Summary

How much admitted patient care was provided?

In 2013-14, there were more than 9.7 million separations from hospitals-5.7 million in public hospitals and 4.0 million in private hospitals.

Between 2009-10 and 2013-14, the number of separations increased by 3.3% on average each year; by 3.0% for public hospitals and by 3.6% for private hospitals. This was greater than the average increase in population over this period (1.6%).

Almost 27.9 million days of patient care were reported for admitted patients-18.8 million in public hospitals and 9.1 million in private hospitals. Between 2009-10 and 2013-14, days of patient care increased by about 1% on average each year.

Who used these services?

In 2013-14, 53% of separations were for females and 40% of separations were for people aged 65 and over.

There were about 408,000 separations for Indigenous Australians, who were hospitalised at more than twice the rate for other Australians (896 and 384 per 1,000 population, respectively).

Why did people receive care?

In 2013-14, about 94% of separations were for acute care and 4% for rehabilitation care. About 6% of hospitalisations were potentially preventable and a further 6% of separations were for injury or poisoning.

The most common single reason for care was dialysis for kidney disease (1.3 million separations). Between 2009-10 and 2013-14, separations for dialysis increased by 3.9% on average each year.

What services were provided?

In 2013-14, about 57% of separations were for medical care, 25% were for surgical care and about 3% each were for childbirth and specialised mental health care. Public hospitals provided the majority of medical separations (73%) and emergency admissions (79%). Private hospitals accounted for 60% of surgical separations, 58% of specialised mental health separations and 53% of non-emergency admissions.

In 2013-14, about 2% of public hospital separations involved a stay in an intensive care unit. About 9.4 million hours of intensive care were reported for public hospitals.

What procedures were performed?

In 2013-14, about 19.1 million procedures were reported. About 75% of public hospital separations and 95% of private hospital separations involved a procedure.

In 2013-14, there were 305,000 emergency admissions involving surgery. The most common emergency surgery performed was appendicectomy.

Between 2009-10 and 2013-14, elective admissions involving surgery rose by an average of 2.3% per year; by 1.4% for public hospitals and by 2.7% for private hospitals.

What was the safety and quality of the care?

In 2013-14, about 8.8% of separations recorded a condition with onset during the hospital stay. The most commonly reported hospital-acquired conditions included Hypotension, Nausea and vomiting and Urinary tract infections.