Data Sources—Indian Health Service (IHS)

2008 National Healthcare Quality and Disparities Reports

The National Healthcare Quality Report (NHQR) is a comprehensive national overview of quality of health care in the United States. It is organized around four dimensions of quality of care: effectiveness, patient safety, timeliness, and patient centeredness.

Indian Health Service (IHS) National Patient Information Reporting System (NPIRS)

Sponsor

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Indian Health Service.

Mode of Administration

NPIRS serves as an agencywide statistical information system and warehouse of Indian health and health system data.

Survey Sample Design

Not applicable.

Primary Survey Content

Not applicable.

Population Targeted

NPIRS is the national data repository for IHS statistical health care data on patient registration and visit encounters occurring at either IHS facilities or contracting facilities that provide care. It collects data on members of federally recognized tribes that access IHS services.

Demographic Data

Age, gender, Indian status.

Years Collected

1997 to present.

Schedule

Annual.

Geographic Estimates

National IHS service area estimates (including Aberdeen, Alaska, Albuquerque, Bemidji, Billings, Nashville, Navajo, Oklahoma, Phoenix, Tucson, excluding Portland and California service areas).

Notes

Since no IHS inpatient facilities are located in either the Portland or California Areas, hospitalizations from these regions are not present in the data; the denominator was correspondingly reduced.

Contact Information

Agency home page: http://www.ihs.gov.

Current as of September 2009

Internet Citation: Data Sources—Indian Health Service (IHS): 2008 National Healthcare Quality and Disparities Reports. September 2009. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, Rockville, MD. http://archive.ahrq.gov/research/findings/nhqrdr/nhqrdr08/datasources/ihs.html