What is the NTDB®? Frequently Asked Questions
General Questions
Research Dataset Questions
Technical Questions
General Questions
What is the NTDB?
Since 1989, the American College of Surgeons (ACS) has been addressing the need for a strong, national trauma care system through the development of the National Trauma Data Bank® (NTDB). The NTDB has been designed by a collaborative group of ACS Committee on Trauma members, emergency medical organizations, governmental agencies, trauma registry vendors, and other interested parties.
The NTDB contains over 2 million cases from over 600 U.S. trauma centers. The annual call for data is issued every winter. Hospitals are given ample time to submit their data which is included in the NTDB Annual Report, distributed in the fall. Multiple researchers have used NTDB information for analyses on a wide range of topics of importance to the trauma community.
The National Trauma Data Bank® (NTDB) is the largest aggregation of trauma registry data ever assembled. The goal of the NTDB is to inform the medical community, the public, and decision makers about a wide variety of issues that characterize the current state of care for injured persons in our country. The information contained in the data bank has implications in many areas including epidemiology, injury control, research, education, acute care, and resource allocation.
The effort to collect and maintain traumatic injury data is in keeping with the mission of the American College of Surgeons (ACS) Committee on Trauma (COT), which is "To improve the care of the injured through systematic efforts in prevention, care, and rehabilitation."
Back to top
What are the features and benefits of participating in the NTDB?
- The largest aggregation of trauma center registry data ever assembled
- No charge to participants
- No contract required to participate
- HIPAA compliance through a flexible business associate agreement
- Annual report available in PDF and PowerPoint format at no charge
- Access to national data for scientific research
- Benchmark report provided to each participating hospital - Ongoing data quality improvement program
- Security and anonymity of data
Back to top
What are the goals and objectives of the NTDB?
- To improve the quality of patient care
- To provide an established information system for the evaluation of injury care and preparedness
- To develop better injury scoring and outcome measures
- To provide a rich source of data for clinical benchmarking, process improvement, and patient safety
Back to top
How do I participate in the NTDB?
If your facility uses a trauma registry to collect data and manage adult and pediatric trauma patients or if you are a state trauma registry program then you can participate. First steps include registering at the NTDB Datacenter website. An NTDB representative will contact you after registration with your username and password and will prompt you to login and complete your registration, including signing the Business Associate Agreement.
The yearly Call for Data (CFD) occurs between late January and mid-February. Registered participants will receive the CFD by email, asking them to submit their data. Participants are allowed to submit until early May and are then issued a screening report that identifies invalid data to be fixed and resubmitted. After submission/resubmission, the data is compiled and analyzed for the NTDB Annual Report to be issued in October, then facility benchmark reports and report cards are issued late fall.
Back to top
I would like to write a manuscript/report using data from the NTDB. How do I obtain the dataset?
- Research dataset requests are fulfilled by filling out our request form. Your request will be reviewed by our committee and you will receive notification about the status of your request within a week of submitting the form. Dataset requests are generally fulfilled within two weeks of submission.
Back to top
Is there a charge to use NTDB data?
- For nonprofit entities, no.
- For commercial entities, there is a $5000USD charge to use the data for a one year period and $1000USD charge for reproduction of materials. Please see the request form for details.
Back to top
Can I use the tables and graphs from the NTDB Annual Report to give a talk?
- Yes. To obtain permission to use the tables, graphs, and text from the Annual Report, please fill out a research dataset request form, but indicate that you want permission to reproduce the information in the report. Your request will be processed within two weeks of submission.
Back to top
My facility wants to analyze our data for internal purposes. Can we obtain the entire dataset?
- Yes. Please fill out the research request form and we will process it accordingly.
Back to top
Where can I find general information about patients in the NTDB?
Back to top
Does the NTDB supply data specifically on pediatric patients?
Back to top
How can I get copies of the NTDB Annual Report?
- You can either download the report online here or you can contact the NTDB for hard copies.
Back to top
What is the NTDB National Trauma Data Standard (NTDS, formerly the National Trauma Registry - NTR)?
- The NTDS is the new data dictionary for the NTDB, starting with the 2008 Call for Data. It is a dataset defining standardized data elements collected within the NTDB for analysis at the national level. For more information on the NTDS, please visit the NTDB Technical Assistance Center.
Back to top
What about patient confidentiality?
- In order to ensure confidentiality, the NTDB does not collect direct patient- or physician-level identifiers. NTDB data are maintained in a secure database with limited internal access. Access to NTDB data by external users is at the aggregate level only, and use of NTDB data is in strict compliance with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA).
Back to top
Which trauma centers are ACS verified?
- For a list of ACS verified trauma centers click here.
Back to top
Research Dataset Questions
Does the NTDB provide custom datasets/Does the NTDB perform data analysis for researchers?
- No, the NTDB does not provide custom datasets, nor does it perform data analysis for researchers. When a data request is fulfilled, researchers are sent the entire NTDB database for the preceding five years (unless otherwise indicated). Researchers are then expected to conduct their own analysis.
Back to top
What is included in the research dataset? Is “variable X” in the research dataset? I can’t find “variable X” in the research dataset.
Back to top
I think I have an incomplete dataset. There are some .dbf tables missing.
- Starting with NTDB 6.1, there will be .csv files for all tables and .dbf files only for tables that are smaller than 2GB. DBF file constraints prohibit files larger than 2GB.
Back to top
I keep getting a “File not loaded completely” error in Excel when I open a .csv file.
- Microsoft Excel will only load 65,536 rows and 256 columns of any data file. (The NTDB contains far more rows.) CSV files (as well as DBF) need to be imported into a statistical package or database management system (i.e. SPSS, SAS, STATA, Access, etc) for analysis.
Back to top
I can’t seem to start my analysis. How do the tables work together?
- All patient information tables are linked by the incident key. The files have to be merged together by the incident key before beginning analysis.
Back to top
Technical Questions
I’ve lost my NTDB Datacenter password or it doesn’t work. How do I reset it?
- Click here. Fill out the form and your password will be reset for you. After it is reset, you should login and change your password to something meaningful to you.
Back to top
Is my password for the Datacenter the same as my password for the research request site?
- Initially, no. The NTDB Datacenter site and the research request form are two separate systems with separate passwords. However, you may change the passwords to be the same.
Back to top
Did my facility submit data last year? How can I check?
- You can check to see if your facility submitted data by logging in to the NTDB Datacenter site and viewing your screening report. If you cannot locate a screening report for your facility and you believe your facility submitted data for the previous year, please contact ntdbsubmit@dicorp.com.
Back to top
How do I access my facility’s benchmark report?
- Benchmark reports are now available through the NTDB Datacenter website. The NTDB Online data cube was retired as of November 2006.
Back to top
We have a new trauma registrar. How do I ensure that he/she is getting NTDB emails?
- If you have any changes in your facility information, including name, email address, phone, or personnel changes, please log on to NTDB Datacenter and update your information. If you do not know the previous registrar’s login information, contact the NTDB.
Back to top
I am having problems with my NTRACS software. Can you help?
- Digital Innovation (DI) now handles all NTRACS support. You can contact them at ntracssupport@dicorp.com or by telephone at 1-800-435-3590, opt.1.
Back to top
Who do I contact for other problems with the NTDB websites?
Back to top
Revised June 20, 2007
NTDB
Trauma Programs
This page and all contents are Copyright © 2004-2007
by the American College of Surgeons, Chicago, IL 60611-3211
|
