Days Waiting for Admission to Inpatient Rehabilitation
A high value indicates that patients waited longer, on average, to be admitted to inpatient rehabilitation; thus a lower average value is desirable.
This indicator is calculated annually for the most recently completed seven fiscal years. It is calculated as the average (mean and median) number of days between the Date Ready for Admission and the Admission Date.
Excludes episodes for which Date Ready for Admission was coded as "unknown" or the Admission Class Code (type of inpatient rehabilitation admission) was "(un)planned discharge without assessment."
Unit of Analysis: Episode of care
Total number of clients admitted to an NRS-participating inpatient rehabilitation facility with a known Date Ready for Admission coded
Total number of days spent waiting for admission for all clients admitted to an NRS-participating inpatient rehabiliation facility that have a known Date Ready for Admission coded
Methodology
Name
Days Waiting for Admission to Inpatient Rehabilitation
Short/Other Names
Not applicable
Description
The average number of days that clients wait, between the Date Ready for Admission to the rehabilitation program and the actual date of admission. Date Ready for Admission is the calendar date that the client is considered appropriate and ready to start a rehabilitation program.
Rationale
This indicator was designed to speak to issues of access to inpatient rehabilitation. The indicator can be affected by the number of patients that have a known and accurate Date Ready for Admission coded. Ideally, there is consistent coding of Date Ready for Admission within and between facilities.
Interpretation
A high value indicates that patients waited longer, on average, to be admitted to inpatient rehabilitation; thus a lower average value is desirable.
HSP Framework Dimension
Health system outputs: Access to comprehensive, high-quality health services
Areas of Need
Getting Better
Targets/Benchmarks
The target is 0 days waiting for admission. No benchmarks have been identified.
Available Data Years
to (fiscal years)
Geographic Coverage
- Newfoundland and Labrador
- Prince Edward Island
- New Brunswick
- Nova Scotia
- Ontario
- Manitoba
- Saskatchewan
- Alberta
- British Columbia
Reporting Level/Disaggregation
- National
Indicator Results
Update Frequency
Every year
Latest Results Update Date
Updates
Not applicable
Description
This indicator is calculated annually for the most recently completed seven fiscal years. It is calculated as the average (mean and median) number of days between the Date Ready for Admission and the Admission Date.
Excludes episodes for which Date Ready for Admission was coded as "unknown" or the Admission Class Code (type of inpatient rehabilitation admission) was "(un)planned discharge without assessment."
Unit of Analysis: Episode of care
Type of Measurement
Average or mean
Denominator
Description:
Total number of clients admitted to an NRS-participating inpatient rehabilitation facility with a known Date Ready for Admission coded
Inclusions:
- Clients with a Date Ready for Admission coded as "known"
Exclusions:
- Clients with an Admission Class Code (type of inpatient rehabilitation admission) coded as "(un)planned discharge without assessment"
Numerator
Description:
Total number of days spent waiting for admission for all clients admitted to an NRS-participating inpatient rehabiliation facility that have a known Date Ready for Admission coded
Inclusions:
- Clients with a Date Ready for Admission coded as "known"
- Days spent waiting for admission may include a value of 0 days (that is, episodes in which Date Ready for Admission is the same as the Admission Date).
Exclusions:
- Clients with an Admission Class Code (type of inpatient rehabilitation admission) coded as "(un)planned discharge without assessment"
Method of Adjustment
Not applicable
Adjustment Applied
None
Geographic Assignment
Place of service
Data Sources
Caveats and Limitations
Geographic Coverage does not include the territories, as there are no inpatient rehabilitation facilities in Yukon, the Northwest Territories or Nunavut.
The NRS frame does not currently contain all inpatient rehabilitation units/facilities in all provinces and territories. Coverage is less than 100% in all jurisdictions except Newfoundland and Labrador, Prince Edward Island, Ontario and Saskatchewan.
Due to the option of coding Date Ready for Admission as "unknown," the number of episodes included in this calculation may be smaller than the overall number of clients receiving inpatient rehabilitation at these sites.
This indicator does not provide specific reasons for delays in admission to rehabilitation. Facilities wishing to track this indicator more closely may consider independently tracking specific reasons for delays in the admission process.
The indicator includes patients who waited 0 days for admission (that is, Date Ready for Admission = Admission Date). The average number of days waiting for admission would be significantly higher if this indicator included only those patients waiting 1 or more days.
Trending Issues
Since 2006, the number of facilities and jurisdictions submitting to the NRS has fluctuated slightly. As well, the proportion of Date Ready for Admission coded as "known" has increased over the years. Due to these changes, any indicator trends identified need to be interpreted carefully, as they may reflect changes in the underlying sample population rather than actual changes in client characteristics and resource utilization.
References
Not applicable
How to cite:
Canadian Institute for Health Information. Days Waiting for Admission to Inpatient Rehabilitation. Accessed October 22, 2024.
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Comments
In addition to the mean number of Days Waiting for Admission, the Quick Stats report NRS Days Waiting for Admission to Inpatient Rehabilitation also provides the median number of Days Waiting for Admission and the number of cases (episodes) being included in the calculation. A second Quick Stats report entitled NRS Distribution of Days Waiting for Admission to Inpatient Rehabilitation provides counts of cases that fall into various Days Waiting for Admission groups (0 to 3 days, 4 to 7 days, 8 to 10 days, etc.).
The number of cases and the median and mean values in this report can be further subdivided by Rehabilitation Client Group (the rehabilitation condition that best describes the primary reason for admission to the rehabilitation program), referral source (the facility/agency/individual who initiated the referral) and fiscal year.