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NORC at the University Chicago

Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project (HCUP)

A health care worker pushes a woman sitting in a wheelchair through a hospital
The nation’s most comprehensive source of hospital care data
  • Client
    Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality
  • Dates
    December 2022 – Present

Problem

About the Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project (HCUP)

HCUP is a Federal-State-Industry partnership established to develop and maintain a family of longitudinal healthcare databases, related software tools, products, and technical support services. The HCUP databases integrate state-level data collected by HCUP Partners into a national resource of hospital inpatient, emergency department, and ambulatory surgery and services, and emergency department data. HCUP integrates data collected by state data organizations, hospital associations, and private data organizations to create a national healthcare information resource of hospital inpatient, emergency department, and ambulatory surgery and services data. 

HCUP is a unique data source that provides record-level data (approximately 35 million records annually) in a range of settings. The information provided in HCUP data includes patient demographics, diagnoses and procedures, how the patient was admitted and discharged, expected payer, and hospital charges.and resource utilization.

HCUP databases are used to support health services research and policy analyses on issues such as costs, utilization and access to care, quality of care, medical practice patterns, medical treatment effectiveness, and patient outcomes at the national, state, and local market levels. HCUP databases facilitate cutting-edge research on a broad range of health policy and health services issues, including cost and quality of health services, medical practice patterns, and patient outcomes at the national, state, and local market levels.   The primary focus of HCUP has been to provide the nation with high quality data and information to make evidence-based decisions to improve healthcare quality, access, coverage, and cost.

Solution

NORC’s Role: Managing & Modernizing HCUP

NORC and several key subcontractors* are tasked with the development and analysis of HCUP databases. NORC’s vision is to modernize HCUP, improve data quality, and expand access and data availability. Throughout the course of the project, NORC will:

  1. Maintain and enhance HCUP databases and tools available to the public and research community
  2. Continue to facilitate and enhance timely data releases and analytic products
  3. Provide responsive technical assistance to HCUP Partners who provide data
  4. Identify opportunities for innovation

By maintaining and strengthening the foundation, NORC will assist AHRQ in broadening the overall impact of HCUP data and products. As of January 2025, there are 49 HCUP Partners representing 48 states and the District of Columbia.

*Key subcontractors include General Dynamics Information Technology (GDIT), Mathematica, ML Barrett, Inc., University of California, Davis (UC Davis), and the National Association of Health Data Organizations (NAHDO).

Result

Looking Forward

HCUP is essential for measuring health care quality and cost and tracking healthcare reform progress and impact. NORC’s work will bring high-quality, evidence-based data available to a wider range of researchers, healthcare stakeholders, and policymakers.

Project Leads

"AHRQ’s HCUP is committed to sharing high quality data on hospital encounters in the US for practitioners, policy-makers, and researchers through its Federal-State-Industry partnership. This work is aligned with our mission at NORC to provide objective, rigorously managed data to understand current practices and outcomes, improve access to care, and promote ever-improving health outcomes for all Americans."

David Cotton

Project Director & Vice President

"AHRQ’s HCUP is committed to sharing high quality data on hospital encounters in the US for practitioners, policy-makers, and researchers through its Federal-State-Industry partnership. This work is aligned with our mission at NORC to provide objective, rigorously managed data to understand current practices and outcomes, improve access to care, and promote ever-improving health outcomes for all Americans."

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