Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project (HCUP)

The Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project (HCUP) includes the largest collection of longitudinal hospital care data in the United States.

• Overview of HCUP
• Online HCUP Overview Course is an interactive course that provides information about HCUP data, software tools, and products
• Frequently Asked Questions

Learn about HCUP products including State and nationwide databases, software and online tools, and reports.

• HCUP Databases contain information on inpatient stays, emergency department visits, and ambulatory care
• HCUPnet is an online query system that provides immediate access to health statistics
• HCUP Fast Stats is an online query tool that uses visual displays to compare national or State statistics on a range of healthcare topics.
• HCUP Research Tools provide complimentary tools and software to use with HCUP and similar databases
• HCUP Reports feature findings, publications, and technical reports on HCUP issues

Utilize HCUP services to purchase HCUP data, get answers to your HCUP-related questions, and learn how to use the HCUP databases.

• Purchase HCUP data through the HCUP Central Distributor
• HCUP Technical Assistance answers questions and provides support to HCUP users
• HCUP Online Tutorial Series provides free tutorials on HCUP data and tools, including training on technical methods for conducting research with HCUP data
• HCUP Data Use Agreement Training Tool is a required tutorial for all purchasers and users of HCUP data that defines how the data can be used

Join the HCUP Mailing List to receive information on new HCUP data, tools, and products.

What's New

HCUP Topical Report: An Assessment of Sepsis in the United States and its Burden on Hospital Care (PDF file, 5.4 MB) (09/12/2024)

• In response to Congress's directive in the Fiscal Year 2023 Omnibus Spending Bill, this report offers a comprehensive assessment of hospital care for sepsis in the United States. The report investigates State-level and hospital-level variation in sepsis-related hospital care and outcomes. Also included are a summary of existing guidelines, quality improvement resources, and initiatives for early identification and management of sepsis. Inpatient stays related to sepsis at non-Federal acute-care hospitals in the United States increased from 1.8 million in 2016 to 2.5 million in 2021, an increase of nearly 40 percent over five years. In 2021, one in six patients with sepsis died in the hospital; among sepsis hospital encounters involving septic shock, one in three encounters resulted in death. See the HCUP Topical Reports page for additional findings.

HCUP Statistical Brief #310: State Variation in Inpatient Stays Involving Sepsis, 2021 (PDF file, 1.7 MB) (09/12/2024)

• Statistics on inpatient stays involving sepsis are presented across states in 2021. Utilization, hospital costs, and in-hospital mortality are reported overall and for the adult, maternal, pediatric, and neonatal populations. The Stat Brief reports that in 2021, the percentage of inpatient stays related to sepsis ranged from 4.2 percent in Rhode Island to 9.1 percent in Arizona. Among nonmaternal adults, the highest percentages of sepsis-related inpatient stays involving COVID-19 were found in Southern and Western states relative to Northern and Midwestern states in 2021. See HCUP Stat Brief #310 for additional findings.

HCUP Statistical Brief #309: Racial and Ethnic Differences in Inpatient Stays Involving Sepsis, 2016-2021 (PDF file, 876 KB) (08/13/2024)

• National trends on inpatient stays involving sepsis are presented overall and by patient race and ethnicity from 2016–2021. Average length of stay, total hospital cost, and in-hospital mortality are reported by race and ethnicity in 2019 and 2021. The Stat Brief reports that from 2016 to 2021, Black and White non-Hispanic individuals had the highest population rates of sepsis-related inpatient stays compared with Hispanic and Asian and Pacific Islander non-Hispanic individuals. See HCUP Stat Brief #309 for additional findings.

HCUP Statistical Brief #308: Rural and Urban Hospital Differences in Inpatient Stays Involving Sepsis, 2019 and 2021 (PDF file, 1.2 MB)) (08/13/2024)

• Pooled State-level estimates on inpatient stays involving sepsis are presented from the hospital perspective in 2019 and 2021. The percentage of inpatient stays, average length of stay, total hospital cost, and in-hospital mortality rate are examined separately for rural and urban hospitals. The Stat Brief reports that in 2019 and 2021, urban hospitals experienced a longer average length of stay, a higher cost, and a higher in-hospital mortality rate for sepsis stays than rural hospitals. See HCUP Stat Brief #308 for additional findings.

HCUP Software Tools for Services and Procedures Calendar Year 2024 Updates Released (07/24/2024)