Number of Hospital Patient Days Used by Those Eligible and Waiting for Residential Aged Care

Identifying Attributes

Care Settings
Care Transitions
Country
Australia
Publishing Organisation
National Healthcare Agreement
Type of Quality Indicator
Process
IOM Quality Dimension
Efficiency
Domain
Hospitalisation

Defining Attributes

Definition

Number of hospital bed days used by patients whose acute (or sub-acute) episode of admitted patient care has finished and who have been assessed by an Aged Care Assessment Team (ACAT) and approved for residential aged care. Presented as a number, and per 1,000 patient days.

Numerator

Number of patient days used by patients who are waiting for/unable to access residential aged care, where: Care type was 'maintenance', and the diagnosis (either principal or additional) was 'Person awaiting admission to residential aged care service' or 'Unavailability and inaccessibility of residential aged care service', and Separation mode was 'discharge/transfer to (an)other acute hospital'; 'discharge/transfer to a residential aged care service, unless this is the usual place of residence'; 'statistical discharge - type change'; 'died'; 'discharge/transfer to other health care accommodation (includes mothercraft hospitals)'; 'left against medical advice/discharge at own risk'; 'statistical discharge from leave'; or 'discharge/transfer to (an)other psychiatric hospital', and the separation was overnight only.

Denominator

Total patient days (including overnight and same-day separations)

Exclusions

Numerator excludes same-day separations.

Use of Risk Adjustment
No
Risk Adjustments

None

Stratifications

Nationally, by 2016 Socio-Economic Indexes for Areas (SEIFA) Index of Relative Socio-Economic Disadvantage (IRSD) deciles

Collection and Reporting Attributes

Type of Data Collection
Administrative data
Data Collection Methods

Quarterly or annually (financial year). The National Hospital Morbidity Database (NHMD) is compiled from data supplied by the state and territory health authorities. It is a collection of electronic confidentialised summary records for separations (that is, episodes of care) in public and private hospitals in Australia. Data are collected at each hospital from patient administrative and clinical record systems. Hospitals forward data to the relevant state or territory health authority on a regular basis (e.g. monthly). State and territory health authorities provide the data to the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare for national collation, on an annual basis. State and territory health authorities provide the data to the Independent Hospital Pricing Authority for national collation, on a quarterly basis.

Frequency of Data Collection
Frequency of Data Collection in Days
Reporting Methods

Productivity Commission Report on Government Services

Reporting Frequency
Reported in 2018-19. Unable to determine if one-off or if regularly reported
Reporting Frequency in Days
Indicator Has Recommended Targets
No

Source and Reference Attributes

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)
No
Australian Consortium for Aged Care Endorsed
No
Identified by PHARMA-Care Project
No
Upload Date
02 December 2025