California Behavioral Health Hospital Encounters by Demographics

Statewide counts of inpatient hospitalizations and emergency department visits for patients with behavioral health disorders in California. The data is stratified by age group, race/ethnicity, sex, and funding source, as provided by the State of California's Department of Health Care Access and Information. The dataset was last updated in January 2026.

Use Cases

• Analyze hospitalization and emergency department visit rates across different age groups and race/ethnicity categories to identify disparities in behavioral health care access.
• Model the relationship between funding source and the volume of inpatient stays for substance use disorders and other mental health conditions.
• Compare trends in emergency department visits for behavioral health disorders between male and female patient cohorts.

Strengths

• Data is stratified by key demographic and administrative variables including age group, race/ethnicity, sex, and funding source.
• Covers a statewide geographic scope for California, providing a broad population view.
• Includes distinct encounter types: inpatient hospitalizations and emergency department visits for behavioral health.

Limitations

• Contains aggregated counts rather than individual patient records, limiting granular analysis.
• The specific number of rows, columns, and total record count is unknown from the input.
• Data may be subject to reporting lags and definitional changes across healthcare facilities.

Provenance

Source

State of California, Department of Health Care Access and Information (HCAI).

Collection Method

Statewide administrative counts from hospital reporting.

Freshness

Last updated on January 23, 2026.

Geography

State of California, USA.