Wait Time From Hospital Discharge to Service Initiation (Hospital Clients)

Identifying Attributes

Care Settings

Care Transitions

Country

Canada

Publishing Organisation

Health Quality Ontario

Type of Quality Indicator

Process

IOM Quality Dimension

Timeliness

Domain

Access / Waiting Times

Defining Attributes

Definition

90th (or 50th) percentile wait time (in days) from application to initiation of home care services - hospital applicants. Number of days from the hospital discharge date to the first non-case management (CM) service for clients whose referral source was hospital.

Numerator

90th (or 50th) percentile for the number of days between the discharge date and the first non- case management Community Care Access Centre (CCAC) service date.

Denominator

This is a continuous variable measure. The target population is hospital applicants waiting for home care services (inferred).

Exclusions

Use of Risk Adjustment

Risk Adjustments

Stratifications

Collection and Reporting Attributes

Type of Data Collection

Administrative data

Data Collection Methods

Discharge Abstract Database (DAD), Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI), Home Care Database (HCD), Ontario Association of Community Care Access Centres (OACCAC)

Frequency of Data Collection

Ministry of Health and Long-term Care (MOHLTC) receives HCD data quarterly, ~6 weeks after end of quarter. MOHLTC receives Hospital DAD data quarterly, ~20 weeks after end of quarter.

Frequency of Data Collection in Days

Reporting Methods

Both 90th and 50th percentiles are calculated for the Multi-Sector Service Accountability Agreement (MSAA)

Reporting Frequency

Fiscal year

Reporting Frequency in Days

365

Indicator Has Recommended Targets

Source and Reference Attributes

Evidence Source

www.health.gov.on.ca/en/pro/programs/ris/docs/wthospdischgserviceinitiation_en.pdf

Technical Specifications

Link to Measurement Tools

Quality Indicator Confirmed to be Part of a Program Used to Monitor Quality and Safety of Care Among Older People at a Population-Level between 2012-2022

Yes

Assessed by the Australian Consortium for Aged Care Collaborators as Generally Containing Good Properties (Importance and Scientific Acceptability)

Australian Consortium for Aged Care Endorsed

Can the Quality Indicator be Readily Implemented at a Population Level in Australia Given its Current Data Landscape?

Implementation of this quality indicator was not assessed.

Identified by PHARMA-Care Project

Upload Date

31 March 2026