Hospital Occupancy

Identifying Attributes

Care Settings
Hospital Care
Country
Canada
Publishing Organisation
Health Quality Council of Alberta
Type of Quality Indicator
Process
IOM Quality Dimension
Efficiency
Domain
Capacity

Defining Attributes

Definition

All patients admitted as inpatients are included in the numerator regardless of whether they are in day surgery areas, surgical suites, emergency, etc. Therefore, the hospital occupancy calculation can be over 100%.

Numerator

Average number of acute care inpatients in hospital during the reporting period.

Denominator

Average number of staffed beds in the hospital during the reporting period.

Exclusions

Numerator exclusions: day procedures, day medicine, outpatient (ambulatory) registrations, newborns in bassinets. Denominator exclusions: over complement/overcapacity/overflow spaces (e.g., beds located in lounges, shower rooms, hallways, etc. to handle surge capacity), closed beds (i.e., permanent closures physically ready to open if staffing and funding were available), operating rooms, blocked beds (i.e., beds closed temporarily for more than 24 hours due to staffing, isolation, weekends, holidays, maintenance, renovations, special patient care needs, etc.), bassinets.

Use of Risk Adjustment
No
Risk Adjustments

None

Stratifications

By hospital and hospital type (large urban trauma, large urban, medium urban, children's).

Data Attributes

Type of Data Collection
Administrative data
Data Collection Methods

Admit/Discharge/Transfer (ADT) source systems and AHS Bed Survey (bed tracker tool).

Frequency of Data Collection
Monthly
Frequency of Data Collection in Days
30
Reporting Methods
Reporting Frequency
Quarterly
Reporting Frequency in Days
91
Indicator Has Recommended Targets
No

Source and Reference Attributes

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
23 July 2025