AHA releases data

Some 1996 statistics from the American Hospital Association's latest survey of 5,000 hospitals and health systems:

· 32% of community hospitals participated in networks, up five points from 1995.

· Hospital care costs grew by only 2.9%; they increased by 3.6% in 1995.

· The average length of stay declined to an all-time low of 6.2 days.

· Outpatient visits continued to climb, in a 6.2% increase over 1995. Over the past five years, outpatient visits increased 26%.

· Certain non-inpatient visits increased. The percentage of hospitals offering home health care services increased to 55.9%, up from 38% five years earlier; and 77.7% of hospitals offered outpatient rehab, compared to 55% in 1992.