California Hospital Utilization Trends During COVID-19

Monthly counts of hospital encounters and in-hospital mortalities for inpatient discharges, emergency department visits, and ambulatory surgeries in California. The data is broken down by 21 health conditions, including COVID-19, anxiety, and cardiac arrest. It was published by the State of California and updated in January 2026.

Use Cases

• Analyze monthly trends in inpatient discharges and emergency department utilization before and after the onset of COVID-19.
• Compare in-hospital mortality rates across 21 health condition categories, such as stroke, sepsis, and substance use disorders.
• Model the impact of COVID-19 on ambulatory surgery volumes using time-series data segmented by condition.
• Assess correlations between condition-specific encounter counts, such as for anxiety and depression, during the pandemic period.

Strengths

• Data is broken down by 21 specific health condition categories, enabling detailed cohort analysis.
• Covers three distinct hospital care settings: inpatient, emergency department, and ambulatory surgery.
• Published by the authoritative State of California Department of Health Care Access and Information.
• Includes the critical metric of in-hospital mortalities alongside encounter counts.

Limitations

• The raw description does not specify the total number of rows, columns, or the exact time range covered.
• Data is aggregated at the monthly level, limiting analysis of finer-grained temporal patterns.
• Geographic scope is limited to California, which may not be representative of national or global trends.

Provenance

Source

State of California Department of Health Care Access and Information.

Collection Method

Aggregated monthly counts from acute care hospitals statewide.

Time Range

Period around the onset of COVID-19; specific start and end years are not provided.

Freshness

Last updated in January 2026, indicating recent maintenance.

Geography

State of California, USA.