Admitted patients (hospitalisations)

Admitted patients are patients who undergo a public or private hospital’s formal admission process to receive treatment and/or care. The types of care provided include surgical care, medical care, intensive care, newborn care, rehabilitation care, palliative care, and mental health care.

Data used in this section refer to the 2019–20 financial year, and the average of the 2014–15 to 2018–19 financial years. Data are sourced from the National Hospital Morbidity Database (NHMD), which is a compilation of episode level records from admitted patient morbidity data collection systems in Australian hospitals.

When considering numbers and rates reported in this section, it should be noted that variations in practices and policies may lead to variation among providers in the number of admissions for some conditions. Therefore, comparisons of hospitalisations across jurisdictions should be considered with caution. Additionally, while care has been taken when choosing periods for comparison, changes in International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems, Tenth Revision, Australian Modification (ICD-10-AM)/Australian Classification of Health Interventions (ACHI) classifications and the associated Australian Coding Standards may affect the comparability of the data over time. For more information on the NHMD, see Technical notes.

The number and rates of admissions, henceforth referred to as hospitalisations, for conditions related to air pollution and bushfire smoke are presented in the following section and include:

While not presented in this section, hospitalisations for dehydration are also included in the supplementary tables (tables S1 and S2).

Where possible, hospitalisations are presented by:

  • state and territory
  • Statistical Area Level 4 (SA4).
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