Top Five Major Diagnostic Categories (MDCs) for California Hospitals

The dataset contains counts for the Top Five inpatient diagnosis groups based on Major Diagnostic Categories (MDCs) from the Patient Discharge Data (PDD) for each California hospital. Each MDC corresponds to a major organ system (e.g., Respiratory System, Circulatory System, Digestive System) rather than a specific disease (e.g., cancer, sepsis). The MDCs are also generally associated with a particular medical specialty. Therefore, the MDCs can be used to help identify what types of health care specialists are needed at each facility. For instance, a facility with “Circulatory System, Disease and Disorders” as one of their Top Five MDC diagnosis groups is more likely to have a greater need for cardiac specialists. The data will be updated on an annual basis.