START DATE (HOSPITAL PROVIDER SPELL) is the Start Date of the Hospital Provider Spell.

The Start Date of the Hospital Provider Spell is the date of admission: the CONSULTANT or MIDWIFE has assumed responsibility for care following the DECISION TO ADMIT the PATIENT.

START DATE (HOSPITAL PROVIDER SPELL) is used by the Secondary Uses Service to derive the Healthcare Resource Group 4. Failure to correctly populate this data element is likely to result in an incorrect Healthcare Resource Group, usually associated with lower levels of healthcare resource.

For further information, please refer to the NHS England website at: Payment by Results Guidance.

This data element is also known by these names:

Context	Alias
plural	START DATES (HOSPITAL PROVIDER SPELL)