitals based ondata collected from a national sampleof hospitals 

and concerning a sample of patients discharged from each of 

these hospitals. For the four major geographic regions (Northeast, North Central, South,and West), discharges, days of care, 

and average length of stay are. distributed according to characteristics of hospitals, and patients. Rates of discharges, days 

of care, and daily hospital bed usage are distributed by characteristics of hospitals and by selected characteristics of patients. Rates of bed occupancy are distributed according to 

characteristics of hospitals. 

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

Public Health Service 

Health Services and Mental Health Administration 

Washington, D.C. June 1969 

NATIONAL CENTER FOR HEALTH STATISTICS 

THEODORE D. WOOLSEY, Director 

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

OSWALD K. SAGEN, PH.D.,, Assistant Director for Health Statistics Development 

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

ALICE M. WATERHOUSE, M.D., Medical Consultant 

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

EDWARD E. MINTY, Executive Officer 

MARGERY R. CUNNINGHAM, Information Officer 

DIVISION OF HEALTH RESOURCES STATISTICS 

SIEGFRIED A. HOERhlANN, Director 

PETER L. HURLEY, Chief, Health Facdities Statistics Branch 

JACQUELINE GLEASON, M.A., Chief, Health Manpower Statistics Branch 

EDYTHE GRAY, M.A., Chief, Hospital Discharge Survey Branch 

COOPERATION OF THE BUREAU OF THE CENSUS 

Under the legislation establishing the National Health 

Survey, the PublicHealth Service is authorized to use, insofar 

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

or private agencies. 

In accordance with specifications established by the 

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

the survey and collecting the data. 

Public Health Service Publication No; 1000~Series 1340. 5 

Library of Congress Catalog Card Number 68-62233 
CONTENTS 

Page 

Introduction ---_---_------_-_----------------------------------------- 1 

Hospitals and Hospital Beds---------- -_--_---___---______-------------- 1 

Selected Findings----------------------------------------------------- 1 

Hospital Characteristics-------- -___--_----_-_-----_------------------- 3 

Ownership--------------------------------------------------------- 3 

Size--------------------------------------------------------------- 5 

patient Characteristics ________________________________________-------- 6 

Age--------------------------------------------------------------- 6 

Sex _______-____________------------------------------------------- 6 

Color ________________________________________--------------------- 6 

Marital Status------------------------------------------------------ 7 

Discharge Status--------------------------------------------------- 7 

Length of Stay ________________ -__---_----_-__-_----------------------- 7 

Sources and Qu&ifications of Data ____________________------------------ 8 

Detailed Tables------------------------------------------------------- 10 

Appendix 1. TechnicalNotes onMethods--------------------------------- 26 

Scope of the Survey------------------ --------_____-_-____----------- 26 

Sampling Frame and Size of Sample---------------------------------- 26 

Sample Design---------------------- ----_---__-----_____----------- 26 

Data Collection----------------------------------------------------- 28 

Data Processing--- _____________________ ---__---___-_-____-_-------- 28 

Estimation--------------------------------------------------------- 28 

General Qualifications _____-____-__---_--- --__--_------------------- 28 

Reliability of Estimates------------- ---_-_--___-_-_-____------------ 30 

Appendix II. Definitions of Certain Terms Used in This Report------------ 33 

Terms Relating to Hospitalization------------------------------------ 33 

Demographic Terms---------------------- ------_------_------------ 34 

. . . 

III 
IN THIS REPORT information concerning discharged patients, days 

of caye, and avwage length of stay is shown for the four major geographic Yegions, according to hospital characteristics and according to 

patient chavacteris tics. 

There weYe approximately 7,000short-stay hospitals and 801,000 sholovtstay hospital beds in the United States during 1965. Move than one-third 

of the hospitals and almost one-third of the beds weye in the South Region; these weye lavgev proportions than those in any of the other yegions. Patient discharges and days of cave rendered were considerably 

move numerous in the North Central and Sbuth than in the Northeast and 

West Regions. The average length of stay was highest in the Northeast 

and progressively lower in the North Central, South, and West. 

SYMBOLS 

Data not available ________________________ ___ 

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

Quantity zero ____________________________ _ 

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

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

iv 
REGIONAL UTILIZATION 

OF SHORT-STAY HOSPITALS 

Raymond 0. Gagnon, Division of Health Resources Sikztistics 

INTRODUCTION 

This is the fourth report to be published on 

the findings of the first full year of the Hospital 

Discharge Survey, conducted by the Division of 

Health Resources Statistics of theNational Center 

for Health Statistics. The Hospital Discharge 

Survey is a part of the National Health Survey 

program which provides comprehensive and current health statistics on the Nation’s popu1ation.l 

HOSPITALS AND HOSPITAL BEDS 

There were an estimated 7,000 short-stay 

hospitals in the United States during 1965, with 

an estimated 801,000 beds. 

More than one-third of the short-stay hospitals were in the South, a large proportion compared with other regions. Of the short-stay hospitals in each region, voluntary (nonprofit) 

hospitals were considerably more numerous than 

either government (Federal, State, and local) or 

proprietary hospitals and were considerably 

larger as well when the average number of beds 

per hospital is taken into account. The average 

l NationalCenter for Health Statistics: Origin, program, 

and operation of the U.S. National Health Survey. Vital and 

Health Statistics. PHS Pub. No. 1000~Series l-No. 1. Public 

Health Service. Washington. U.S. Government PrintingOffice, 

Aug. 1963. 

number of beds for a group of hospitals can be 

obtained by dividing the number of beds in that 

group by the number of hospitals (tables 1 and 2). 

The average number of beds per hospital, 

regardless of ownership, was higher in theNortheast than in the other regions. The Northeast 

averaged about 178 beds per hospital compared 

with 131 beds per hospital in the North Central, 

98 beds in the South, and 83 beds in the West. 

For each of the three types of hospital ownership 

the average number of beds was also greater in 

the Northeast; however, the difference was more 

noticeable for government hospitals than for 

voluntary or proprietary hospitals. In the Northeast the average number of beds per government 

hospital (309) was about three times greater 

than in the North Central (97) and South (104) 

and about fives times greater than in the West 

(63). Although the West had about as many hospitals as the Northeast and North Central, most 

of these hospitals (77 percent) were small, and 

as a result there were half as many beds in the 

West as there were in the northern regions. The 

South also had a high proportion of small hospitals (71 percent), but there were about 1,000 

more hospitals and twice as many beds in the 

South as in the West. 

SELECTED FINDINGS 

For 1965 the regional distribution of the 

United States population shows the greatest pro-
----- 

portion of persons (31 percent) in the South and 

the smallest proportion (16 percent) in the West. 

Similarly, 32 percent of the discharges2 from 

short-stay hospitals in the United States occurred 

in the South and 16 percent occurred in the West 

Region. For days of cal-e the percentages were 

2”Patients discharged” and “discharges” are used interchangeably in this report. Neither term, however, is entirely 

correct as used. A discharge is an action by the hospital, and 

it is not precise to say that a discharge possesses human 

characteristics such as age, sex, and marital status. Certain 

patients were discharged more than once during the 1 e-month 

period; consequently, the number of discharges slightly exceeds the number of patients discharged. 

Table A. Selected characteristics, 

[Noninstitutional, short-stay hospitals 

Characteristic 

U.S. population---------------------

Hospitals---------------------------------

Beds--------------------------------------

Discharges--------------------------------

Days of care------------------------------

Beds occupiedl----------------------------

Discharges--------------------------------

Days of care------------------------------

Daily hospital bed usage%-----------------

Average length of stay-------------------­

by 

exclusive 

somewhat similar (table A). The average length 

of stay for discharges in the Northeast was considerably higher than the average stay for discharges in the North Central and significantly 

higher than the average stay in the South and in 

the West. 

According to hospital characteristics, the 

two types of utilization rates, that is, the discharge rate and the days-of-care rate per 1,000 

persons, seemed to follow the same general 

pattern among the regions. According to patient 

characteristics, however, the utilization rates 

varied somewhat among the regions. Of the shortstay hospitals’ beds, approximately 72 percent 

were occupied in the West as compared with 

geographic region: United States, 1965 

of Veterans Administration and military hospitals] 

All North- North 

regions east Central South West 

Percent distribution 

~~ 

Percent 

78.1 11 79.5 I 80.9 I 77.1 I 72.2 

Rate per 1,000 persons 

153.4 140.3 160.4 160.8 147.3 

1,203.4 II 1,270.O I 1,317.7 I 1,157.l I 994.5 

Rate per 100,000 persons 

329.7 II 348.0 I 361.1 I 317.0 I 272.5 

Number of days 

7.8 9.1 8.2 7.2 6.8 

lAggregate number of days of care -.-- ---.__ in year I 

Number of hospital beds x number of days in year 

“Aggregate number of days of care x 100,000 

Number of days in year x size of population at risk ’ 

2 
roughly SO percent in other regions of the 

country.

Comparison of the regions, with respect to 

type of hospital ownership, shows that utilization 

rates for voluntary hospitals were about 35 percent greater in the Northeast and North Central 

than in the South and West Regions. The rates 

for government and proprietary hospitals, however, were higher in the latter two regions as 

compared with the two former. The average length 

of stay in voluntary hospitals varied from 9 days 

in the Northeast to 7 days in the West. Discharged 

patients from government hospitals averaged a 

stay of 15 days in the Northeast and about 8 days 

in other regions; also, persons discharged from 

proprietary hospitals averaged 10 days per visit 

in the North Central Region and 5 days in the 

West. The bed occupancy rate for voluntary 

hospitals was about 10 percent lower in the West 

than in other regions, while the rate for government hospitals was somewhat lower in theNortheast than in the other regions. For proprietary 

hospitals the occupancy rate varied considerably 

among the regions. 

With respect to hospital size, the utilization 

rates for medium-sized hospitals, those having 

loo-499 beds, were about 20 percent lower in 

the South than in the other regions, and the rates 

for small hospitals, those having fewer than 100 

beds, were greater in the South than in the other 

regions. The rates for large hospitals, 500 beds 

or more, were about 30 percent lower in the West 

than in the other regions. The average length of 

stay for hospitals in each bed-size group was 

consistently highest in theNortheast and progressively lower in the North Central, South, and 

West. As a result the average length of stay in 

hospitals in each of the three bed-size groups 

was significantly higher in the Northeast than in 

the West. 

The utilization rates, referring to the discharge rate and the days-of-care rate, for infants under 1 year of age and for children I-14 

years were 10 to 20 percent greater in the Northeast and North Central than in the Southand West 

Regions. For persons in succeeding age groups 

the rates did not follow any particular pattern. 

The average length of stay varied only slightly 

among the regions for persons in the age groups 

under 35 years, however-, for persons 35 and over 

the regional variation in the average length of 

stay increased as age increased. If infants under 

1 and children 5-14 years are excluded, the 

average length of stay for each age group ranged 

from a high in the Northeast to a progressively 

lower value in the North Central, South, and 

West. 

For males and for females the utilization 

rates also did not follow any particular pattern, 

however, the average length of stay for both 

sexes was significantly higher in the Northeast 

than in the West. 

HOSPITAL CHARACTERISTICS 

Variation in hospital utilization among different types of hospitals is discussed in this 

section. Two characteristics of hospitals are 

considered: type of ownership and size (tables 3-

6). Utilization rates are included for both characteristics . .

Ownership 

Type of ownership refers to the organization 

that controls and operates a hospital; the general 

types of ownership discussed in this report are 

voluntary (nonprofit), government, and proprietary. Voluntary hospitals include church related 

or operated hospitals and other nonprofit hospitals. 

Government-owned hospitals (excluding military 

and Veterans Administration hospitals) include 

other Federal, State, and local hospitals; proprietary hospitals include those operated for 

profit, either by an individual, a partnership, or 

a corporation.

In each region voluntary hospitals accounted 

for the majority of patients discharged from 

short-stay hospitals and provided more than half 

of the days of care rendered. Government hospitals accounted for 10 to 30 percent of the discharges and slightly greater proportions of the 

days of care, while proprietary hospitals accounted for 2 to 15 percent of the discharges and 

even smaller proportions of the days of care. As 

a result the average length of stay was slightly 

higher for patients discharged from government 

than from voluntary or proprietary hospitals. The 

percent of beds occupied, however, was consistently higher in voluntary hospitals than in the 

other two types of hospitals. 

3 
When the regions are compared, the utilization rates for voluntary hospitals were at least 

35 percent higher in the Northeast and North 

Central than in the South and West Regions. For 

government and proprietary hospitals, however, 

the rates were higher in the latter two regions 

(table 3). 

The average length of stay of discharged 

patients did not vary greatly by type of hospital 

ownership, but there was some variation when 

ownership was cross-classified by region. Patients discharged from government hospitals had 

an average length of stay of 15 days in the Northeast and about 8 days in the other regions. Also, 

persons discharged from proprietary hospitals 

had an average stay of 10 days in the North 

Central Region and 5 days in the West (fig. 1 and 

table 4). These variations are not definitive, 

however, since the estimates have relatively 

large sampling errors; thus, the differences are 

not statistically significant. 

The daily hospital bed usage rate for a 

characteristic is equal to the days-of-care rate 

for the same characteristic multiplied by the proportion of 100/365 (see footnote 1 on table 4). In 

this report the days-of-care rate for a particular 

characteristic refers to the number of days of 

care that were rendered to every 1,000 persons 

during the year 1965. The daily bed usage rate 

for a characteristic refers to the number of 

persons, out of every 100,000, occupying beds in 

short-stay hospitals on an average day in 1965. 

In addition, if a person occupies a bed for 1 day 

he is considered to have received 1 day of care; 

therefore the bed usage rate may also refer to 

the number of days of care being rendered on an 

average day during the year. Thus, the daily 

hospital bed usage rate is a measure very similar 

to the days-of-care rate; however, it is a daily 

rather than an annual rate and as such is quite 

useful in depicting minor changes in hospital 

utilization from one year to the next. In view of 

the similarity between the two measures the daily 

bed usage rate will not be discussed in the text 

of this report, but it will be included in the detailed tables. 

The percent of beds occupied, or the bed 

occupancy rate, is the ratio of the number of 

days of care to the number of days which would 

have been provided if every bed in every hospital 

North Central 

Government Proprietary 

TYPE OF HOSPITAL 

Figure I. Average length of stay, by type of hospital 

ownership and geographic region. 

had been occupied every day. In this report the 

ratio is expressed as a percent. The bed occupancy rate for voluntary hospitals was about 10 

percent lower in the West than in other regions, 

while the rate for government hospitals was 

somewhat lower in the Northeast. The occupancy rate for proprietary hospitals was considerably lower in the North Central and West than 

in other regions (table 4), however, the large 

sampling errors for these low rates limit their 

reliability. 

It should be noted that sample hospitals in 

the survey are selected primarily according to 

the size of the hospital and the region in which 

the hospital is located. In effect, all sample hospitals of less than 1,000 beds are stratified into 

24 size-by-region classes. Within each of these 

24 primary strata, a controlled selection technique is used to stratify further the sample hospitals with regard to ownership and geographic 

division. Ownership, however, is not a primary 
consideration in the stratification of sample hospitals as are size and region. Thus, statistical 

estimates in this report cross-classified by 

ownership and region tend to have relatively large 

sampling errors (see section in appendix I, 

“Sample Design”), 

Size 

“Size” of hospital refers to the number :of 

beds, excluding bassinets, regularly maintained 

by a hospital for inpatient use. With regard to 

the presentation of statistics in this report by 

size of hospital, short-stay hospitals in each 

region are classified in one of three general bedsize groups: less than 100 beds, loo-499 beds, 

and 500 beds or more. 

In each region the rates of discharge and 

days of care were considerably greater for 

medium-sized hospitals (loo-499 beds) than for 

small hospitals (less than 100 beds) or large 

hospitals (500 beds or more). The average length 

of stay of patient discharges varied directly with 

the size of the hospital; that is, patients discharged from large hospitals had a significantly 

higher average length of stay than those discharged 

from medium-sized and small hospitals. Also, 

loo-499 beds 500 beds or more 

SIZE OF HOSPITAL 

Figure 2. Average length of stay, by size of hospital 

and geographic region. 

60 

Less than 500 beds 

100 beds loo-499 beds or more 

SIZE OF HOSPITAL 

’A,JPptc n dclys or ,“XP x ,,I,, 

ziwnhrr uf da). in rhc yrar x “uwhci 0, hu-p,tol h,.d. 

Figure 3. Percent of beds occupied, by size of hospital and geographic region. 

the bed occupancy rate was generally higher in 

medium-sized hospitals and lower in small hospitals. 

For medium-sized hospitals the utilization 

rates were about 20 percent lower in the South 

than in other regions (table 5). For small hospitals the utilization rates were considerably higher 

in the South than in other regions. For large 

hospitals the rates were about 30 percent lower 

in the West than in other regions. The average 

length of stay in large hospitals varied from 13 

days in the Northeast to 9 days in the West, a 

significant difference (fig. 2). For medium-sized 

and small hospitals the average lengths of stay 

were also significantly higher in the Northeast 

than in the West Region, however, the averages 

did not vary by more than 1 or 2 days (appendix 

I, “Reliability of Estimates,” rule 6). 

The occupancy rate for medium-sized hospitals was about 10 percent lower in the South 

than in other regions, while the rate for large 

hospitals was about 10 percent higher in the 

South. Hospitals with fewer than 100 beds had 

an occupancy rate of only 44 percent in the West, 

while in other regions the rates varied from 65 

to 80 percent (fig. 3 and table 6). Although the 

5 
number of beds available for inpatient use in 

small hospitals was proportionately as great or 

greater in the West, the West also had proportionately more small hospitals than other regions. 

This high proportion of small hospitals, together 

with the lower average length of stay in small 

hospitals in the West than in other regions, would 

constitute one explanation for the low occupancy 

rate. 

PATIENT CHARACTERISTICS 

Variation in hospital utilization among different types of patients is discussed in this 

section. Five personal characteristics of patients 

are considered: age, sex, color, marital status, 

and discharge status (tables 7-12). Rates are 

included for the age, sex, and marital status 

characteristics. 

Age 

In each region the utilization rates were 

generally higher for persons 65 years and over 

and for infants under 1 year, while children 1-14 

years had lower rates than any other age group. 

The average length of stay in each region was 

lowest for children l-14 years of age and highest 

for persons 65 years and over. For persons 15 

years of age and over the days-of-care rate and 

the average length of stay increased with advancing age. The discharge rate for persons 

15-34 years of age was conspicuously high in 

relation to the rates for persons 35-54 years of 

age. The irregularity is caused by the large 

number of women in the age groups 15-34 years 

who were hospitalized for delivery and for conditions of pregnancy, childbirth, and the puerperium. 

Comparison of the regions shows utilization 

rates for persons under 15 to be about 20 percent 

greater in the Northeast and North Central than 

in the South and West Regions. For persons 15 

years and over the utilization rates did not follow 

any particular pattern (tables 8 and 10). The discharge rates for persons 15 and over were lower 

in the Northeast than in the other regions. The 

days-of-care rates, however, were lower in the 

West than in the other regions. 

The average length of stay for infants varied 

slightly from 9 days in the North Central Region 

to 8 days in the West. The average stay for persons in the age groups between 1 and 34 years 

also varied slightly; however, in succeeding age 

groups the regional variation in the average 

length of stay increased as age increased. If infants are excluded, the average length of stay for 

persons in each age group is highest in the Northeast and progressively lower in the North Central, 

South, and West (table 11). 

Sex 

In each of the four regions, more thanthreefifths of the discharges from short-stayhospitals 

were for women while slightly less than threefifths of the ‘days of care were rendered to 

women. Consequently, in each region the average 

length of stay was higher for males than for females. The utilization rates, however, were substantially higher for females than for males because they included hospitalizations for delivery 

and related diagnoses. The difference in the rates 

by sex would be substantially reduced if hospitalizations for delivery and related diagnoses 

were excluded. 

Regionally, the utilization rates for both 

sexes did not follow any particular pattern. The 

discharge rate for males and for females was 

about 10 percent lower in the Northeast and West 

than in the South and North Central Regions, 

while the days-of-care rate for males was 10 to 

20 percent lower in the South and West Regions, 

and the rate for females was about 20 percent 

lower in the West than in other regions. The 

average length of stay for males and females 

was highest in the Northeast and progressively 

lower in the North Central, South, and West. 

Color 

It is difficult to interpret the statistics on 

hospital utilization by color of discharged patients 

because color was not ascertained for about 12 

percent of the discharges in the United States 

(appendix I, “Factors affecting interpretation of 

rates”). Among the regions there was considerable 

variation in the reporting of color. For example, 

color was not stated for one out of every 25 discharges in the Northeast Region compared with 

four out of every 25 in the West and five out of 

25 in the North Central. For these reasons, utili6 
zation rates are not presented in this report for 

either white or nonwhite persons. 

However, the statistics on discharges for 

which color was ascertained in the survey indicate that about nine-tenths of the discharged 

patients in the Northeast were white. In the South, 

about eight-tenths of the discharges were for 

white patients compared with slightly more than 

seven-tenths in the North Central and West Regions. For days of care the proportions are 

quite similar, except that nonwhite persons utilized proportionately more days of care than 

white persons. This is reflected in the average 

length of stay which is higher in each region for 

nonwhite persons. 

In addition, the average length of stay for 

the white population was 1 to 2 days longer in the 

Northeast and North Central Regions. For the 

nonwhite population the average stay was more 

than 4 days longer in the Northeast than in the 

other regions . 

Marital Status 

In this report marital status refers to 

whether a patient is married or not married and 

includes only those patients reported as 15 years 

of age and older. Married persons include those 

who are married or separated; “not married” 

persons include those who are single, widowed, 

or divorced (fig. I in appendix I). 

In each region more than 70 percent of the 

persons discharged who were 15 years of age 

and older were reported as being married and 

about 25 percent were not married. For the 

remainder of the discharges, marital status was 

not reported. The discharge rate was substantially higher for married persons than for those 

not married because it included hospitalizations 

for deliveries and conditions of pregnancy. The 

average length of stay for persons who were not 

married, however, was considerably higher than 

the average for persons who were married. 

The regional utilization rates for both marital 

status groups did not follow any particular pattern. The discharge rates for both groups were 

about 10 percent lower in the Northeast than in 

other regions. The days-of-care rate for married 

persons, however, was more than 20 percent lower 

in the West than in other regions, and the rate 

for persons who were not married was about 20 

percent lower in the West and South than in the 

two northern regions. As with most age groups 

and both sexes, the average lengths of stay for 

both marital status groups were higher in the 

Northeast and progressively lower in the North 

Central, South, and West. The recurrence of this 

particular pattern is another indication that the 

average length of stay is closely related to the 

size of the hospital, because on the average the 

hospitals were largest in the Northeast and progressively smaller in the North Central, South, 

and West. 

Discharge Status 

Discharge status refers to whether a patient 

is alive or dead upon being discharged from a 

hospital. 

In each region about 97 percent of the patients 

discharged from short-stay hospitals during 1965 

were discharged alive, but their average length 

of stay was only half as high as that of patients 

who were discharged because of death. Comparison by region shows that about 3 percent of the 

discharges in the Northeast and North Central 

Regions died while in the hospital, compared 

with 2.5 percent of the discharges in the South 

and West Regions. It should be noted, however, 

that in view of the low frequencies of patients 

discharged dead, and the many underlying factors 

which can affect these frequencies, the relative 

quality of medical care should not be inferred 

from regional differences. Patients discharged 

dead used about 4 percent of the days of care in 

the West and 5 percent or more of the days in 

other regions. The average length of stay for 

patients discharged alive varied from 9 days in 

the Northeast to 7 days in the South and West 

Regions. The average length of stay for patients 

discharged dead was 11 days in the West and 

about 15 days in each of the other regions. 

LENGTH OF STAY 

Of the 29 million discharges from shortstay hospitals during 1965, 32 percent occurred 

in the South, 29 percent occurred in the North 

Central, 23 percent in the Northeast, and 16 percent in the West. In all regions except the West, 

7 
about 2 percent of the discharges occurred on the 

day of admission and over 10 percent of the 

patients were discharged on the second day after 

admission. In the West about 3 percent of the 

discharges occurred on the day of admission and 

more than 15 percent occurred on the second 

day after admission (fig. 4 and table 13). 

The median length of stay was between 3 and 

4 days in the South and West and between 4 and 

5 days in the Northeast and North Central Regions. More than 75 percent of the discharges in 

the West occurred within 1 week of admission 

compared with roughly 67 percent of the discharges in the other regions. In each of the four 

regions about 90 percent of the discharges occurred within 2 weeks of admission and about 97 

percent, within 1 month. The number of discharges 

and the cumulative percent distribution of discharges by region and duration of stay are shown 

in table 13. 

SOURCES AND QUALIFICATIONS 

OF DATA 

This report includes statistics on hospital 

utilization in the United States and in each of 

four major geographic regions; the major objective of the report is the study and presentation of 

the data on a regional basis. The States included 

in each of the regions discussed are shown in 

appendix II. 

All short-stay hospitals, excluding military 

and Veterans Administration hospitals and hospital departments of long-term and custodial 

institutions, are within the scope of the survey. 

All discharges from these hospitals except those 

of well-newborn infants are within the scope of 

the survey. The principal source of information in 

the survey is the hospital’s file of patients’ 

medical records. In each hospital participating in 

the survey, statistical information pertaining to 

the characteristics of a sample of discharged 

patients and their hospitalization is recorded on 

abstract forms which are shipped to the National 

Center for Health Statistics for processing. A 

copy of the front side of this abstract form 

covering the nonmedical data presented in this 

report is shown in appendix I. The reverse side 

of the form is used to record discharge diagnoses 

8 

--. 

PERCENT DISTRIBUTION 

North 

Central 

South 

west 

Less than I 

LENGTH OF STAY IN DAYS 

Figure 4. Percent distribution of discharges, by 

length of stay according to geographic region. 

and surgical operations and procedures. Appendix 

I also describes in greater detail the procedures 

of the data collection and data processing. 

In general, the data recorded on the abstract 

form and presented in this report are limited to 

key items of information about the discharged 

patient and his hospitalization that are generally 

available from the “face sheet” of the patient’s 

medical record. Information on the characteristics of the hospital is available from theMaster 

Facility Inventory of Hospitals and Institutions.3 

Additional information is obtained in an interview conducted at the hospital at the time of its 

induction into the survey. 

Since the estimates presented in this report 

are based on a subsample of about 100,000 discharges from about 300 hospitals participating 

in the survey, rather than on all discharges 

‘National Center for Health ‘Statistics: Development and 

maintenance of a national inventary of hospitals and institutions. Vita2 and Health Statistics. PHS Pub. No. 1000~Series 

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

Printing Office, Feb. 1965. 
(about 29 million) from all in-scope hospitals 

(about 7,000), they are subject to sampling error. 

Estimates of the sampling error of several types 

of hospital utilization statistics presented in this 

report are discussed in the section “Reliability 

of Estimates” in appendix I. 

In addition to sampling errors, the statistics 

are subject to measurement errors. These include errors due to hospital nonresponse, missing 

abstracts, information incompletely or inaccurately reported on the abstract forms, and 

processing errors. 

Appendix II contains definitions of terms 

relating to hospitalization, such as “hospital” 

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

these terms have specialized meanings in the 

Hospital Discharge Survey, familiarity with these 

definitions will aid in the interpretation of the 

data. 

000 

9 
Table 1. 

2. 

3. 

4. 

5. 

6. 

7. 

8. 

9. 

10. 

11. 

12. 

13. 

DETAILED TABLES 

Number and percent distribution of short-stay hospitals and beds,by type of hospital ownership according to geographic region: United States, 1965-------------

Number and percent distribution of short-stay hospitals and beds,by size of hospital according to geographic region: United States, 1965-----------------------

Number, percent distribution, and rates of discharges and days of care, by type of hospital ownership according to geographic region: United States, 1965-------

Average length of stay, daily hospital bed usage rates, and percent of beds 

occupied, by type of hospital ownership and geographic region: United States, 1965----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Number, percent distribution, and rates of discharges and days of care, by size 

of hospital according to geographic region: United States, 1965-----------------

Average length of stay, daily hospital bed usage rates, and percent of beds 

occupied, by size of hospital and geographic region: United States, 1965--------

Number and percent distribution of discharges,by age, sex, color, marital status,

and discharge status according to geographic region: United States, 1965--------

States, 

Discharge rates, by age, sex, marital status, 1965--------------------------------------------------------------------and geographic region: United 

Number and percent distribution of days of care, by age, sex, color, marital 

status, and discharge status according to geographic region: United States, 1965----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Days-of-care rates, by age, sex, marital status, and geographic region: United

states, 1965--------------------------------------------------------------------

Average length of stay, Unit-d sex, color, marital status, and geographic region: by age,States, 1965-------------------------------------- discharge status, 

Daily hospital bed usagerates,by age, sex, marital United States, 1965-------------------------------------------------------------status,and geographic region: 

Number, percent distribution, and cumulative percent of discharges, by length of 

stay according to geographic region: United States, 1965------------------------

Page 

11 

12 

13 

14 

15 

16 

17 

19 

20 

22 

23 

24 

25 

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

Table 1. Number and percent distribution of short-stay hospitals and beds, by type of hospital ownership according to geographic region: United States, 1965 

boninstitutional, short-stay hospitals exclusive of Veterans Administration and military hospitals] 

All North- North Ownership regions east Central South West 

Voluntary -----------------_------------------------ 55.9 78.7 65.6 43.8 45.7 

Go"ernment------------------------------------------- 27.2 8.2 30.1 30.1 33.8 

Proprietary----------------------------------------

Number of hospitals 

All types ----_----_--------------"----------- 6,837 1,153 1,820 2,451 1,413 

Voluntary -------------------_______I_____________-- 3,821 907 1,194 1,074 646 

Go"ernment----------------------------------------- 1,858 94 548 738 478 

Proprietary 1,158 152 78 639 t 289 

Percent distribution 

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

16.9 I-13.2 4.3 26.1 t 20.5

Number of beds 

All types------------------------------------ 800,898 11 204,915 1237,844 1240,923 1117,216 

177,961 130,682 73,482 

53,269 76,760 30,322 

6,614 33,481 13,412 

Percent distribution 

100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 

67.8 78.4 74.8 54.2 62.7 

23.7 14.2 22.4 I 31.9 I 25.9 

t 8.6 7.4 2.8 13.9 11.4 

11 
Table 2. Number and percent distribution of short-stay hospitals and beds, by size of hospital according to geographic region: United States, 1965 

[Noninstitutional, short-stay hospitals exclusive of Veterans .Administration and military hospital4 

All North- North Size regions east Central South West 

Number of hospitals 

All sizes------------------------------------ 6,837 

Less than 100 beds--------------------------------- 4,427 

lOOd+gg beds--------------------------------------- 2,219 

500 beds or more----------------------------------- 191 

Percent distribution 

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

Less than 100 beds--------------------------------- 64.8 

100-499 beds--------------------------------------- 32.5 

500 beds or more----------------------------------- 2.8 It 

Number of beds 

All sizes------------------------------------ 800,898 204,915) 237,844 1 240,923 ) 117,216 

Less than 10(-J beds--------------------------------- 190,435 27,933 48,476 77,387 36,639 

100-499 beds--------------------------------------- 464,445 127,640 149,057 123,776 63,972 

500 beds or more----------------------------------- 146,018 I!49,342 40,311 39,760 16,605 

Percent distribution 

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

Less than 101-J beds---------------------------------

100-499 beds---------------------------------------

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

12 
------ 

Table 3. Number, percent distribution, and rates of discharges and days of care, by type of 

hospital ownership according to geographic region: United States, 1965 

LYoninstitutional, short-stay hospitals exclusive of Veterans Administration and military hospitals] 

All North- North Ownership regions east Central South West 

Number of discharges in thousands 

All types------------------------------------ 29,120 

20,478 2,931

5,829 1,036

2,814 

Percent distribution 

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

Voluntary------------------------------------------ 70.3 Gove-ent----------------------------------------- 20.0 

Proprietary --___"--------------__________r___ 9.7 

Discharge rate per 1,000 persons 

140.3 1 160.4 1 160.8 ( 147.3 

I I I 

107.9 

30.7 

14.8 

Number of days of care in thousands 

All types------------------------------------

Voluntary-------------- --_-------------------------

Government-----------------------------------------

Proprietary----------------------------------------

All types------------------------------------

All types------------------------------------

20,180 

7,819

2,901 

Percent distribution 

65.3 

25.3 

9.4 

Days-of-care rate per 1,000 persons 

1,270.O 11,317.7 1,157.l 1 994.5 

I I I 

649.5 

251.7 

93.4 

610 
Table 4. Average length of stay, daily hospital bed usage rates,and percent of beds occupied, by 

type of hospital ownership and geographic region: United States, 1965 

~Voninstitutional, short-stay hospitals exclusive of Veterans Administration and military hospitals] 

-

Ownership r 

All types _-________--___--__-----------------

Voluntary------------------------------------------

Government---------------------------------- -___-__ 

Proprietary----------------------------------------

All types------------------------------------

All types------------------------------------

Voluntary------------------------------------------

Government-----------------------------------------

Proprietary------------------------------------------

IAggregate number of days of care X 100,000. 

Number of days in year X population at risk 

'Aggregate number of days of care in year 

Number of hospital beds X number of days in year 

All North- North 

,egions east Central South West 

Average length of stay in days 7.89.1 8.2 7.2 6.8 

I-8.0 8.7 8.2 7.5 6.9 

8.2 15.1 8.2 7.3 7.5 

6.1 7.7 l---- 9.7 5.9 4.8 lDaily usage rate per 100,000 persons1 

Percent of beds occupied' 

78.1 II 79.5 1 80.9 

82.4 (I 83.0 ( 85.7 

69.3 

69.1 

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

Table 5. Number, percent distribution, and rates of discharges and days of care, by size of 

hospital according to geographic region: United States, 1965 

[Noninstitutional, short-stay hospitals exclusive of Veterans Administration and military hospitals] 

Size 

II I 1 1 

Number of discharges in thousands 

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

Less than 100 beds -_-----_------------_____________ 

loo-499 beds 500 beds or more-----------------------------------

Percent distribution 

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

Less than. 100 beds---------------------------------

100-499 beds---------------------------------------

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

Discharge rate per 1,000 persons 

All sizes------------------------------------ 153.411 140.3 1 160.4 1 160.8 1 

I I I 

Less than 100 beds--------------------------------- 38.5 11 19.2 I 35.9 I 59.6 

100-499 beds -_---_-_-----____--_------------------- 95.7 I/ 100.7 I 104.8 80.8

500 beds or more----------------------------------- 19.3 20.5 19.8 20.5 

Number of days of care in thousands 

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

Less than 100 beds ----------__------_-------------- 100-499 beds---------------------------------------

500 beds or more -_____--------------_______________ 

Percent distribution 

All sizes -------------------------------L------ 100.0 II 100.0 I 100.0 I 100.0 

Less than 100 beds --__-----"---_-------------------

loo-499 beds ------___---------_____________________ 500 beds or more-----------------------------------

Days-of-care rate per 1,000 persons 

All sizes------------------------------------ 1,203.4 

Less than 100 beds--------------------------------- 253.8 1fJOJ+gg beds----------------------------------------- 741.3

500 beds or more----------------------------------- 208.4 

1,001

3,128

447 

147.3 

32.2 

100.7 

14.4 

30,900 

5,937 

20,820

4,143 

100.0 

19.2 

67.4 

13.4 

15 
Table 6. Average length of stay, daily hospital bed usagerates, and percent1965

of beds occupied, by size of hospital and geographic region: United States, 

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

All North- North Size regions east Central South West 

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

Less than 100 beds---------------------------------

100-499 beds---------------------------------------

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

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

Less than 100 beds---------------------------------

100-499 beds---------------------------------------

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

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

Less than 100 beds ----_------_---------------------

100-499 beds---------------------------------------

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

Average length of stay in days 

Daily usage rate per 100,000 persons1 

329.7 348.0 361.1 317.0 272.5 

69.5 38.8 73.0 100.0 52.4 

203.1 238.5 230.9 162.0 183.6 

57.1 i-t 73.3 57.1 55.0 i- 36.5 

Percent of beds occupied' 

78. 79.5 I 80.9 I 77.11 72.2 

69.3 

83.0 

74.2 

'Aggregate number of days of care X 100,000 

Number of days in year X population at risk 

sAggregate number of days of care in year 

Number of hospital beds X number of days in year 

16 
---------------------------------------- 

Table 7. Number and percent distribution of discharges, by age, sex, color, marital status, and 

discharge status according to geographic region: United States, 1965 

[Noninstitutionnl, short-stay hospitals exclusive of Veterans Administration and military hospitals] 

All North- North Characteristic regions east Central South West 

Number of discharges in thousands 

All discharges------------------------------- 29,120 6,569 8,553 9,422 4,577 

Age 

Under 1 year--------------------------------------- 877 234 261 253 129 

1-4 years ---_-------------------------------------- 1,309 308 433 382 186 

5-14 years -----_---------__------------------------ 2,415 588 730 746 351 

15-24 years---------------------------------------- 4,948 1,027 1,476 1,668 776 

25-34 years -------__----------_-------------------- 4,332 989 1,204 1,449 691 

35-44 years---------------------------------------- 3,806 813 1,051 1,316 627 

45-54 years---------------------------------------- 3,545 810 993 1,14P 600 

55-64 years 3,145 738 926 990 492 

65-74 years---------------------------------------- 2,537 596 787 774 380 

75 years and over---------------------------------- 2,065 436 658 634 336 

Not stated----------------------------------------- 142 30 35 68 10 

Median agel---------------------------------- 36.5 36.5 36.4 36.3 37.4 

Sex 

Male----------------------------------------------- 11,361 2,575 3,308 3,686 1

L, 793 

Female ---_----_-----_------------------------------ 17,709 3,983 5,223 5,721 2,782 

Not stated --------------------____________________- 50 11 22 15 2 

Color 

White _-_--------_-___------------------------------ 23,016 5,778 6,264 7,518 3,456 

Nonwhite------------------------------------------- 2,598 519 551 1,167 361 

Not stated----------------------------------------- 3,506 271 1,737 737 760 

Marital status? 

Married-------------------------------------------- 17,712 3,897 5,123 5,903 2,789 

Not married----------------------~----------------- 6,066 1,399 1,825 1,927 914 

Not stated----------------------------------------- 600 113 147 143 198 

Discharge status 

Alive---------------------------------------------- 28,266 6,345 8,281 9,179 4,461 

Dead----------------------------------------------- 818 219 253 233 114 

Not stated----------------------------------------- 35 4 19 10 2 

See footnotes at end of table. 

17 
Table 7. Number and percent distribution of discharges, by age, sex, color, marital status, and

discharge status according to geographic region: United States, 1965-Con. 

[Noninstitutional, short-stay hospitals exclusive of Veterans Administration and military hospital4 

Characteristic 

Percent distribution 

All discharges------------------------------- 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 

Age

-

Under 1 year--------------------------------------- 3.0 3.6 3.0 2.7 2.8 

1-4 years------------------------------------------ 4.5 4.7 5.1 4.1 4.1 

5-14 years------------------------------------------ 8.3 9.0 8.5 7.9 7.7 

15-24 years---------------------------------------- 17.0 15.6 17.3 17.7 17.0 

25-34 years---------------------------------------- 14.9 15.1 14.1 15.4 15.1 

35-44 years---------------------------------------- 13.1 12.4 12.3 14.0 13.7 

45-54 years---------------------------------------- 12.2 12.3 11.6 12.1 13.1 

55-64 years---------------------------------------- 10.8 11.2 10.8 10.5 10.7 

65-74 years---------------------------------------- 8.7 9.1 9.2 8.2 8.3 

75 years and over---------------------------------- 7.1 6.6 7.7 6.7 7.3 

Not stated----------------------------------------- 0.5 0.5 0.4 0.7 0.2 

Sex 

Male----------------------------------------------- 39.0 39.2 38.7 39.1 39.2 

Female--------------------------------------------- 60.8 60.6 61.1 60.7 60.8 

Not stated----------------------------------------- 0.2 0.2 0.3 0.2 0.0 

Color 

79.0 88.0 73.2 79.8 75.5 

8.9 7.9 6.4 12.4 7.9 

12.0 4.1 20.3 7.8 16.6 

Marital status2 

Married-------------------------------------------- 72.7 72.1 72.2 74.0 71.5 

Not married---------------------------------------- 24.9 25.9 25.7 24.2 23.4 

Not stated----------------------------------------- 2.5 2.1 2.1 1.8 5.1 

Discharge status 

Alive---------------------------------------------- 97.1 96.6 96.8 97.4 97.5 

Dead----------------------------------------------- 2.8 3.3 3.0 2.5 2.5 

Not stated----------------------------------------- 0.1 0.1 0.2 0.1 0.0 

'Includes only patients for whom age was reported. 

'Includes only patients reported as 15 years of age and older. 

18 
Table 8. Discharge rates, by age, sex, marital status, and geographic region: United States, 1965 

[Noninstitutional, short-stay hospitals exclusive of Veterans Administration and military hospital4 

All North- North Characteristic regions east Central South West 

Discharge rate per 1,000 persons 

All discharges------------------------------- 153.4 140.3 160.4 160.8 147.3 

&e 

Under 1 year--------------------------------------- 227.4 251.3 244.6 206.7 203.4 

1-4 years------------------------------------------ 79.0 83.7 92.9 71.8 64.1 

5-14 years----------------------------------------- 61.4 64.8 65.1 60.2 52.9 

15-24 years---------------------------------------- 171.1 151.3 182.1 176..7 169.5 

25-34 years---------------------------------------- 202.4 194.6 209.4 210.7 186.9 

35-44 years---------------------------------------- 159.6 127.3 161.1 190.6 155.5 

45-54 years---------------------------------------- 163.2 140.0 159.8 181.0 175.5 

55-64 years---------------------------------------- 188.0 167.7 196.9 195.3 192.3 

65-74 years---------------------------------------- 225.8 193.8 245.3 237.9 223.8 

75 years and over---------------------------------- 332.9 270.9 354.1 351.4 362.3 

1-14 years----------------------------------------- 66.6 70.3 73.2 63.7 56.3 

Under 15 years------------------------------------- 77.0 82.6 84.0 72.9 65.5 

15-44 years---------------------------------------- 176.5 154.9 183.1 190.9 170.1 

45-64 years---------------------------------------- 174.0 151.9 175.8 187.4 182.7 

65 years and over---------------------------------- 263.9 220.3 285.2 278.4 272.8 

Sex 

123.5 114.1 127.1 130.4 118.4 

181.1 164.2 191.5 188.6 174.6 

Marital status1 

199.7 175.5 204.4 219.1 192.5 

Not married---------------------------------------- 146.7 128.1 161.5 151.6 142.5 

'Includes only patients reported as 15 years of age and older. 

19 
Table 9. Number and percent distribution of days of care, by age, sex, color, marital status, and 

discharge status according to geographic region: United States, 1965 

[N:Noninstitutional,short-stay hospitals exclusive of Veterans Administration and military hospital4 

Characteristic Afl regions II"z,$- / Cz$$ll South / West 

II I I ! 

Number of days of care in thousands 

All days of care----------------------------- 228,398 59,453 70,242 67,803 30,900 

Age 

Under 1 year--------------------------------------- 7,445 1,984 2,412 2,075 974 

1-4 years------------------------------------------ 6,050 1,541 2,111 1,743 655 

5-14 years----------------------------------------- 10,915 2,705 3,356 3,563 1,291 

15-24 years---------------------------------------- 24,294 5,820 7,432 7,538 3,505 

25-34 years---------------------------------------- 24,726 6,012 6,958 8,211 3,545 

35-44 years---------------------------------------- 28,122 7,061 7,888 9,241 3,931 

45-54 years---------------------------------------- 32,662 8,534 9,698 9,722 4,709 

55-64 years---------------------------------------- 33,129 9,464 10,208 9,019 4,438 

65-74 years---------------------------------------- 31,049 8,563 10,101 8,329 4,056 

75 years and over---------------------------------- 28,986 7,507 9,807 7,935 3,738 

Not stated----------------------------------------- 1,019 261 272 426 59 

Sex 

95,514 25,730 28,319 27,885 13,580 

132,405 33,609 41,693 39,800 17,304 

478 114 230 118 16 

Color 

178,803 50,795 51,263 53,249 23,496 

23,130 6,528 4,601 9,230 2,770 

26,464 2,129 14,378 5,324 4,633 

Marital status1 

Married-------------------------------------------- 134,876 34,541 40,793 41,736 17,806 

Not married---------------------------------------- 62,872 17,256 19,793 17,312 8,512 

Not stated----------------------------------------- 5,220 1,165 1,505 947 1,603 

Discharge status 

Ali”e---------------------------------------------- 216,050 55,959 66,071 64,328 29,693 

Dead----------------------------------------------- 12,056 3,467 3,973 3,417 1,199 

Not stated----------------------------------------- 292 27 198 58 9 

See footnote at end of table. 

20 
Table 9. Number and -percent distribution of days of care, by age, sex, color, marital statzus,

and discharge status according to geographic region: United States, 1965-Con. 

[Noninstitutional, short-stay hospitals exclusive of \;etsrans Administration and military hospitals] -

All North- North Characteristic I :egions east Central South West 

Percent distribution 

All days of care----------------------------- i 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 

Age 

Under 1 year--------------------------------------- 3.3 3.3 3.4 3.1 3.2 

1-4 years------------------------------------------ 2.6 2.6 3.0 2.6 2.1 

5-14 years----------------------------------------- 4.8 4.5 4.8 5.3 4.2 

15-24 years---------------------------------------- 10.6 9.8 10.6 11.1 11.3 

25-34 years---------------------------------------- 10.8 10.1 9.9 12.1 11.5 

35-44 years---------------------------------------- 12.3 11.9 11.2 13.6 12.7 

45-54 years---------------------------------------- 14.3 14.4 13.8 14.3 15.2 

55-64 years---------------------------------------- 14.5 15.9 14.5 13.3 14.4 

65-74 years--------T--------------------------------- 13.6 14.4 14.4 12.3 13.1 

75 years and over---------------------------------- 12.7 12.6 14.0 11.7 12.1 

Not stated----------------------------------------- 0.4 0.4 0.4 0.6 0.2 

Sex 

41.8 43.3 40.3 41.1 43.9 

58.0 56.5 59.4 58.7 56.0 

0.2 0.2 0.3 0.2 0.1 

Color 

White---------------------------------------------- 78.3 85.4 73.0 78.5 76.0 

Nonwhite------------------------------------------- 10.1 11.0 6.6 13.6 9.0 

Not stated -----------_------_---------------------- 11.6 3.6 20.5 7.9 15.0 

Marital status' 

Married---------------------------------~---------- 66.5 65.2 65.7 69.6 63.8 

Not married---------------------------------------- 31.0 32.6 31.9 28.9 30.5 

Not stated----------------------------------------- 2.6 2.2 2.4 1.6 5.7 

Discharge status 

Alive---------------------------------------------- 94.6 9.4.1 94.1 94.9 96.1 

Dead----------------------------------------------- 5.3 5.8 5.7 5.0 3.9 

Not stated----------------------------------------- 0.1 0.0 0.3 0.1 0.0 

'Includes only patients reported as 15 years of age and older. 

21 
Table 10. Days-of-care rates, by age, sex, marital status, and geographic region: United States, 1965 

[Noninstitutional, shorbstay hospitals exclusive of Vet&s Administration and military hospital4 

All North- North Characteristic regions east Central South West 

Days-of-care rate per 1,000 persons 

All days of care----------------------------- 1,203.4 1,270.O 1,317.7 ,157.l 994.5 

&e 

under 1 year--------------------------------------- 1,931.3 2,131.2 2,265.l ,693.g ,535.6 

1-4 years------------------------------------------ 365.3 418.2 453.3 327.8 225.5 

5-14 years----------------------------------------- 277.6 298.1 299.0 287.4 194.8 

15-24 years---------------------------------------- 840.2 857.5 916.9 798.3 765.2 

25-34 years---------------------------------------- 1,155.4 1,183.6 1,210.4 ,193.g 959.6 

35-44 years---------------------------------------- 1,179.4 1,105.g 1,209.2 ,338.2 975.3 

45-54 years---------------------------------------- 1,503.4 1,474.6 1,560.4 ,542.4 ,376.g 

55-64 years---------------------------------------- 1,980.4 2,150.g 2,171:O ,778.g ,736.2 

65-74 years---------------------------------------- 2,764.1 2,785.6 3,148.6 ,558.g ,391.7 

75 years and over---------------------------------- 4,674.4 4,660.O 5,280.g ,395.g ,027.6 

1-14 years----------------------------------------- 303.6 332.8 344.2 299.5 204.2 

Under 15 years------------------------------------- 408.6 455.1 465.0 389.7 287.2 

15-44 years---------------------------------------- 1,040.2 1,035.2 1,093.3 ,076.O 892.4 

45-64 years---------------------------------------- 1,711.0 1,766.7 1,823.4 ,647.8 ,530.6 

65 years and over---------------------------------- 3,443.6 3,430.l 3,930.4 ,214.2 ,970.3 

Sex 

1,038.3 1,140.5 1,087.g 986.7 896.9 

1,353-g 1,385.8 1,528.7 ,31X.8 ,086.2 

Marital status1 

1,520.7 1,555.6 1,627.8 ,548.g ,229..1 

Not married---------------------------------------- 1,520.5 1,580.2 1,751.7 ,361.g ,326.2 

'Includes only patients reported as 15 years of age and older. 

22 
Table 11. Average length of stay, b

i!l- age, sex, color, marital status, discharge status, and geograp IC region: United States, 1965 

[Noninstitutional, short-stay hospitals exclusive of Veterans Administration and military hospital4 

Characteristic regions *fl I("~~~- 1 C~$~~l 1 South ( West

II I I I 

Average length of stay in days 

All discharges------------------------------- 7.8 9.1 8.2 7.2 6.8 

Age 

Under 1 year--------------------------------------- 8.5 8.5 9.3 8.2 7.5 

1-4 years------------------------------------------ 4.6 5.0 4.9 4.6 3.5 

5-14 years----------------------------------------- 4.5 4.6 4.6 4.8 3.7 

15-24 years;--------------------------------------- 4.9 5.7 5.0 4.5 4.5 

25-34 years---------------------------------------- 5.7 6.1 5.8 5.7 5.1 

35-44 years---------------------------------------- 7.4 a.7 7.5 7.0 6.3 

45-54 years---------------------------------------- 9.2 10.5 9.8 8.5 7.8 

55-64 years---------------------------------------- 10.5 12.8 11.0 9.1 9.0 

65-74 years---------------------------------------- 12.2 14.4 12.8 10.8 10.7 

75 years and over---------------------------------- 14.0 17.2 14.9 12.5 11.1 

Not stated----------------------------------------- 7.2 8.8 7.8 6.3 6.0 

Sex 

8.4 10.0 8.6 7.6 7.6 

7.5 8.4 8.0 7.0 6.2 

9.5 10.8 10.4 7.6 8.0 

Color 

7.8 8.8 8.2 7.1 6.8 

8.9 12.6 8.3 7.9 7.7 

7.5 7.8 8.3 7.2 6.1 

Marital status' 

Married-------------------------------------------- 7.6 8.9 8.0 7.1 6.4 

Not married---------------------------------------- 10.4 12.3 10.8 9.0 9.3 

Not stated----------------------------------------- 8.7 10.3 10.3 6.6 8.1 

Discharge status 

Alive---------------------------------------------- 7.6 8.8 8.0 7.0 6.7 

Dead----------------------------------------------- 14.7 15.8 15.7 14.7 10.6 

Not stated----------------------------------------- 8.2 6.5 10.4 5.8 4.0 

'Includes only patients reported as 15 years of age and older. 

23 
Table 12. Daily hospital bed usage rates, marital status, and geographic region: Unite~ySZ~s,s"l%5 

[Noninstitutional, short-stay hospitals exclusive of Veterans Administration and military hospitals] 

All North- North Characteristic regions east Central South West 

Daily usage rate per 100,000 person& 

All discharges-- _-___--__--_-___--_---------- 329.7 348.0 361.1 317.0 272.5 

Age 

Under 1 year--------------------------------------- 529.1 583.9 620.6 464.1 420.7 

1-4 years------------------------------------------ 100.1 114.6 124.2 89.8 61.8 

5-14 years----------------------------------------- 76.1 81.7 81.9 78.7 53.4 

15-24 years---------------------------------------- 230.2 234.9 251.2 218.7 209.6 

25-34 years---------------------------------------- 316.6 324.3 331.6 327.1 262.9 

35-44 years-- _-______--_--_-----________________c__ 323.1 303.0 331.3 366.6 267.2 

45-54 years---------------------------------------- 411.9 404.0 427.5 422.6 377.2 

55-64 years---------------------------------------- 542.6 589.3 594.8 487.4 475.7 

65-74 years---------------------------------------- 757.3 763.2 862.6 701.1 655.3 

75 years and over----------c----------------------- 1,280.7 1,276.7 1,446.8 1,204.4 1,103.5 

1-14 years----------------------------------------- 83.2 91.2 94.3 82.1 55.9 

Under 15 years---- ___-__-_-_--_-------------------- 111.9 124.7 127.4 106.8 78.7 

15-44 years---------------------------------------- 285.0 283.6 299.5 294.8 244.5 

45-64 years- ________-___--_------------------------ 468.8 484.0 499.6 451.5 419.3 

65 years an,-j over---------------------------------- 943.4 939.8 1,076.a 880.6 813.8 

Sex 

Male----------------------------------------------- 284.5 312.5 298.1 270.3 245.7 

Female- _______-__---_---r--__________________c_---- 370.9 379.7 418.8 359.4 297.6 

Marital status' 

Married-------------------------------------------- 416.6 462.2 446.0 424.4 336.7 

Not married---------------------------------------- 416.6 432.9 479.9 373.1 363.3 

'Aggregate number of days of care X 100,000. 

Number of days in year X population at risk 

'Includes only patients reported as 15 years of age and older. 

24 
Table 13. Number, percent distribution, and cumulative percent of discharges, by length of stay according to geographic region: United States, 1965 

[Noninstitutional, short-stay hospitals exclusive of Veterans 4dministration and military hospital4 

Length of stay 

All discharges-------------------------------

Less than 1 day------------------------------------

1 day----------------------------------------------

2 days---------------------------------------------

3 days---------------------------------------------

4 days--------------------------------------------~ 

5-7 days-------------------------------------------

8-14 days------------------------------------------

15-21 days-----------------------------------------

22-28 days-----------------------------------------

29 days and over-----------------------------------

All discharges-------------------------------

Less than 1 day------------------------------------

1 day----------------------------------------------

2 days---------------------------------------------

3 days---------------------------------------------

4 days---------------------------------------------

5-7 days-------------------------------------------

8-14 days------------------------------------------

15-21 days-----------------------------------------

22-28 days-----------------------------------------

29 days and over-----------------------------------

Less than 1 day------------------------------------

1 day----------------------------------------------

2 days---------------------------------------------

3 days---------------------------------------------

4 days---------------------------------------------

5-7 days-------------------------------------------

8-14 days------------------------------------------

15-21 days-----------------------------------------

22-28 days-----------------------------------------

29 days and over-----------------------------------

All North- North 

regions east Central South West 

Number of discharges in thousands 

29,120 6,569 8,553 9,422 4,577 

620 156 154 169 

2,423 470 651 833 

3,883 706 1,087 1,360 

3,727 637 1,028 1,335 

3,307 755 947 1,078 

6,254 1,469 1,909 2,013 

5,483 1,395 1,682 1,716 

1,715 470 525 488 

730 223 226 191 

979 287 344 239 

Percent distribution 

141 

468 

731 

726 

526 

863 

690 

232 

91 

109 

100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 

2.1 2.4 1.8 1.8 3.1 

8.3 7.2 7.6 8.8 10.2 

13.3 10.7 12.7 14.4 16.0 

12.8 9.7 12.0 14.2 15.9 

11.4 11.5 11.1 11.4 11.5 

21.5 22.4 22.3 21.4 18.9 

18.8 21.2 19.7 18.2 15.1 

5.9 7.2 6.1 5.2 5.1 

2.5 3.4 2.6 2.0 2.0 

3.4 4.4 4.0 2.5 2.4 

Cumulative percent 

2.1 2.4 1.8 1.8 3.1 

10.5 9.5 9.4 10.6 13.3 

23.8 20.3 22.1 25.1 29.3 

36.6 30.0 34.1 39.2 45.1 

47.9 41.5 45.2 50.7 56.6 

69.4 63.9 67.5 72.0 75.5 

88.2 85.1 87.2 90.2 90.6 

94.1 92.2 93.3 95.4 95.6 

96.6 95.6 96.0 97.5 97.6 

100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 

25 
APPENDIX I 

TECHNICAL NOTES ON METHODS 

Scope of the Survey 

The scope of the Hospital Discharge Survey encompasses patients discharged from noninstitutional 

hospitals which have six beds or more for inpatient 

use, which are located within the 50 States and the 

District of Columbia, and in which the average length 

of stay for all patients is less than 30 days. 

Newborn infants are in-scope only if one or more 

of the following conditions has been specified in the 

medical record: 

1. Immaturity or prematurity 

2. Any disease, condition, syndrome, disorder, 

injury, malformation, or birth defect 

3. Any operation or surgical procedure other than 

routine circumcision 

4. Birth occurred under nonsterile conditions 

All other infants are considered well-newborn infants 

and are out-of-scope of the survey. 

Sampling Frame and Size of Sample 

The sampling frame for hospitals in the Hospital 

Discharge Survey is the Master Facility Inventory of 

Hospitals and Institutions (MFI). A detailed description 

of how the MFI was developed, its content, plans for 

maintaining it, and procedures for assessing the completeness of its coverage has been published (see footnote 3, page 8). 

The universe for the Hospital Discharge Survey 

consisted of about 7,000 hospitals, excluding military 

and Veterans Administration hospitals, contained in the 

MFI in 1963. The distributions of short-stay hospitals 

by size and region in the universe (MFI) and in the 

sample of the Hospital Discharge Survey are shown in 

table I. Some of the sample hospitals participated in 

the survey during all of 1965, whereas other hospitals 

participated for only 6 months because they were not 

inducted into the survey until the latter half of 1965. 

Hospitals that participated for 12 months and for 6 

months are distributed separately in table I. 

The sample of hospitals for 1965 as originally 

drawn consisted of 315 hospitals. Of these hospitals, 

eight refused to participate, five did not submit any 

abstracts during the year, and six were out-of-scope 

either because the hospital had gone out of business or 

because it failed to meet the definition of a short-stay 

hospital. (See appendix II for the definition of a shortstay hospital used by the Hospital Discharge Survey.) 

Thus, there were 296 in-scope participating hospitals 

in the survey during 1965. 

Sample Design 

The survey uses a two-stage sample design. In the 

first stage, a stratified sample of hospitals was selected from the universe, the MFI. These hospitals 

were drawn with probabilities ranging from certainty 

for the largest hospitals to one in 40 for the smallest 

hospitals. All hospitals of 1,000 beds or more in the 

universe (excluding VA and military hospitals) were 

selected with certainty in the sample. All hospitals of 

fewer than 1,000 beds were stratified, with theprimary 

strata being the 24 size-by-region classes, as shown 

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

allocation of the hospitals was made through a controlled selection technique so that hospitals in the sample could be stratified further with regard toownership 

and geographic division. 

In the second stage of the design, a systematic 

sample of discharges is selected within each sample 

hospital. This systematic sample is selected by using a 

within-hospital sampling ratio that varies inversely 

with the probability of selection of the hospital. In 

effect, the smallest fraction of discharged patients is 

taken in the largest hospitals, and the largest fraction 

is taken in the smallest hospitals. This is done to 

compensate for the fact that hospitals are selectedwith 

probabilities proportionate to size-class and to assure 

that the overall probability of selecting a discharge is 

approximately the same in all hospitals. 

In nearly all survey hospitals, the daily listing 

sheet of discharges is the frame from which the subsamples of discharges are selected. Sample discharges 

are 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 does not show medical record numbers, 

26 
Table I. Short-stay hospitals in the universe (MFI) and in the Hospital Discharge Survey sample, by size of 

hospital, geographic region, and number of months of participation in survey: United States, 1965 

(Xoninstitutionnl short-stay hospitals excluding Veterans Administration and military hospitals] 

-

Size of hospital and number of months 

of participation in survey I 

All sizes Number 

t 6,965 1.107 

Total sample--------------------------------------------------- 315 85 6 months participation--------------------------------------------- 150 12 months participation-------------------------------------------- 165 287 

6-49 beds 

3,113 199 

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

39 

2 

5 

: 

50-99 beds 

Universe----------------------------------------------------- 1,623 288 

Total sample------_-------------------------------------------- 44 6 months participation--------------------------------------------- 22 12 months participation-------------------------------------------- 22 

loo-199 beds 

Universe----------------------------------------------------- 1,144 277 

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

63 

:: 

16 

88 

200-299 beds 

Universe----------------------------------------------------- 552 182 

Total ~a~ple--------------------------------------------------- 6 months participation--------------------------------------------- 12 months participation-------------------------------------------- 22 

27 

ii 

9 

300-499 beds 

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

Total sample--------------------------------------------------- 6 months participation--------------------------------------------- 12 months participation-------------------------------------------- 5: 

29 

16 

8 

8 

500-999 beds 

129 42 

Total sample--------------------------------------------------- 37 6 months participation--------------------------------------------- 18 12 months participation---------------------------------------~---- 19 

1,000 beds or more 

Universe----------------------------------------------------- 18 

Tot-1 ~a~ple--------------------------------------------------- 18 6 months participation--------------------------------------------- 12 months participation-------------------------------------------- 18 

1,979 2,620 1.259 - -

91 46 

:63 

47 if 52 

830 1,438 646 

11 15 

8 : 7 

442 587 306 

12 16 

: : 

378 332 157 

20 

ii : ii 9 4 

151 134 85 

16 

: 

iii 4 

129 96 51 

16 

8 : 8 4 

46 28 13 

2 

6 

3 

3 

; 

27 
sample discharges are selected by starting with a 

randomly selected discharge and taking every k th discharge thereafter. 

Data Collection 

Depending on the study procedure agreed on with 

the hospital administrator, the sample selection and the 

recording of information from the hospital records to 

the abstract form are performed either by the hospital 

staff or by Bureau of the Census personnel as representatives for the National Center for Health Statistics. 

In more than three-quarters of the hospitals in 1965, 

this work was performed by a member of the hospital 

staff in the medical records department. 

During 1965, all survey hospitals except one used 

the optical mark page reader form to abstract data 

from the records. A copy of the front side of this form 

covering the’ nonmedical data presented in this report 

is shown in figure I. The reverse side of the form is 

used to record discharge diagnoses and surgical operations and procedures. The use of this form makes it 

possible for the coded information to be converted 

directly to computer tape by an optical mark page 

reader machine. 

Data Processing 

For 1965, shipments of completed abstract forms 

for each sample hospital were transmitted to the Center 

for processing. Every shipment of abstracts was reviewed; each abstract form was edited; and, as necessary, problems were referred to the hospitals for 

clarification and correction. 

Estimation 

Statistics produced by the Hospital Discharge Survey are derived by a complex estimating procedure. 

The basic unit of estimation is the sample patient abstract. The estimating procedure used to produce 

essentially unbiased national estimates in the HDS has 

three principal components: (1) inflation by reciprocals 

of the probabilities of sample selection, (2) adjustment 

for nonresponse, and (3) ratio adjustments to fixed 

totals. These components of estimation are described 

in the appendixes of two earlier publications.4>5 

4National Centerfor Health Statistics: Utilization ofshort-stay hospitals, summary ofnonmedical statistics, United States, 1965. Vital anrl 

Health Statistics. PHS Pub. No. 1000.Series 13.No. 2. Public Health 

Service. Washington. U.S. Government Printing Office, Aug. 1967. 

‘National Center for Health Statistics: Utilization ofshort-stay hospitals by characteristics of discharged patients, United States, 1965. 

Vital and Health Statistics. PHS Pub. No. 1000.Series 13.No. 3. Public 

Health Service. \Yashington. U.S. Government PrintingOffice, Dec. 1967. 

General Qualifications 

Abstracts rejected in compute inspection YWZ.-

For 1965, 100,387 abstracts were received from the 

296 hospitals that participated in the survey. In a 

computer inspection run, approximately 6 percent of 

these abstracts were rejected for one or more of the 

following reasons: (1) poor marking on the abstract 

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

The majority of rejects were correctedby 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.” 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.” 

In instances where these data could not be obtained 

from the abstract form, the monthly sample listing 

sheet transmitted by the sample hospital was used as 

an additional source of information. If the dates could 

not be established from the sample listing sheet, the 

abstract form was sent back to the hospital. 

Factors affecting interpretation of Yates.-The 

detailed tables presenting frequencies and percents 

show the extent to which certain personal characteristics of the discharged patient were not reported. However, in computing rates of discharge and days of care 

per 1,000 population, the “not stated” cases were included in the rates for “total” but excluded from the 

rates for subclasses. This procedure should not alter 

the rates appreciably, since utilization rates were 

calculated only for those personal characteristics of 

the discharged patient for which the number of “not 

stated” cases represented less than 3 percent of the 

discharges in the United States. Rates of discharges 

and days of care per 1,000 persons were not computed 

by color since color was not stated for about 12 percent of the discharges. 

Pop& tion figures .-The base populations used in 

computing the national rates are unpublished estimates, 

provided by the Bureau of the Census, for the U.S. 

civilian, noninstitutional population as of July 1, 1965. 

These estimates are consistent with estimates of the 

civilian resident population published by the Bureau of 

the Census in Current Population Reports, Series P-25, 

but they are not to be considered official population 

estimates. The base population estimates for each 

geographic region were provided by the Health Interview Survey of the National Center for Health Statistics 

for the sole purpose of providing denominators for the 

computation of regional discharge rates. These regional 

estimates were adjusted to conform to national census 

totals by age, sex, marital status, and region, as of 

July 1, 1965, and as such should not be considered 

official population estimates. 

Rounding of numbers .-Estimates of discharges 

and days of care have been rounded to the nearest 

28 
-_.-- 

__-__ ____- 

--- ----- 

---- 

-____ 

__-._ 

----- --_- 

_-_- --_- -___ 

_--__ 

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

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

purpose (22 FR 1687). 

DEPARTMENT OF 

HEALTH, EDUCATION. AND WELFARE PHS.4734.2 PUBLIC HEALTH SERVICE - REV. 11.66 NATIONAL CENTER FOR HEALTH STATISTICS Il. HOSPITAL NUMBER 03 

ABSTRACT OF PATIENT RECORD-Hospital Discharge Survey 

__-.. ---.. _--__- _.__ -________.

_---- _____ ---__

----. 

____. --._-__.__ -__-- -.___ _.--_.__. _ ---__ _____ 

2. HDS NiJMBER -0. -.!.. ..?-. 2.. -2. ____. __.__ _____ ._... _____ 

____. _____ _____ ----_ --__- __--- _--__ - ____. __-__ _____ ____- _-.__ :::x _____ _____ _-__ ___._ -

.-___ _--__ -____ __._. _____ :z:: =:z -111 q _--- _____ - _---_ ---__ -___- ___- _ ---__ -

___._ _-___ _____ _____ _____ __--- --_- --__- __--_ - ___._ _____ _____ ___-_ _____ __--- ---__ - __-- __--- ----_ 

0 ! 2 1 4 0 6 7 8 9= ----_ --.__ _____ ___-_ .--__ _____ _____ _-_ -__- _____ _-- -_ - - ___ ___-- ___-. ---__ __._- --___ -_-_ _____ _____ 

3. MEDICAL RECORD NUMBER ----_ -.__. __--- _---_ --___ ___-_ _--__ __-_ ___-_ _____- _____ ____. _____ _____ _____ _.-- _ ---_. __-- __--- __-__ -

_____ .____ _____ ____. __.__ ____. _--__ _____ _____ __-__ ____ _ _____ _____ _--__ _____ _-__ -____ -___ _____-

_____ ____- ___-_ _____ _---- --__- -__- -~~ --___ _-_._ _____ _____ _____ -_-_ ____- __-__ -____ ---_- JAN FEB _ 4.a. DATE OF BIRTH _--- ---_ 

MoN’H MAR APR. MIY AwE JULY Am SEPT oci NO” cm = __-__ --_ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ __--_ --___ _---- ___-_ --_- ___-- _--__ ____ -___ -___ 

0 I 2 3 

Complete 4b and 4c if 

date of birth is not given. 

4.b. AGE 

4.~. AGE IS STATED IN 

5. SEX 

7. MARITAL STATUS I:::: SlNGLL :I‘.= %P~RAIED 

MAR ME IRY JO\E ,a” P.“Z SfPI cc7 NO” OEC _ ____- ___-- _-__- ____- ____ _ -____ _-_- _____ ___-_ _.___ _____ -____ ____. __.__ .____ ---_- - _--- __--- --_ -._--

2 3 .o- -1.. __--_ 8. DATE OF ADMISSION --_-_ _-_- __--- _-___ 1!15 

OP.1 

9. DATE OF DISCHARGE 

10. DISCHARGE STATUS I:=:: AWE z:::‘. OE&D nw wsm \

I 

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

29 
thousand. For this reason detailed figures within tables atic biases in the data. The chances are 68 out of 100 

do not always add to totals. Percents and rates were that the value obtained in a complete enumeration is 

calculated on the basis of original, unrounded figures contained in a confidence interval represented by plus 

and therefore will not necessarily agree with rates and minus one standard error of the estimate, 95 out 

and percents which might be calculated from rounded of 100 for two standard errors, and 99 out of 100 for 

data. 2% standard errors. 

The standard error of one statistic is generally 

Reliability of Estimates different from that of another even when the two come 

from the same survey. In order to derive standard 

Since the estimates given in this report are based errors that would be applicable to a wide variety of 

on a subsample of discharges within a samplevf short- statistics and could be prepared at a moderate cost, a 

stay hospitals, they may differ somewhat from the number of approximations were required. As a result, 

results which would have been obtained had all dis- the tables shown in this section of appendix I provide 

charges from all short-stay hospitals been used. As in general standard errors for a wide variety of estimates 

any survey the results are also subject to reporting rather than the specific error for any statistic. 

and processing errors and errors due to nonresponse. Rules for determining the standard errors of 

The standard error is primarily a measure of the estimates, percentages, averages, and differences bevariability that occurs by chance because a sample tween sample estimates presented in this report are 

rather than the entire universe is surveyed. In this as follows: 

report, the standard error also reflects part of the Geneva1 Rule: The standard errors shown in tables 

measurement error but does not measure any system- II-VI are applicable to national and regional estimates 

Table II. Approximate standard errors of es- Table III. Approximate standard errors of estimated numbers of discharges shown in this timated numbers of days of care shown in this 

report for patient characteristics (excluding report for patient characteristics (excluding

color) and for 

-

size of hospital color) and for size of hospital 

Patient Patient T

characteristics Size of characteristics Size of 

Number of Number of days hospital discharges of care for 

United Regions regions -r--i States

-.--A.-L 

Standard error in thousands1 Standard 

I

error in thousands1 

100,000------ 1,000 ,ooo----- 141 138 140 

.200,000------ 1; 10 2 2,000,000----- 200 200 213 

300,000------ 3,000,000----- 246 251 278 

500 ,ooo------ E ;2 53; 5,000,000----- 321 340 401 

1,000,000------ 33 10,000 ,OOO----- 532 892 

2,000,000------ 53 

i;

82 1:68 20,000,000----- ‘Q96P 880 1,260 

3,000,000------ 73 117 157 30,000,000----- 884 1,214 1,824

5,000,000------ 110 187 231 50,000,000----- 1,234 1,870 2,950

10,000,000------ 202 361 411 100,000,000----- 2,032 3,490 5,758

20,000,000------ 384 709 764 200,000,000----- 3,550 6,718 11,374

30,000,000------ 565 I1,057 - 1,117 300,000,000------

L 

5,046 9,942 16,989 

‘Rounded to nearest thousand. ‘Rounded to nearest thousand. 

Illustration of the use of table II: Table 7 Illustration of the use oftable III: Table 9 

shows that there were 993,000 patients aged 45- shows that Y 464 000 days of care were provided 54 years who were discharged from hospitals in to patients ;5-64 years of age in the Northeast 

the North Central Region. For an estimate of Region. For an estimate of 9,464,000, table III 

993,000, table II shows that the approximate shows that the approximate standard error is 

standard error is 47,000, which means that the 513.000. which means that the chances are about 

chances are about two out of three that the re- two’out’of three that the results of a complete sults of a complete count would not differ by count would not differ by more than 513,000 from 

more than 47,000 from this estimated 993,000. this estimated 9,464,OOO. It also follows that 

It also follows that there is only about one there is only about one chance in 20 that the 

chance in 20 that the results of a complete results of a complete count would differ by as 

count would differ by as much as 94,000, that much as 1,026,000, that is, by about twice the 

is, by about twice the number estimated from number estimated from table III. 

table II. 

30 
Standard error expressed in 

of discharges, days of care, and average length of stay Rule 7: Estimated percentages of discharges: 

classified by patient characteristics (age, sex, marital Standard errors of estimated percentages 

status, and discharge status) and by size of hospital. of discharges are obtained from table IV. 

The standard errors of regional estimates involving Standard errors of regional estimates of 

either the “color” of discharged patients or the “type percentages of discharges classified by 

of ownership” of hospitals are not shown in the tables, “size” of hospitals are about twice as large 

but rather are expressed as multiples of the standard as the errors shown in table IV. For reerrors shown for national estimates of comparable gional estimates of percentages of disfrequency. charges classified by “color” of discharged 

patients and by “type of ownership” of Rule I: Estimated numbers of dischwges: Stand- hospitals, the approximate standard errors ard errors of discharge estimates are 

are four and nine times larger, respec­ obtained from table II. The standard errors 

of regional estimates of discharges clas- tively, than the errors shown in the table. 

sified by “color” of discharged patients Rule 4: Estimated percentages of days of cave: 

and by “type of ownership” of hospitals Standard errors of estimated percentages 

are about three and eight times larger, of days of care are obtained from table V. 

respectively, than the errors shown for For regional estimates of percentages of 

national estimates of comparable fre- days of care classified by “color” of disquency . charged patients and by “type of ownerRule 2: Estimated numbers of days of cave: Stand- ship” of hospitals, the approximate standard errors are three and five times larger, ard errors of days-of-care estimates are respectively, than the errors shown in the obtained from table III. The standard 

errors of regional estimates of days of table. 

care classified by “color” of discharged Rule 5: Estimated average Zen@% of stay: Standpatients and by “type of ownership” of ard errors of estimated average lengths 

hospitals are two and five times larger, of stay are obtained from table VI. The 

respectively, than the errors shown for errors for regional estimates by “size” 

national estimates of comparable fre- of hospitals are less than twice as large 

quency. 

Table V. standard Table IV. Approximate this 

standard errors of per- centages A~ps;“;ix$w;; this report 

errors of perfor days of centages shown in report for discharges: care: patient characteristics (excluding color) patient characteristics (excluding 

each

color) classified by the United States and each geo­ classified by the United States and geo- graphic region, and for size of hospital clas­ graphic region sified by geographic region 

Estimated percent Estimated percent 

Number of discharges (base of Number of days 

percent) iqqqqqT of care (base of 

percent) 

I I I I I 

Standard error expressed in Standard error expressed in 

percentage points percentage points 

300 ,ooo------ 1,000,000----- 4.0 500 ,ooo------ 3,000,000----- 2.3 1,000,000------ 7,000,000----- 3,000,000------ 15,000,000----- k-05 6,000,000------ 30,000,000----- 0:7 10,000 ,.ooo------ 50,000,000----- 20,000 ,ooo------ 100,000,000----- 2::

30,000 ,ooo------ 200,000,000-----

230,000,000----- 2: 

Illustration of the use of table IV: Table 7 

shows that 15.6 percent of the 6,569,OOO patients Illustration of the use of table V: Table 9 

discharged from hospitals in the Northeast were shows that 43.9 oercent of the 30.900.000 davs 

in the age group 15-24 years. Linear interpola- of care in hospitals in the West were ’pr Ovid&d 

tion between the values shown in table IV will to male patients. Linear interpolation between 

yield an approximate standard error of 0.4 per- the values shown in table 

of 

V will yield an 

for apcent for a statistic of 15 percent with a base proximate standard error 1.2 percent a

of 6,569,OOO. statistic of 43 percent with a base of 30,900,OOO. 

31 
200,000------ 0.5 0.6 0.6 0.7 0.8 

Table VI. Approximate standard errors of average as the errors shown in table VI. For relengths o‘f‘stay shown in this report: patiegt gional estimates of average lengths of characteristics (excluding color) classified 

by the United States and each geographic stay classified by “color” of discharged 

region, and for size of hospital classified patients and by “type of ownership” of 

by geographic region hospitals, the approximate standard errors 

are two and four times larger, respecAverage length of stay tively, than the errors shown in the table. 

Number of dis- in days charges (base of Rule 6: Difference between two sample estimates: average) 

4 6 8 10 12 14 The standard errors shown in this appendix 

are not directly applicable to differences 

Standard error expressed between sample estimates. The standard 

in days error of a difference is approximately the 

square root of the sum of the squares of 

500,000------ 0.4 0.4 0.5 0.5 0.6 00-Y each standard error considered sepa1,000,000------ 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.4 0.4 0:5 rately. Although it is in fact only an 

2,000,000------ 0.2 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.4 0.4 approximation, this formula will represent 4,000,000------ 0.2 0.2 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.4 the actual standard error quite accurately 8,000,000------ 0.1 0.2 0.2 0.3 0.3 0.3 

16,000,000------ 0.1 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.3 0.3 for the difference between separate and uncorrelated characteristics. In this report 

Illustration of the use of table VI:Table li the difference between two sample estishows that the average length of stay was 7.1 mates is considered significant if it exdays for the estimated 5,903,OOO discharged ceeds twice the standard error of the patients in the South who were married (table 7). difference. From table VI it is seen that the approximate standard error is 0.2 days for an estimated 

average of 7.1 days with a base of 5,903,OOO. 

000 

32 
hospital 

1. 

2. 

3. 

4. 

5. 

APPENDIX II 

DEFINITIONS OF CERTAIN TERMS USED IN THIS REPORT 

Terms Relating to Hospitalization 3. No operation (other than a routine circumcision) 

was performed. 

Hospital.-In this survey an establishment is a 4. ‘The birth occurred under sterile conditions. if it meets all of the following conditions: 

It maintains at least six beds for use by inpatients. 

It is licensed as a hospital by theState in which 

it is located if the State has a hospital licensure law. 

It provides inpatient medical care under the 

supervision of a duly licensed doctor of medicine or doctor of osteopathy. 

It provides nursing service 24 hours a day 

under the supervision of a registered nurse. 

It maintains medical records for each patient 

admitted and for newborn infants. 

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

in which the average stay is under 30 days. 

Bed.-A bed is one set up and staffed for continuous (24-hour) use by inpatients. Beds in emergency 

rooms, labor rooms, postanesthesia or postoperative 

recovery rooms, or other such facilities, which are 

regularly maintained and utilized for only a portion of 

the patient’s stay and are primarily for special procedures and not for lodging, are not termed (inpatient) 

beds. Cribs and bassinets maintained for use by other 

than newborn infants are considered beds. 

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

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

and “inpatient” are used synonymously. 

Well-newborn infants. -Well-newborn infants are 

those who satisfy all of the following criteria: 

1. The birth was at term or was not otherwise 

specified and there was no mention of immaturity or prematurity. 

2. No diagnosis of any disease, condition, disorder, syndrome, injury, malformation, or 

defect was made by the physician attending the 

birth. 

Discharge.-Discharge refers to the formal release 

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

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

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

Discharge rate.-The aischarge rate is the ratio 

of the number of discharges to the size of the midyear 

population. 

Day of care. -This is the unit of measure denoting lodging facilities provided and services rendered 

to one inpatient between 2 successive days. 

Days-of-care rate. -The days-of-care rate is the 

ratio of the aggregate number of days of care to the 

size of the midyear population. 

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

of days a patient is hospitalized exclusive of the day of 

discharge. When a patient is admitted and discharged 

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

Average Een.@z of stay.-The average length of 

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

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

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

number of days provided to the number of days of care 

that would have been provided if every bed had been 

occupied each day of the year. In this report the ratio 

is expressed as a percent. 

Daily rate of bed usage. -The rate of hospital bed 

usage is the aggregate number of days of care occurring in a specified period divided by the product of the 

number of days in the period and the size of the midyear population. It is a measure of hospital utilization 

similar to the days-of-care rate except that it represents daily usage per lOO,OOO persons rather than 

annual usage per 1,000 persons. 

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

33 
------- 

--- 

classification is based on responses provided by sam- grouped into four regions. They correspond to those 

ple hospitals. used by the Bureau of the Census and are as follows: 

Demographic Terms Region States included 

Age.-Age refers to the age at last birthday at Northeast Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, 

time of admission to the hospital. Whenever possible, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, 

information is obtained on the date of birth. Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, 

CoEor.--In this report, the population is divided and Pennsylvania 

into white and nonwhite persons. Mexicans and Puerto North Central Minnesota, Iowa, Missouri, North 

Ricans are considered white unless specifically iden- Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, 

tified as a member of a nonwhite race. The nonwhite Kansas 1 Michigan, Ohio, Illinois, 

group includes the Negro, American Indian, Asian Indiana, and Wisconsin 

Indian, Chinese, Japanese, Aleutian, Eskimo, Hawaiian, South ___________ Delaware, Maryland, District of 

Filipino, I<orean, and Malayan races. Columbia, Virginia, West Virginia, 

MaWal status .-Marital status applies only to North Carolina, South Carolina, 

persons 15 years of age and over. “Married” includes Georgia, Florida, Kentucky, 

persons who are married or separated. “Not married” Tennessee, Alabama, Mississippi, 

includes persons who are single, widowed, or divorced. Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, 

United States.-The 50 States and the District of and Texas 

Columbia. West ___________ Montana, Idaho, Wyoming, Colorado, 

Geographic rep.on. -For the purpose of classify- New Mexico, Arizona, Utah, Nevada, 

ing hospitals by geographic area, the States are Washington, Oregon, California, 

Hawaii, and Alaska 

-00 

34 
OUTLINE OF REPORT SERIES FOR VITAL AND HEALTH STATISTICS 

Public Health Service Publicafion No. 1000 

Series 1. Progmins and collectio~l pYocedUYes.- Reports which describe the general programs of the National 

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

and other material necessary for understanding the data. 

sei+zs 2. Data eaaluation md nletkods I.esearck - Studies of nevz statistical methodology including: experimental tests of new survey methods, studies of vital statistics collection methods, new analytical 

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

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

statistics, carrying the analysis further than the espository types of reports in the other series. 

Series 4. Docurxents a?ld comzittee reports.- Final reports of major committees concerned with vital and 

health statistics. and documents such as recommended model vital registration lav:j and revised birth 

and deatb certificates. 

Sedes 10. Datu 141 -Statistics on illness, accidental injuries, disability, use of fmn the Healfli htci’ries SW-LEd. 

hospital, medical, dental. andother services, andother health-related topics, based on data collected 

in a continuing national household interviw survey. 

Se&s 11. Dutu fi’wz fh? tisalth 6xamination Sui-my.- Data from direct examination. testing, and measurement of national samples of the 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 v:ith respect to physical, physiological, and psychological characteristics; and (2) 

-tnllysis of relationships among the v;lrious me~suremrnt, c v;ithout reference to an explicit finite 

universe of pxsons. 

Series 12. Datu fum the Imfibrtioilal Populatio~z Swreys.- Statistics relating to the health characteristics of 

persons in institutions. and an medical, nursing. and personal care receirved, based on national 

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

Scl-ies 13. Dicta f‘l-onz tile Hospitul Discharge SWcq.- Stati;tica relating to discharged patients in short-stay 

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

sf3-les 14. Dclto on health ww~wc~s: munpowev an.& facilities.- Statistics on the numbers, geographic distriIwtiLw, and characteristics of health resources including physicians, dentists, nurses, other health 

manpower occupations, hospitals, nursine homes, and outpatient and other inpatient facilities. 

Series 21,. Datu OH uzohlity.- I’arious statistics on mortality other than as included in annual or monthly 

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

and time series analyses. 

Series 21. Data OH wfality, mauiage, aud dizovce .-Various statistics onnatallty, marriage, and divorce other 

than as included in annual or monthly reports -special analyses by demographic variables, also 

geographic and time series analyses, studies of fertility. 

SeYies 22. Data fuonz the Arational Natatity and Uoi-fality Szwueys. -Statistics on characteristics of births and 

deaths not available from the vital records, basedon sample survey-51stemming from these records, 

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

life, characteristics of pregnancy. rtc. 

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

National Center for Health Statistics 

U.S. Public Health Service 

Washington, D.C. 20201