The services table

Table source: Hospital database.

Table purpose: Lists services that a patient was admitted/transferred under.

Number of rows: 73,343

Links to:

  • PATIENTS on SUBJECT_ID
  • ADMISSIONS on HADM_ID

Brief summary

The services table describes the service that a patient was admitted under. While a patient can be physicially located at a given ICU type (say MICU), they are not necessarily being cared for by the team which staffs the MICU. This can happen due to a number of reasons, including bed shortage. The SERVICES table should be used if interested in identifying the type of service a patient is receiving in the hospital. For example, if interested in identifying surgical patients, the recommended method is searching for patients admitted under a surgical service.

Each service is listed in the table as an abbreviation - this is exactly how the data is stored in the hospital database. For user convenience, we have provided a description of each service type.

Service Description
CMED Cardiac Medical - for non-surgical cardiac related admissions
CSURG Cardiac Surgery - for surgical cardiac admissions
DENT Dental - for dental/jaw related admissions
ENT Ear, nose, and throat - conditions primarily affecting these areas
GU Genitourinary - reproductive organs/urinary system
GYN Gynecological - female reproductive systems and breasts
MED Medical - general service for internal medicine
NB Newborn - infants born at the hospital
NBB Newborn baby - infants born at the hospital
NMED Neurologic Medical - non-surgical, relating to the brain
NSURG Neurologic Surgical - surgical, relating to the brain
OBS Obstetrics - conerned with childbirth and the care of women giving birth
ORTHO Orthopaedic - surgical, relating to the musculoskeletal system
OMED Orthopaedic medicine - non-surgical, relating to musculoskeletal system
PSURG Plastic - restortation/reconstruction of the human body (including cosmetic or aesthetic)
PSYCH Psychiatric - mental disorders relating to mood, behaviour, cognition, or perceptions
SURG Surgical - general surgical service not classified elsewhere
TRAUM Trauma - injury or damage caused by physical harm from an external source
TSURG Thoracic Surgical - surgery on the thorax, located between the neck and the abdomen
VSURG Vascular Surgical - surgery relating to the circulatory system

Table columns

Name Postgres data type
ROW_ID INT
SUBJECT_ID INT
HADM_ID INT
TRANSFERTIME TIMESTAMP(0)
PREV_SERVICE VARCHAR(20)
CURR_SERVICE VARCHAR(20)

Detailed Description

SUBJECT_ID, HADM_ID

Identifiers which specify the patient: SUBJECT_ID is unique to a patient and HADM_ID is unique to a patient hospital stay.

TRANSFERTIME

TRANSFERTIME is the time at which the patient moved from the PREV_SERVICE (if present) to the CURR_SERVICE.

PREV_SERVICE, CURR_SERVICE

PREV_SERVICE and CURR_SERVICE are the previous and current service that the patient resides under.