American Hospital Association’s Annual Survey and Supplemental Data Sets
How many times have you been working on a research project and got stuck in an endless loop of Google searches trying to find the answers to questions like:
- How many physicians and nurses does a hospital have?
- Which hospitals provide cardiovascular care facilities?
- What were the total Medicare and Medicaid discharges?
Well, there are data sets to help you answer those questions and so many more!
The American Hospital Association’s (AHA) annual survey database is a veritable treasure trove of valuable data about US hospitals and health systems. Updated annually, usually in December or January, the AHA database includes annual survey information and supplemental datasets. These data sets provide quality data with extensive coverage of US hospitals and health systems. Coverage includes demographic, operations, financial, and IT characteristics.
Use your data analysis savvy and explore:
- Demographic, operational, staffing, insurance, and utilization data from over 6,200 hospitals
- AHA Annual Survey Database (ASDB) data from 2005 to the most recent year, plus historical survey data going back to 1980
- AHA IT Healthcare Database data on health IT adoption, tools, and trends for over 3,300 hospitals
- ASDB with Financial Data which is sourced from the Healthcare Provider Cost Reporting Information System (HCRIS) managed by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS)
How to Access AHA Data
To access AHA data, you will need to register for an account through Wharton Research Data Services using your Stanford-affiliated email (WRDS). Please note that it may take a day or two for your application to be processed since it will be reviewed by the Graduate School of Business Library. Once your account is approved, you will need to set up Duo authentication to access WRDS. Once you are logged in, select “American Hospital Association” from the subscriptions list. There are three main categories for you to explore:
- 3 Years: a 3-year window of data
- History: over 40 years of data
- Recent: which looks at data from the last 18 years.
Learn More
Take a deeper dive and explore the WRDS overview of the AHA data sets.
Questions?
AHA Data requires some data wrangling skills and a willingness to navigate complex datasets. But our librarians are here to help! Contact us if you have any questions or need assistance accessing AHA data sets through WRDS.
2 comments on “American Hospital Association’s Annual Survey and Supplemental Data Sets”
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Hi there,
Is it not possible for others to access statistics? I really need them.
Hi Younes,
Unfortunately, the American Hospital Association does not make this data freely available to the public, so access requires that individuals and institutions who would like access pay for a license to access the data.
If you’re interested in acquiring a license for yourself or the institution you work for, you can check the AHA Data & Insights website to see what the cost is for the type of information you need to license from them.