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The American Hospital Association's Annual Survey of Hospitals Database Fiscal Year 2000 is provided in ASCII and ASCII delimited formats to be used in a statistical application or other applications. A Microsoft ACCESS 97 database is also provided for you convenience.
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The files are included on the enclosed CD-ROM and are organized this way:

Readme.txt		A description of the files included on the CD-ROM

/flat			The flat ASCII fixed-length file
   pubas02.asc


/comma
	
   pubas02.dat        Database file, delimited ASCII variable-length file and dictionary          pubas00.dct           
			
   as02dem.dbf         files are subsets of database in data base form files (dbf)  
   as02svc1.dbf
   as02svc2.dbf
   as02util.dbf

   as02dem.xls         files are subsets of database in Excel files, (xls) 
   as02svc1.xls
   as02svc2.xls
   as02util.xls

   

/access			
   pubas02.mdb          Microsoft Acces 2000 database
   pubas02 v97.mdb      Microsoft Access 97 database

/doc
   /V97
    as02desc.doc	The database description in Microsoft Word 97 format
    as02lay.xls		The technical layout in Microsoft Excel 97 format
  
   /V95
    as02desc.doc	The database description in Microsoft Word 95 format
    as02lay.xls		The technical layout in Microsoft Excel 95 format

   /Other
    as00desc.txt	The database description in rich text format
    as00lay.txt		The technical layout in text format 
   
   /SAS02.txt		Complete SAS code to import the flat ASCII file
   /Licagg.doc		A copy of the license agreement accompanying this database
   
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We have tried to accommodate the needs of each user by providing several versions of the
application. In order to decide which files are most appropriate for your use, please read these 
descriptions and choose the data and documentation that will work with the applications you have.

Data

PUBAS02.ASC
This is a traditional fixed length flat ASCII file that the AHA Annual Survey Database has 
delivered in previous years. There are several additional fields at the end of the file, but 
every attempt has been made to ensure the file is consistent with the previous year's file.

Use this file if you are using the included SAS Code or want to read the data into an existing 
application. The enclosed layout is in EXCEL format and details all the fields and their positions. 

PUBAS02.dat
This file is an ASCII comma delimited version of the database. It has been designed to include all the 
fields that are in the database, in a more convenient format. A pipe (,) has been used as the 
delimiter. The field names are imbedded in the first row of the file. This file can be easily 
read into any application that recognizes comma-separated-values, or comma-delimited formats. 
You can use the layout to get descriptions of each field. This year a database file is also provided
for your convenience.

PUBAS02.MDB
Based on customer feedback, the database is also provided in Microsoft(r) ACCESS 97. The tables 
in the database have been logically separated in order to accommodate the 256-field limit. The 
tables are:
* AS02DEM - contains the demographic and descriptive fields for each facility
* AS02SVC1 - contains half of the facilities and services fields
* AS02SVC2- contains second half of the facilities and services fields
* AS02UTIL- contains utilization, personnel and the non confidential financial fields

The EXCEL layout file indicates which fields are stored in which ACCESS table.

Documentation

All documentation has been provided in Microsoft(r) Office version 97, Microsoft(r) Office 
version 95, and a text-based version. Please use the version that is applicable for you.
The documentation is organized as follows:

AS02LAY
This document is a technical layout of the file that you have received today and contains:
* Fields
* Descriptions
* Relationship to survey instrument
* Location in Microsoft(r) ACCESS 97 Database
* Code Descriptions

AS02DESC
This document contains the database description for the files you have received. This is a 
descriptive document and can be distributed as an informative look at the elements that exist 
on the file and has:
* Field descriptions
* Notes about the field
* The corresponding survey questions
* Code descriptions

SAS02.TXT
The SAS code you have received has been rewritten and tested for the new release of the AHA 
Annual Survey Database. You will be able to put in your path name and use it immediately to read
in the entire flat ASCII file. It will attach field labels to every field and create contents of
the database for your review. 

For technical assistance call 1-800-821-2039