The Comprehensive Hospital Abstract Reporting System (CHARS) is a Department of Health system which collects record level information on inpatient and observation patient community hospital stays and is used to:
- Identify and analyze hospitalization trends.
- Establish statewide diagnosis related group (DRG) weights, as a way of comparing hospital stays across all hospitals.
- Identify and quantify health care access, quality, and cost containment issues.
Data Files Available for Purchase
These are record level data files. Working with these data files requires use of spreadsheet, database management, or statistical software that are not provided. A Data Sharing Agreement (DSA) is required to access all vital records and CHARS data.
A DSA documents the conditions under which the Department of Health shares limited datasets containing potentially identifiable information with outside entities. By signing the DSA, the recipient(s) of the data agrees to not link information with any other information that could identify an individual or use the information to contact any individuals. Data may not be disclosed unless agreed upon in the DSA.
Learn more about the different Levels of Confidentiality of CHARS Files (PDF).
The Comprehensive Hospital Abstract Reporting System redacts data to comply with state and federal laws, statutes and regulations. These redactions ensure the privacy of Washington state citizens by restricting information regarding to reproductive health, gender-affirming care, mental health of minors and substance use related discharges. For more information see Redactions in the CHARS Datafiles (PDF).
Inpatient Files (1987 to 2025)
An inpatient stay is when a patient is formally admitted to a hospital with a doctor’s order.
Coded hospital inpatient discharge information (derived from billing systems). Contains patient demographics, diagnosis and procedure codes, billed charges, etc.
Observation Files (2009 to 2025)
An observation stay is hospital outpatient services given to help the doctor decide if the patient needs to be admitted as an inpatient or can be discharged (such as emergency department services, observation services, outpatient surgery, lab tests, X-rays, or any other hospital services), and the doctor hasn’t written an order to admit the patient to a hospital as an inpatient. In these cases, the patient is an outpatient even if they spend the night at the hospital.
Coded hospital observation stay data. Contains patient demographics, diagnosis and procedure codes, billed charges, etc.
Revisit File (2011 to 2025)
Linked inpatient and observation stay hospital discharge information. This file can be used to count individuals who have been hospitalized more than once in this time period. Requires inpatient/observation limited files for demographic/diagnosis information.
Linked Birth-CHARS Files (1987 to 2025)
Linkage keys to bridge Birth Certificate and CHARS information are available upon request. For more information, see Improved Birth/CHARS Linkage: CHINCHILLA vs. UW BERD (PDF).
Linked Death-CHARS Files (2011 to 2025)
Linkage keys matching death records to hospital discharges are available for purchase and require a DSA application or Appendix G submission.
Order CHARS Data
Fill out the Data Order Form to request CHARS data.
Data sharing agreement is required to order data.
Public Use Files
Coded hospital inpatient discharge information. Free for public use and ready for immediate download.
Due to licensing issues, Diagnosis Related Group (DRG) information will no longer be available. For questions, please contact the Center for Health Statistics at chs.datarequests@doh.wa.gov.
CHARS Public File 2014 (Zip)
CHARS Public File 2025 (Zip)
Public Use Data Set File Layout, 2010-Current (Excel)
Standard Reports
Aggregated discharge counts by hospital payers, by Diagnosis Related Groups, patient origin, as well as footnotes on the data for public use.
CHARS Resources
CHARS Resources - Find hospital directory, description codes, and CHARS history.
Sign Up for Email Notifications
Sign up for email notification for notification of data file availability and updates.
Our office has these topics: CHARS Data Users, Vital Statistics Data, and BRFSS Data Users.
Links
WSIRB - Research