Hospital stays in Canada, 2021–2022 (2024)

FAQs

What is the average hospital stay in Canada? ›

The age-adjusted average length of stay (LOS) in hospital was 7.3 days in 2022–2023, similar to the previous year. The most common reason for hospitalization in 2022–2023 was giving birth, with an average acute LOS of 2.1 days.

The most common reason for hospitalization in 2021–2022 was giving birth, with an average acute LOS of 2.1 days. This was followed by COVID-19 (10.1 days) and heart failure (9.2 days). The most common inpatient surgery in Canada in 2021–2022 was a Caesarean section (C-section), with an average acute LOS of 2.7 days.

In total, there were 1,280 hospitals in Canada as of 2022. Hospital expenditures per capita appear to be highest in less populated territories.

Canada fares better than the United States with regard to coverage, cost, and health outcomes. While overall access is better in Canada, patients are sometimes required to endure longer wait times than in the United States.

Introduction. Canada ranked 25th in the 2022 World Index of Healthcare Innovation, down from 23rd in 2021 and 17th in 2020. Canada's overall ranking was dragged down by its 17th and 29th showings, respectively, in Science & Technology and Fiscal Sustainability. Canada ranked 12th for Quality and 16th for Choice.

In 2022, overall health expenditure in Canada is predicted to be 331 billion Canadian dollars or 8,563 Canadian dollars per person. It is predicted that health spending will account for 12.2 percent of Canada's gross domestic product (GDP) in 2022.

In 2022, around 82,412 people in Canada died from cancer, making it by far the leading cause of death in the country.

Emergency departments across the country are overwhelmed with patients waiting many hours to receive care due to a mix of factors including staffing shortages, overcrowding and a surge of viruses at this time of year.

In Canada, every one in 14 inpatient surgery performed in 2022/23 was a Caesarean section delivery, making c-sections the most common inpatient surgery in Canada. This is followed by knee and hip replacement surgeries.

How does hospital work in Canada? ›

Each provincial and territorial health insurance plan covers medically necessary hospital and doctors' services that are provided on a pre-paid basis, without direct charges at the point of service. The provincial and territorial governments fund these services with assistance from federal cash and tax transfers.

The Toronto General Hospital (TGH) is the only Canadian hospital included on the list and has been for each of the six years that it has been published.

The universal healthcare system covers essential medical visits, such as doctors' visits, hospital services (surgeries, both in-patient and out-patient), prescription drugs provided in hospital and immunizations.

There are many benefits to working as a nurse in the United States. For Canadian nurses, the most obvious benefit is the increased salary. In addition, nursing jobs in American hospitals tend to be better equipped than in Canadian hospitals, and nurses have access to more advanced technology.

In a study published in BioMed Central's journal Population Health Metrics they said Canadians can expect to live until 79.7 years of age, versus 77.2 years for Americans. A healthy 19-year-old Canadian can expect to have 52 more years of perfect health versus 49.3 more years for Americans.

In the U.S., the average wait time for a first-time appointment is 24 days (≈3 times faster than in Canada); wait times for Emergency Room (ER) services averaged 24 minutes (more than 4x faster than in Canada); wait times for specialists averaged between 3–6.4 weeks (over 6x faster than in Canada).

CMAJ: Why are wait times so bad in Canada? Simpson: There are bottlenecks everywhere. A lot of delays are driven by the fact that hospitals operate at very high capacity because there are large numbers of patients requiring alternate levels of care [who have nowhere else to go].

Canada's provincial and federal health insurance covers standard ward accommodation (four beds to a room) through Canada's Medicare program. If you prefer to stay in a private or semi-private room during your hospital stay, a premium rate will be charged to you or your insurance company.

In 2018, there were 36.4 million inpatient hospital stays in the United States. The average length of stay (LOS) for a hospitalization is 5½ days.