| PSTCO - Patient state/county FIPS code |
| Documentation Sections: |
| General Notes |
| Uniform Values |
| State Specific Notes |
| General Notes |
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Patient State/county FIPS code (PSTCO) retains the county code provided by the HCUP Partner organization regardless of how the information is collected. For example, the information might be collected at the hospital with the patient self-reporting the information, assigned by the hospital or the HCUP Partner organization from the patient's ZIP Code, or derived from some source other than ZIP Code such as Census block. Nonnumeric values and invalid FIPS codes are set to invalid (.A). Valid FIPS codes include values for outlying areas of the United States and freely associated States (i.e., American Samoa, Federated States of Micronesia, Guam, Marshall Islands, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, Palau, Puerto Rico, U.S. minor outlying islands, and the U.S. Virgin Islands). |
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Arkansas In 2018, 4% of the records were assigned to an invalid Patient State/county FIPS code (PSTCO) during processing because the county code or the state was not valid for the corresponding state or county code provided for the record. Colorado Colorado collects patient county code, but it is optional for hospitals to report this data to the hospital association. Beginning in 2017, the HCUP Partner organization assigns patient county based on the patient's ZIP Code. Prior to 2017, patient county was assigned as reported by the patient. The patient county reported by the HCUP Partner organization is retained in the HCUP data element PSTCO. Patient county is reported for Colorado counties only. District of Columbia The HCUP Partner organization assigns patient county based on the patient's ZIP Code. This is retained in the HCUP data element PSTCO. Florida Florida collects county of residence for Florida patients only. Florida used Zip Code to calculate this field. The HCUP Partner organization assigns patient county based on the patient's ZIP Code. This is retained in the HCUP data element PSTCO. Patient county is reported for Florida counties only. Georgia Beginning in 2007, FIPS state and county codes are available. A PSTCO value of 13999 indicates a Georgia resident of unknown county. The HCUP Partner organization assigns patient county based on a specialized software that uses the patient's entire address, not just the ZIP Code. This is retained in the HCUP data element PSTCO. From 2007 to 2010, PSTCO and PSTCO2 were incorrectly calculated for out-of-state patients. As a result, the state-specific portion of PSTCO and PSTCO2 (the first two characters) was set to "13" indicating Georgia instead of the correct state FIPS code. The county-specific portion of PSTCO and PSTCO2 (the last three characters) retained the out-of-state county code. In rare instances, PSTATE may also be affected and have the state identified as GA when the patient was out-of-state. Iowa Beginning in 2017, this information is no longer restricted to Iowa counties. The HCUP Partner organization assigns patient county based on the patient's ZIP Code. This is retained in the HCUP data element PSTCO. Patient county is reported for Iowa counties only. Kansas The HCUP Partner organization assigns patient county based on the patient's ZIP Code. This is retained in the HCUP data element PSTCO. Kentucky The HCUP Partner organization assigns patient county based on the patient's ZIP Code. This is retained in the HCUP data element PSTCO. Maine The HCUP Partner organization assigns patient county based on the patient's ZIP Code. This is retained in the HCUP data element PSTCO. Maryland The HCUP Partner organization assigns patient county either based on the patient's ZIP Code or as reported by the patient. This is retained in the HCUP data element PSTCO. Patient county is reported for Maryland counties only.
Residents of other states were classified by state, but not county. During HCUP processing, a missing county code of 000 was assigned for out-of-state (non-Maryland) patients:
Mississippi It is unknown whether PSTCO is assigned from the patient's ZIP code or as reported by the patient. The value provided by the HCUP Partner organization is retained in the HCUP data element PSTCO. Missouri Missouri separately classifies patient state and county codes for homeless patients. These values were recoded to invalid (.A) during HCUP processing. The HCUP Partner organization assigns patient county based on the county reported by the hospital. If the patient county code reported by the hospital is a valid county code for the patient's ZIP Code, the reported county code is provided. If the reported county code is missing or invalid, patient county is assigned based on the patient's ZIP Code. The value provided by the HCUP Partner organization is retained in the HCUP data element PSTCO. Nevada The HCUP Partner organization assigns patient county based on the patient's ZIP Code. This is retained in the HCUP data element PSTCO. New Jersey Beginning in 2008, New Jersey provides municipality codes and discontinued county codes. During the HCUP processing, municipality codes are mapped to state/FIPS codes and stored in PSTCO. New Jersey classifies patient state and county codes for residents of New Jersey. The patient state and county codes are available for residents of New York and Pennsylvania in some years. For patients from states other than New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania, PSTCO contains a valid FIPS state code (first two digits) and "000" for the county code (last three digits).
New Mexico The HCUP Partner organization assigns patient county as reported by the patient. This is retained in the HCUP data element PSTCO. New York The HCUP Partner organization assigns patient county based on the patient's ZIP Code. This is retained in the HCUP data element PSTCO. Due to a processing issue, PSTCO was not assigned on the New York 1996-1997 SID for the following nine counties: 36001, 36003, 36007, 36009, 36011, 36013, 36015, 36017, and 36019. Users can assign PSTCO from ZIP Code using publicly available ZIP Code to County FIPS code reference tables. North Carolina The HCUP Partner organization assigns patient county based on the patient's ZIP Code. This is retained in the HCUP data element PSTCO. The 2013 inpatient and outpatient source data provided by the HCUP Partner in North Carolina had erroneous data reported in the patient's ZIP Code field for one hospital. The HCUP data elements ZIP and PSTCO (patient's county code) were set to invalid for these records in the HCUP State databases. Any other HCUP data elements derived from the patient's ZIP Code or county (e.g., patient location, income quartile) were also set to invalid or missing. From 2007 to 2009, PSTCO and PSTCO2 were incorrectly calculated for out-of-state patients. As a result, the state-specific portion of PSTCO and PSTCO2 (the first two characters) was set to "37" indicating North Carolina instead of the correct state FIPS code. The county-specific portion of PSTCO and PSTCO2 (the last three characters) retained the out-of-state county code. In rare instances, PSTATE may also be affected and have the state identified as NC when the patient was out-of-state. Oregon The HCUP Partner organization assigns patient county based on the patient's ZIP Code. This is retained in the HCUP data element PSTCO. Rhode Island The HCUP Partner organization assigns patient county based on the patient's reported city or town. This is retained in the HCUP data element PSTCO. South Carolina The HCUP Partner organization assigns patient county as reported by the patient. This is retained in the HCUP data element PSTCO. South Carolina separately classifies patient state and county codes for residents of South Carolina, North Carolina, and Georgia. Residents of Georgia and North Carolina may have a specific county code or the county code may be missing (000). For patients classified by the data source as residents of states other than South Carolina, North Carolina, or Georgia, and patients whose state and county codes are missing:
South Dakota The HCUP Partner organization assigns patient county based on the patient's ZIP Code. This is retained in the HCUP data element PSTCO. Utah Utah reported patient county codes for Utah residents only. All others (including those categorized as homeless) are classified, but not by county. During HCUP processing, residents classified as "Homeless" or "Unknown Utah" are recoded to 000. Patients classified as "Outside Utah", "Unknown", and "Outside USA" are set to missing. Vermont Beginning in 2017, the VT Partner provides a three digit FIPS county code. HCUP assigns the two digit state code with the three digit FIPS county code if the state is Vermont, otherwise PSTCO is set to invalid (or remains missing). Prior to 2017, town was used to assign PSTCO. Prior to 2005 data, an error during HCUP processing mistakenly recoded the township value (TOWN = "2400" which is Massachusetts all counties) to a New Hampshire county (value 33007) for patient's county (PSTCO). For these records with TOWN = "2400", PSTCO should have been set to missing. West Virginia The HCUP Partner organization assigns patient county based on the patient's ZIP Code. This is retained in the HCUP data element PSTCO. |
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| Internet Citation: HCUP Central Distributor SID Description of Data Elements - All States. Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project (HCUP). October 2024. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, Rockville, MD. www.hcup-us.ahrq.gov/db/vars/siddistnote.jsp?var=pstco. |
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| Last modified 10/16/24 |
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