Recent releases
Mental health services in Australia 2006-07 (27 August 2009) (media release and publication)
Estimating the impact of selected National Health and Hospitals Reform Commission (NHHRC) reforms on health care expenditure, 2003 to 2033 (5 August 2009) (publication)
Australian hospital statistics 2007-08 (10 June 2009) (media release and publication)
Popular titles
 Australia's welfare 2009 |
 Australia's health 2008 |
FAQs presents answers to many of the frequently asked
questions about the services and information on the AIHW website.
Contents
- Why do we collect hospital data?
- How do I access hospital data online?
- What data are available?
- How do I request data?
Why do we collect Hospital Data?
Before the mid-1980s, hospital statistics were not regularly compiled on a national basis. There had been few efforts to ensure that definitions and terms used in the states and territories were consistent, and attempts at comparing the performance of the public hospital sectors of the states and territories had been difficult.
Since then governments and other hospital funders have taken an increasing interest in the monitoring and planning of hospital service provision in Australia and, specifically, in containing the costs of hospitals, measuring their outputs and ensuring their services are efficient, appropriate and of high quality. As a result, statistics on Australian hospitals and their patients have had an increasingly important role to play at the Australian Commonwealth and state and territory level, and within the private sector.
How do I access hospital data online?
Hospital data can be accessed through the electronic versions of the annual publications listed below. These publications are part of a series of annual reports summarising the characteristics and activity of Australian hospitals. Hospital data can also be accessed through interactive data cubes.
Publications
Australian Hospital Statistics
- 1995-96
- 1996-97
- 1997-98
- 1998-99
- 1999-00
- 2000-01
- 2001-02
- 2002-03
- 2003-04
- 2004-05
- 2005-06
- 2006-07
- 2007-08
Waiting Times for Elective Surgery
Interactive data cubes
National hospital morbidity data can also be accessed online by following the link to Interactive National Hospital Morbidity Data page. This site contains a number of interactive data cubes on principal diagnoses from 1993-94 to 2007-08 and Diagnosis Related Groups from 1997-98 to 2007-08. These cubes contain hospitalisation data on the number of separations, patient days and average lengths of stay, by principal diagnosis or AR-DRG, and the age group, sex and same day status of the patient. Interactive data cubes on elective surgery waiting times are also available. These data cubes contain waiting times statistics for patients removed based upon reason for removal, speciality of surgeon and indicator procedure. The data are presented in time series spanning from 2001-02 to 2007-08.
What data are available?
Hospital data are available from the following collections:
- National Hospital Morbidity Database
- National Public Hospital Establishments Database
- Elective Surgery Waiting Times Data Collection
- National Non-admitted Patient Emergency Department Care Database
How do I request data?
To request data from any of the data collections listed above, email Hospital Unit. A charge may apply depending upon the exact requirements and complexity of the analysis undertaken.