Who used admitted patient care services?

This section presents information that can be used to assess the accessibility of admitted patient services.        

Age group and sex

Between 2013–14 and 2017–18, hospitalisations for people aged:

  • 65 to 74 increased by an average of 5.9% each year, faster than the average annual population growth for this age group (4.1%)
  • 85 and over increased by an average of 4.7% each year, faster than the average population growth for this age group (3.5%).

In 2017–18 people aged 65 and over, who make up 15% of Australia’s population, accounted for 42% of hospitalisations and 48% of patient days.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people

In 2017–18, compared with other Australians, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people were hospitalised:

  • 2.6 times as often overall (after accounting for age)
  • twice as often for overnight stays 
  • 13 times as often for same-day dialysis
  • about the same for other same-day cute care, and for subacute/non-acute care.

Remoteness

In 2017–18, hospitalisation rates were highest for patients living in Very remote areas (90% higher than the national rate).

About 85% of hospitalisations for patients living in Very remote areas were in public hospitals, compared with 55% for patients living in Major cities.

Socioeconomic status

In 2017–18:

  • for public hospitals, the rates were highest (30% higher than the national rate) for patients living in areas classified in the lowest (most disadvantaged) SES status group
  • for private hospitals, the rates were highest for patients living in areas classified in the highest (least disadvantaged) SES status group.

Where to go for more information

For more information on age groups, Indigenous status, remoteness area and socioeconomic status groups, see Chapter 3 of Admitted patient care 2017–18: Australian hospital statistics.