Glossary
Acute: A medical condition that comes on suddenly and lasts for a limited time.
Additional diagnosis: A condition or complaint either coexisting with the principal diagnosis or arising during the episode of admitted patient care, episode of residential care or attendance at a health care establishment. See: Additional diagnosis, METEOR, id:588981.
Admission: The process whereby the hospital accepts responsibility for the patient’s care and/or treatment. Admission follows a clinical decision based upon specified criteria that a patient requires same-day or overnight care or treatment. See Admission, METEOR, id: 327206.
Admitted patient: A patient who undergoes a hospital’s formal admission process to receive treatment and/or care. This treatment and/or care is provided over a period of time and can occur in hospital and/or in the person’s home (for hospital-in-the-home patients). See: Admitted patient, METEOR, id: 268957.
Average length of stay (ALOS): The average number of days spent in hospital for each stay (episode of care) for admitted patients who stayed at least one night.
Bed days: The total number of days for patients who were admitted for an episode of care and who separated during a specified reference period. A patient who is admitted and separated on the same day is allocated one bed day.
Chronic: Persistent and long-lasting.
Hospitalisation: A hospitalisation is an episode of admitted patient care, which can be a total hospital stay (from admission to discharge, transfer or death) or a portion of a hospital stay beginning or ending in a change of type of care (e.g. from acute care to rehabilitation).
Length of stay: The length of stay of an overnight patient is calculated by subtracting the date the patient is admitted from the date of separation and deducting days the patient was on leave. A same-day patient is allocated a length of stay of 1 day. See: Length of stay, METEOR, id: 269982.
Potentially preventable hospitalisation (PPH) (selected): Admission to hospital for a condition where hospitalisation could have potentially been prevented through the provision of appropriate individualised preventative health interventions and early disease management usually delivered in primary care and community-based care settings (including by general practitioners, medical specialists, dentists, nurses and allied health professionals). The PPH conditions are classified as vaccine-preventable, chronic, and acute. See: Potentially preventable hospitalisation, METEOR, id: 740851.
Same day admission: A hospital stay in which the patient is discharged on the same date as they were admitted.
Same-day patient: An admitted patient who is admitted and separated on the same date.
Separations: The total number of episodes of care (also hospitalisations) for admitted patients, which can be total hospital stays (from admission to discharge, transfer or death) or portions of hospital stays beginning or ending in a change of type of care (for example, from acute to rehabilitation) that cease during a reference period. See: Separations, METEOR, id: 270407.