Average length of stay in hospitals
Average length of stay (ALOS) refers to the average number of days patients discharged from hospital have spent. ALOS is measured by dividing the total annual number of bed-days by the number of discharges during that same period. Same day discharges and outpatient visits are excluded.
Changes in the Average length of stay (ALOS) over time may be affected by several things. Changes in technology and a shift towards an increasing number of services being provided via out-patient care may reduce the number of bed days. Reversely, aging populations, and thereby an increase in the number of patients with multi morbidity, may lead to an increase in ALOS. Analysis of time trends on hospital discharge data need to take this into account.
Method
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Hospital data definitions
In countries where unique identifiers are available for individuals it is possible - by diagnosis group - to count the number of individuals receiving hospital care (patients treated), in addition to the number of discharges. The Nordic countries are among a limited number of countries where this is possible.