title: Rural and urban hospitals' role in providing inpatient care, 2010.
abstract: Data from the National Hospital Discharge Survey, 2010. In 2010, 12% of the 35 million U.S. hospitalizations were in rural hospitals. A higher percentage of inpatients in rural hospitals were aged 65 and over (51%) compared with inpatients in urban hospitals (37%). The average number of diagnoses for rural and urban inpatients was similar, as was the average length of stay. Sixty-four percent of rural hospital inpatients, compared with 38% of urban hospital inpatients, had no procedures performed while in the hospital. Following their hospitalization, a higher percentage of rural inpatients (7%) than urban inpatients (3%) were transferred to other short-term hospitals, and a higher percentage of rural (14%) than urban (11%) inpatients were discharged to long-term care institutions.
authors.forename: Margaret Jean
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Hall
authors.forename: Maria
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Owings
mesh_terms: D017677:Age Distribution; D000368:Aged; D019538:Health Care Surveys; D017052:Hospital Mortality; D006780:Hospitals, Rural / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006786:Hospitals, Urban / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D007297:Inpatients / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D038801:International Classification of Diseases / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D007902:Length of Stay / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D008484:Medicaid / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006278:Medicare / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D010351:Patient Discharge / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology