Introduction

In Australia, hospitalised care is provided by both public and private hospitals. Public hospitals deliver the majority of inpatient care with private hospitals playing a smaller but important role.

Hospitalisations, more specifically episodes of care or hospital separations, are a particular phase of treatment within a hospital stay, reflected by the care type provided at the time. In admitted care settings, hospitals provide diverse care such as acute, rehabilitation and palliative care. The types of specialist services provided can vary across hospitals.

In 2022–23, there were 121 declared public hospitals and 121 licenced private hospitals, day surgery centres and hospices in Queensland.1

Understanding patterns in hospitalisations is used to track health care statistics, disease burden, quality outcomes, mortality statistics and cost. Findings inform strategies to improve individual health, the overall health and wellbeing of the population and the sustainability of the wider healthcare sector.

This section provides results for all hospitalisations (public and private) based on:

  • Hospital episode of care

    Codes categorising health conditions based on the type of disease, body systems affected, or the causal circumstances.

  • Potentially preventable hospitalisations

    Potentially preventable hospitalisations—a subset that could have been prevented by timely primary care treatment or by public health intervention

References

  1. Queensland Health. 2022. Queensland Hospital Admitted Patient Data Collection (QHAPDC) Manual 2002–2023. Brisbane

    Note: Mater Hospital Brisbane and Mater Mothers’ Hospital, which provide public hospital services but are privately owned and operated, are included as licenced private hospitals.

Last updated: July 2024