1. (a)

   1. (1) The preferred method of submitting data is via secure FTP.
   2. (2) Alternate modes of transmission such as email or CD may be established by agreement with the Health Statistics Branch. (3) Data submittals not in compliance with media or format specifications will be rejected unless approval is obtained prior to the scheduled due date from the Health Statistics Branch.
   3. (4) Data submittal on physical media should be mailed to: Arkansas Department of Health Health Statistics Branch Hospital Discharge Data System 4815 West Markham Street, Slot H19 Little Rock, AR 72205'
   4. (5) If you are submitting data for more than one (1) hospital on one (1) submission, the additional specifications found in subsection (h) of this section, Multi-hospital submission, must be followed.

2. (b) File compression.

   1. (1) WinZip is the compression utility of choice by the Hospital Discharge Data System (HDDS).
   2. (2) If a compression utility other than WinZip is used, the resulting file must be able to be unzipped by HDDS.
   3. (3) Please contact an HDDS colleague prior to sending a file compressed with any compression software other than WinZip.

3. (c) File encryption.

   1. (1) Encryption of data files sent as email attachments is required.
   2. (2) Refer to subsection (e) of this section, email attachment submissions — secondary submittal format.

4. (d) File transfer protocol (FTP) – Primary submittal format, preferred.

   1. (1)

      1. (A) The following specifications must be met when submitting data using the FTP:

5. (i) The secured web site is at: http://adhftp.arkansas.gov; and

   1. (ii) Upload by accessing the secured website and inputting the user name and password.

      1. (B) Please contact an HDDS colleague for the user name and password.
   2. (2) Click “Browse” to search for the hospital data file.

   3. (3)

      1. (A) Select the data file for quarter you wish to submit.

      2. (B) Please note the data file name must be created in the following format, HHHHQNYYVN.dat, where:

         1. (i) HHHH = four (4) letters for the hospital;
         2. (ii) QN = quarter number;
         3. (iii) YY = two (2) numbers for the year; and
         4. (iv) VN = shipment number.
      3. (C) HDDSQ114V1.dat will tell us Hospital Discharge Data Systems uploaded quarter 1 of 2014 one (1) time.
      4. (D) If you do not know the four-letter code for the hospital (HHHH), please contact an HDDS colleague for that information.
   4. (4) Click “Upload.”

6. (e) Email attachment submissions — Secondary submittal format. The following specifications must be met when submitting data by email attachment via the internet:

   1. (1) Hospitals must encrypt the attachment containing the data, preferably utilizing the WinZip encryption function;

   2. (2) The physical characteristics of the attached file must have the following attributes:

      1. (A) Record length — Three hundred twenty-one (321) bytes, fixed (1450 format), three hundred sixty-one (361) bytes, fixed (1450Y2K format); and
      2. (B) PC text file (ASCII), WinZip file, or self-extracting executable file, refer to subsection (b) of this section, file compression;

   3. (3) Each email submission must include a general message that contains the following information:

      1. (A) The description "HOSPITAL DISCHARGE DATA" in the subject field;
      2. (B) Hospital’s name;
      3. (C) Date of submittal as MM/DD/YY;
      4. (D) Beginning and ending dates of the reporting period (e.g., 1/1/14 – 3/30/14); and
      5. (E) The name and telephone number of the contact person; and
   4. (4) Refer to subdivision (f)(3) of this section for filename.extension naming standard for the attached file.

7. (f) CD-ROM submittal specifications — Server down submittal. The following specifications must be met when submitting data on PC CDs:

   1. (1) Hospitals will submit no more than one (1) CD per quarter;

   2. (2)

      1. (A) The physical characteristics of the CD-ROM must have the following attributes:

         1. (i) Record Length: Three hundred twenty-one (321) bytes, fixed (1450 format), three hundred sixty-one (361) bytes, fixed (1450Y2K format); and
         2. (ii) ASCII, WinZip file, or self-extracting executable file.
      2. (B) Self-extracting executable file must run on Windows XP or higher operating system.
      3. (C) Source and target of WinZip or executable file must be ASCII.
      4. (D) ASCII file must have a carriage return (CR) and line feed (LF) at the end of each data record;

   3. (3)

      1. (A) All CDs must have an external label or accompanying data sheet containing the following information:

         1. (i) The description: ‘HOSPITAL DISCHARGE DATA’;
         2. (ii) Hospital’s name;
         3. (iii) Date of submittal as MM/DD/YY;
         4. (iv) Beginning and ending dates of the reporting period (e.g., 1/1/14 – 3/30/14);
         5. (v) Number of records;
         6. (vi) Record format (1450);
         7. (vii) The name and telephone number of the contact person;
         8. (viii) PC extension, ASCII, ZIP, or EXE (refer to subdivision (f)(4)(D) of this section); and
         9. (ix) If encrypted, the description: ENCRYPTED (refer to subsection (c) of this section, file encryption).
      2. (B) An example of the label for the case is as follows:

         HOSPITAL DISCHARGE DATAHospital Name:Date: mm/dd/yy Quarter: mm/dd/yyTotal Record Count: ###### Format: ####Contact Person ___________ Phone: ________Extension:_____ENCRYPTED

         ; and

   4. (4) Use the following filename.extension file naming standard:

      1. (A) The first two (2) positions of the filename will be the last two (2) digits of the calendar year;
      2. (B) The next three (3) characters will be QTR;
      3. (C) The last position must be the quarter from one (1) through four (4) that indicates the quarter of the calendar year of the data submitted; and

      4. (D) The extension will be:

         1. (i) TXT or DAT for a PC Text file;
         2. (ii) ZIP for a file compressed with WinZip; or
         3. (iii) EXE for a self-extracting file. Example: 14QTR1.TXT - ASCII data file for the first quarter of 2014

8. (g) Multi-hospital submission.

   1. (1) Data from more than one (1) hospital may be submitted on one (1) media submission as one (1) file per hospital.

   2. (2) Change the following items on your external label or accompanying information sheet:

      1. (A) If you are not a hospital, replace "Hospital:" with your company name;
      2. (B) If you are a hospital or subsidiary of a hospital, replace "Hospital:" with "Agent:" and your hospital name;
      3. (C) If multiple files are on the submission, replace "Total Record Count:" with "Number of Files:";
      4. (D) The contact person and phone number should be that of the agent or company, not the hospital; and

      5. (E)

         1. (i) If multiple files are placed on a CD, the filename.extension file-naming standard must change.
         2. (ii) The last two (2) positions of the filename (follows QTR and quarter number) must be the file number provided.
         3. (iii) In addition to the above changes, a list of hospitals on the medium must be provided, with:
9. (a) (a) Tax ID;

10. (b) (b) Number of records; and

    1. (c) (c) Hospital contact.

11. (h) Intermediaries.

    1. (1)

       1. (A) Third-party intermediaries may be utilized by hospitals for the delivery of data to the Department of Health.
       2. (B) To better manage data collection, intermediaries must be registered with the department.
       3. (C) Additions and deletions to the intermediary's list of hospitals represented must be submitted at least ten (10) days prior to the department’s reporting due date.

       4. (D) The intermediary must specify:

          1. (i) Hospitals being represented;
          2. (ii) Media;
          3. (iii) Formats;
          4. (iv) Contacts; and
          5. (v) Length of contractual obligation.

    2. (2) Editing intermediaries. The following additional requirements and information apply to intermediaries delivering edited data to the department:

       1. (A) The data must not have an error rate greater than one percent (1%);
       2. (B) Each hospital’s data must be submitted in a separate file; and
       3. (C) Data may be submitted through the secure FTP server.

    3. (3) Pass-through intermediaries. The following additional requirements and information apply to intermediaries delivering unedited data to the department:

       1. (A) The data must not have an error rate greater than one percent (1%); and
       2. (B) Each hospital’s data must be submitted in a separate file.

    4. (4) Subject to change.

       1. (A) Data submission methods are always under review.
       2. (B) If implemented, all Arkansas hospitals will receive notice of the changes to be implemented.

Codification Notes: "ASCII" means American Standard Code for Information Interchange. "CD" means compact disc. "CD-ROM" means compact disc, read-only memory. "FTP" means file transfer protocol. "HDDS" means hospital data discharge system. "ID" means identification. "PC" means personal computer.