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Who Are We?

W. David Patterson, Ph.D., Section Chief: (803) 898-9954
Main Information: (803) 898-9940
FAX Number: (803) 898-9972

Purpose

The Health and Demographics Section of the Office of Research and Statistics:

  1. Receives, processes, distributes, and interprets health, demographic, and census data in South Carolina;
  2. Provides for general use an appropriate statistical and GIS (Small-area mapping) infrastructure enabling users to obtain health, socio-economic and demographic analysis for planning, intervention and evaluation of programs;
  3. Educates policy makers and other data users about the availability and appropriate use of information;
  4. Forms collaborative partnerships with agencies and research groups to carry out special studies and research projects related to health and socio-economic issues in South Carolina; and
  5. Acts as the coordinating unit for Census Information for the State.

Overview of Sections/Departments

Health Information:

The health information maintained by the Health and Demographics Section includes: uniformed billing data on inpatient discharges, emergency department visits, outpatient surgery, imaging, radiation therapy and other outpatient services requiring Certificate of Need (CON) from both short term acute care hospitals and licensed freestanding centers in the state; and licensed health manpower and health manpower education.

GIS Small-Area Mapping Information:

Addressing & Geocoding provides a means to understand and improve the distribution of limited resources by processes known as address matching and geocoding. Address matching integrates client databases, and geocoding pinpoints client locations on a map. When combined spatially, this information optimizes neighborhood communication between clients and service providers and also improves cooperation between agencies serving the same areas and clients. Much of this data is presented on this web-site.

Demographic/Census Information:

The Health and Demographics Statistical Section is the designated State Data Center for Census Information and acts as the coordinating unit for Census Information in the State. Census products include not only information from the decennial Censuses but also from the Economic and Government Censuses and the County Business Patterns. Much of this data is presented on this web-site.

Disclosure: All Health data are reviewed by the Office of Research and Statistics (ORS) for accuracy and completeness as mandated by law. However, there are certain discrepancies that can go undetected, such as the actual number of discharges. Hospitals are given the opportunity to verify these data prior to being made public by the ORS. If a discrepancy is discovered after the release of these reports, the ORS will make every effort to correct the information presented.