Same-day admitted patient care occurs when the patient is admitted and separated on the same date. This section reports on same-day acute care (referred to as same-day care), where the care was not for rehabilitation or other non-acute care (which together comprised 3.8% of same-day care).
In 2011-12, 5.2 million, or 56% of separations, were same-day acute care separations. This included 2.8 million public hospital separations and 2.4 million private hospital separations.
Between 2007-08 and 2011-12, the proportion of same-day separations increased from 56.2% to 58.1%. On average, the number of same-day separations increased by 4.3% per year for public hospitals, and 4.9% per year for private hospitals.
Who used these services?
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people were hospitalised on a same-day basis at about 3 times the rate of other Australians. Almost 1 in 4 same-day separations were for care involving dialysis (more than 1.2 million). After excluding dialysis, the rate of same-day separations for Indigenous Australians was lower than the rate for other Australians (139 and 169 per 1,000 population, respectively) (Figure 33).
Persons usually resident in Very remote areas had 322 same-day separations per 1,000 population, compared with 221 per 1,000 nationwide.
Same-day separation rates were similar for different socioeconomic status groups, ranging from 210 per 1,000 population for the second lowest SES group to 232 per 1,000 for the middle SES group.
How urgent was the care?
About 72% of same-day separations were for elective care, 11% were for emergency care and about 17% were for other care (not assigned).
Why did people receive this care?
The most common principal diagnoses for same-day acute separations were:
- care involving dialysis (more than 1.2 million separations for kidney failure)
- other medical care (376,000 separations, mainly chemotherapy for cancer)
- cataract (173,000 separations).
What care was provided?
In public hospitals, more than three-quarters of same-day separations were for medical care (including specialist mental health). In private hospitals, about 37% of same-day separations were for medical care and about 34% were for surgical care.
About 7.7 million procedures were reported for same-day separations. In public hospitals, about 79% of same-day separations involved a procedure and in private hospitals about 97% of same-day separations involved a procedure.
The most common procedure (apart from anaesthesia) was haemodialysis, followed by pharmacotherapy (which includes chemotherapy).
Who paid for the care?
In public hospitals, almost 87% of same-day separations were public patients.
In private hospitals, private health insurance funded about 80% of same-day separations.