The Participant Use Data File (PUF) is a Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA)-compliant data file containing cases submitted to the Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery Accreditation and Quality Improvement Program (MBSAQIP®) Data Registry. PUF releases include the 30-day PUF, the 6-month Long-Term Follow-Up (LTFU) PUF and the 1-year LTFU PUF. The PUF contains patient-level, aggregate data and does not identify hospitals, health care providers, or patients. The intended purpose of this file is to provide researchers at participating sites with a data resource they can use to investigate and advance the quality of care delivered to the metabolic and bariatric surgical patient through the analysis of cases captured by MBSAQIP.
The PUF is provided at no additional cost to employees (surgeons, researchers, bariatric program staff, etc.) of MBSAQIP participant centers. With approximately 150,000 metabolic and bariatric cases captured each year, along with the 6-month and 1-year long-term follow-up entries from those cases, the MBSAQIP PUF is the largest, bariatric-specific, clinical dataset in the country and serves as an invaluable resource to investigators looking to answer important clinical questions in this field. It is part of the mission of the MBSAQIP to make this data available to all participants to improve the power and reliability of clinical research and further propel innovation in the field of metabolic and bariatric surgery. The data files are made available in a delimited text, SAS, and SPSS file type.
The 2024 dataset will be the fifth PUF, consisting of data from the new registry (est. 1/1/2020). Due to significant updates, please refer to the latest corresponding reference documents for this PUF, as they may not align with historical references.
The 2024 MBSAQIP PUF contains 177,789 cases submitted from 959 MBSAQIP-participating centers.
Beginning in December 2025, the LTFU PUF will be released along with the 30-day PUF. Due to the time needed to collect this data, the 6-month and 1-year LTFU PUFs will be released one year and two years, respectively, after the release of the relevant 30-day PUF. The first LTFU PUF release will be the 2023 6-month LTFU PUF and contains the 6-month LTFU entries for cases in the 2023 30-day PUF. The 2023 1-year LTFU PUF is scheduled for release in 2026, along with the 2025 30-day PUF and the 2024 6-month PUF.
The PUF User Guides are designed to accompany the Participant Use Data File and are available for download. The sections contained herein will provide the user with information on how to request the PUF, contents of the data files, data collection background, data limitations, and answers to frequently asked questions.
2024 MBSAQIP PUF User Guide
This user guide applies specifically to the 2024 PUF dataset and is updated with each subsequent PUF.
Additional MBSAQIP PUFs available for request:
2023 MBSAQIP PUF – 217,952 cases submitted by 961 centers (2023 MBSAQIP PUF User Guide)
NEW: 2023 MBSAQIP 6-month Long Term Follow-up (LTFU) PUF (2023 MBSAQIP LTFU PUF User Guide)
2022 MBSAQIP PUF—230,707 cases submitted by 924 centers (2022 MBSAQIP PUF User Guide)
2021 MBSAQIP PUF—211,254 cases submitted by 902 centers (2021 MBSAQIP PUF User Guide)
2020 MBSAQIP PUF—168,568 cases submitted by 885 centers (2020 MBSAQIP PUF User Guide)
2019 MBSAQIP PUF—206,570 cases submitted by 868 centers (2019 MBSAQIP PUF User Guide)
2018 MBSAQIP PUF—204,837 cases submitted by 854 centers (2018 MBSAQIP PUF User Guide)
2017 MBSAQIP PUF—200,374 cases submitted by 832 centers (2017 MBSAQIP PUF User Guide)
2016 MBSAQIP PUF—186,772 cases submitted by 791 centers (2016 MBSAQIP PUF User Guide)
2015 MBSAQIP PUF—168,903 cases submitted by 742 centers (2015 MBSAQIP PUF User Guide)
For questions or comments about the Participant Use Data File please contact Brian Matel at bmatel@facs.org.
