Overall, there were about 380,000 separations for sub- and non-acute admitted patient care in 2010–11. These accounted for about 4.2% of separations and 15.6% of patient days in public and private hospitals. This care includes Rehabilitation, Palliative, Psychogeriatric, Geriatric evaluation and management and Maintenance care (Figures 46 and 47). Rehabilitation care was the most commonly provided sub- or non-acute care type.
The volume of these services increased over the period 2006–07 to 2010–11, particularly for Rehabilitation in private hospitals (20% per year) and Geriatric evaluation and management care in public hospitals (16% per year) (Figure 48).
Who used these services?
About 56% of sub- and non-acute separations were for females, and less than 30% of sub- and non-acute separations were for people aged under 65 (Figure 49).
Less than 1.0% of sub- and non-acute separations were for Indigenous Australians, compared with 3.8% of admitted patient separations overall.
Persons usually resident in Major cities had 19 separations per 1,000 population for sub- and non-acute care, compared with 16 per 1,000 nationwide.
Separation rates varied by socioeconomic status, from 12 per 1,000 population for those classified as being in the lowest SES group to 23 per 1,000 for those classified as being in the highest SES group.
How did people access these services?
Almost half of separations for sub- and non-acute care began as either transfers from another hospital or occurred within the same hospital when the patient’s type of care had changed (for example, from Acute care to Rehabilitation) (Figure 50). This contrasts with only 5% of separations overall that were transferred from another hospital or were a care type change.
How urgent was the care?
Less than 4% of separations for sub- and non-acute care were reported as emergency admissions, compared with 27% of separations overall.
About 66% were reported as elective admissions and 30% were other planned care.
Why did people receive this care?
The most common principal diagnosis was for Care involving use of rehabilitation procedures (287,000 separations).
Looking at second diagnoses for separations involving Rehabilitation care, the most common were:
- arthrosis of the knee (about 48,000 separations)
- arthrosis of the hip (20,000 separations)
- fracture of femur (hip fracture, 16,000 separations).
For Palliative care, 8 out of the 10 most common principal diagnoses were cancer-related.
What care did they receive?
Around 880,000 procedures or other interventions were reported for sub- and non-acute separations. About 83% of sub- and non-acute separations in public hospitals and 95% in private hospitals involved a procedure.
The most commonly reported procedures were allied health interventions, including:
- physiotherapy (over 290,000 separations)
- occupational therapy (164,000 separations)
- social work (89,000 separations).
How long did they stay?
The average length of stay for sub- and non-acute separations was 5.2 days in private hospitals and 19.2 days in public hospitals.
- For Rehabilitation care, the average length of stay was 4.8 days in private hospitals and 17.4 days in public hospitals.
- Separations for Maintenance care had the longest average length of stay (32.2 days), followed by Geriatric evaluation and management (19.1 days) and Psychogeriatric care (18.7 days).
Who paid for the care?
In public hospitals, about 76% of sub- and non-acute separations were public patients, 15% were funded by private health insurance and 6% were funded by the Department of Veterans' Affairs.
In private hospitals, private health insurance funded about 79% of sub- and non-acute separations, and 12% were funded by the Department of Veterans' Affairs.
How was care completed?
Just over three-quarters of separations for sub- and non-acute care ended in discharge of the patient to their usual place of residence, compared with over 92% of all admitted patient separations.
Over 6% of separations for sub- and non-acute care ended in discharge or transfer of the patient to another hospital or other health care accommodation.
A further 5% ended in discharge of the patient to a residential aged care service (that was not their usual place of residence), compared with about 1% overall.
- For Rehabilitation care 90% of patients were discharged to their usual place of residence, compared with 29% of patients for Palliative care (Figures 51 and 52)
- Over half (58%) of Palliative care separations ended in the death of the patient (Figure 52).