There are up to three different types of hospital identifiers included in the HCUP databases.

• The data source's own number scheme for identifying hospitals and facilities (DSHOSPID),
• The hospital identifier used by the American Hospital Association (AHAID and IDNUMBER), and
• A unique HCUP hospital identifier (HOSPID).

The hospital entity as defined by the data source may differ from the hospital entity as defined by the AHA. For example, the data source treats two separate facilities as two hospitals, while the AHA Annual Survey treats the two facilities as a single hospital, or vice versa. For consistency across states, HCUP defines hospitals in accordance with the American Hospital Association Annual Survey of Hospitals. During HCUP data processing, the data source's identification of the hospital is reconciled with the identification of the hospital in the AHA Annual Survey of Hospitals. For detailed information about this linking process, see the special report on HCUP Hospital Identifiers.

The HCUP hospital identifier (HOSPID) is a re-identification of the AHA hospital identifier and is defined as:

• SSnnn, where SS = State FIPS Code, and
• nnn = an arbitrary number unique to the state.

SID, SASD, and SEDD: HOSPID is missing for some hospitals because an AHA hospital identifier cannot be determined. Hospitals may not be registered with the AHA or the source-provided information cannot be matched to the AHA.

NIS and KID: The data element HOSPID is available in the Core, Hospital, Severity, and DX_PRGrps files prior to data year 2012.

If you need identifying information on Arizona hospitals beyond that which is provided in the HCUP documentation, please contact the State agency directly: Donna Courtney, Arizona Department of Health Services, courtnd@azdhs.gov.

Beginning with the 2011 data, hospital identifiers on the Central Distributor SID, SASD, and SEDD are only available to data purchasers whose primary affiliation is with a college, university, or government agency and whose intended use of the data does not involve product development, market research, or commercial applications. This distinction is made when you purchase the Central Distributor files.