Population Health Assessment

Collects, analyses, and interprets public health data to assess and improve the health and well-being of the people of Tennessee.

About Population Health Assessment

The Tennessee Department of Health's Population Health Assessment Division gathers and interprets public health data to understand the health status of Tennessee's population, to identify health disparities, and to inform strategic planning for health improvement initiatives. Sources such as the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS), Tennessee Cancer Registry (TCR), and Pregnancy Risk Assessnent Monitoring System (PRAMS) guide the Department's evidence-based decision-making and helps foster collaboration among various stakeholders to address public health needs and achieve health equity across the state.  

Mission: To be a trusted state entity in the collection, analysis and interpretation of public health data to assess and improve the health and well-being of the people of Tennessee.

Vision: To put into action, through programs and processes, the power of data as a public health force that improves and strengthens the capacity of state and national public health.

Click to submit a request for Tennessee health data.

Contact

Shalini Parekh, MPH
Assistant Commissioner
Division of Population Health Assessment
Shalini.Parekh@tn.gov

Ambulatory Surgical Treatment Center and Outpatient Diagnostic Center Data System

Traditionally surgeries were performed in hospitals as inpatient procedures. But in past years, a new trend arose. Concerns about rising hospital costs have led to an increasing proportion of surgeries being performed on an outpatient basis.

With the shift to outpatient surgery a second trend arose. Numerous outpatient surgery facilities were built independent of hospitals. These facilities, called ambulatory surgical treatment centers, specialize in performing outpatient surgeries. They do not offer the full range of services provided by a hospital. An increasing proportion of surgeries are now being performed in these facilities. The Department of Health has been collecting information from UB-04 billing claims on all outpatient surgeries performed in Tennessee hospitals since 1995 and started collecting from Ambulatory Surgical Treatment Centers (ASTC) in 2007.

T. C. A. 68-1-119 requires each licensed ambulatory surgical treatment center (ASTC) and each licensed outpatient diagnostic center (ODC) in the state to report its claims data to the Tennessee Department of Health. Administrative rule 1200-7-4 was promulgated by the Department to carry out this legislative mandate. This data is to be reported quarterly in the appropriate format via third party entities approved by the Department. Personal identifiers are to be kept confidential. Penalties are prescribed for failure to report.

Patient Record Data Systems (PRDS), part of the Division of Population Health Assessment, has been charged by the Department to carry out this project. Each ASTC will transmit its records to the vendor it has selected. Each vendor will send the records it has received from its ambulatory surgical treatment centers to PRDS.

Ambulatory Surgical Treatment Centers User Manuals

Data Submission Forms

Hospital Discharge Data System

How many appendectomies were performed in Tennessee hospitals? What was the average charge? How long was the average patient hospitalized? These questions and many other can be answered using data from the Hospital Discharge Data System or HDDS.HDDS receives information from UB-92 (HCFA-1450) forms on all inpatient discharges and other selected patient visits from Tennessee hospitals. Each form contains information on patient diagnoses, procedures performed on the patient, charges for services provided, and selected patient demographics.HDDS data can be used to learn about hospitalizations from hundreds of causes. Patients can be compared by sex and age. Different hospitals can be compared for usage and charges. Patterns of hospitalization can be compared in different parts of the State and among different segments of the population.

TDH Hospital Discharge Data System Webinar PowerPoint Presentation

 

Tennessee Emergency Department Visit Reports

 

Data Submission Forms

 

Hospital Discharge User Manuals

 

Tennessee Hospital Charge Reports

Injury Surveillance Program

The Injury Surveillance Program (ISP) collects injury reports from partners within the Department of Health and crash reports from partners at the Department of Safety and Homeland Security. The ISP has a data system that ties the injury reports together with the crash reports for anyone that has been in a crash and then goes to the hospital or dies in Tennessee. This data system shows why and how residents and visitors are getting hurt in car crashes on Tennessee roads. Using this, the ISP and its partners can figure out how to help stop bad crashes from happening in Tennessee in the future.

The Tennessee Department of Health’s Injury Surveillance Program receives funding from Tennessee’s Highway Safety Office.

To request data or statistics from Tennessee’s Injury Surveillance Program, please visit the data request system website.

For more information about Tennessee’s Injury Surveillance Program, please e-mail Injury.Surveillance@tn.gov.

Reports and Publications

Related Pages

Occupational Health Surveillance Program

The Occupational Health Surveillance Program seeks to identify and understand the health and safety risks that Tennessee workers face. We come to this understanding through analysis of the available data related to health and workers, as well as collaborating with others concerned about workers' safety. Based on our analysis, we provide insight to improve prevention and outreach efforts.

The Tennessee Department of Health receives funding from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health’s (NIOSH) State Surveillance Program.  

 

Occupational Health Indicator Reports 

Report of Tennessee Occupational Health Indicators 2013 - 2017

Other Projects 

 

Public Chapter 932

The two forms linked below have been made available in accordance with Public Chapter 932. 

Provider Form

Insurance Form

This Page Last Updated: August 27, 2026 at 3:47 PM