Private Hospital Injury Admissions Victoria, January 1993-June 1994: Acomparison with public hospitals
Monash University Accident Research Centre - Report #71 - 1995
Author: G. Watt
Full report in .pdf format [3.3MB]
Abstract:
Data relating to injury admissions to Victorian private hospitals for the eighteen months January 1993 to June 1994 were analysed to determine frequencies and injury causes, and these results compared to similar data for public hospitals for the six years July 1987 to June 1993.
It was found that the Victorian Inpatient Minimum Dataset was recording a rapidly increasing number of hospitalised injury admissions over the three years 199111992 to 1993/1994. The quality of data relating to private hospital admissions was poor and inconsistent for the two years studied.
About 20% of all injury admissions in VIMD were to private hospitals. This was a higher than expected number and suggests that these injuries should be taken into account for statistical purposes. The most frequent causes of injury presenting to private hospitals were, in order, medical, falls, hit/struck/crush and transport injuries.
When compared with public hospital data, private hospitals appear to admit more persons, relatively, over 25 years of age than public hospitals, but far fewer children and young people.
The general lack of emergency department facilities at private hospitals and issues relating to private health insurance probably accounts for the relatively low admission frequency of intentional injury cases, and also of transport injuries. On the other hand, sporting injuries were relatively more common in private than public hospitals, possibly because of the existence of private specialist sports injury facilities.
Sponsor: Department of Health and Community Services (Victoria)