Summarises data from two hospital data collections maintained by the AIHW. Key statistics are presented on the resources, expenditure and revenue of public hospitals and on the services they provide. Detailed statistics are also presented on the characteristics and hospital care of admitted patients in both public and private hospitals. Australian Hospital Statistics 1997-98 includes a focus on hospital performance indicators, analysis based on the AN-DRG (casemix) classification, and maps depicting hospitalisation rates by geographical area.