Methodological datasheet: Average hospital stay

Identification

Description.

Average hospital stay

Description and source 1 operation code.

Hospital Morbidity Statistics. (030580 Basque Statistics Plan)

Responsable entity.

Eustat

Availability.

Year +1

Indicator formula.

No. of hospital stays / discharges

Objectives

It is one of the indicators employed to measure the efficiency of the health system (fewer incidents, less hospitalisation, fast resolution).

Sphere

Population:

Public and private acute-care and medium- and long-stay hospitals

Geographical Sphere:

Basque Country

Time period:

Annual

Concepts and Definitions

The stay is the time between the high date of meno the date of entry.

A hospital discharge is called at the close (by healing or improvement, transfer to another facility, death and voluntary) of an episode attended in the hospitalization area or surgical day hospital. This indicator is comparable and includes cases of hospitalized patients with a minimum stay of 1 night or more.

Healthy newborn sunborns do not produce a discharge, as only the mother is discharged in the birthing process. Only if they present any pathology are counted as an income and a discharge.

The indicator is the quotient of dividing the number of days of hospitalisation between the number of discharges over the year including discharges due to deaths.

Codes and nomenclatures

Not applicable

Quality

The data regarding hospital discharges comes from administrative sources and therefore reflect the specific organisation of the health system of each country. The data cannot therefore always be comparable. Specifically, the international comparison regarding this variable must be performed with caution, as differences can exist regarding whether or not day-hospital patients or patients that are transferred from one hospital department to another are included.

Stays equal to zero have been excluded for reasons of homogeneity with the Survey on Hospital Mortality from the INI.

It is thus recommended to consult sources used by each country.

Health care resources (hlth_res)

Further Information

The EUROSTAT data are available in the Population and social conditions Public health> Health care activities> Length of stay in hospital> In-patient average length of stay (days)