The Hospital Morbidity Survey (HMS), although not as old as that of deaths, is very traditional in the INE. It was implemented in 1951 and since then it has been elaborated annually.

Its main objective consists of obtaining the structure and development of hospital morbidity, in other words, of the ill persons who were admitted into hospitals. Specifically, it tries to measure morbidity by virtue of the different diagnoses, average stay in hospital by type of diagnosis and the hospitalŽs scope of influence or degree of attraction.

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