What does the Uniform Hospital Discharge Set (UHDDS) primarily relate to?

The Uniform Hospital Discharge Data Set (UHDDS) is primarily related to inpatient hospital care. This data set is used to collect essential information about patients who are admitted to hospitals and subsequently discharged. The UHDDS standardizes the key data elements collected from inpatient records, which facilitates quality assessments, health policy planning, and the evaluation of the utilization of medical services.

Key components of the UHDDS often include demographic information, diagnoses, procedures, and patient status, making it invaluable for hospitals in meeting reporting requirements and improving patient care. Since UHDDS focuses specifically on patients who are admitted to and released from hospitals, it does not pertain to outpatient services, routine health screenings, or emergency medical services, which operate under different standards and data sets.