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Fewer Stays, but More Intensive Treatments in Austria's Hospitals

Die Zahl der Spitalsaufenthalte ist in den letzten Jahren zurückgegangen.
Die Zahl der Spitalsaufenthalte ist in den letzten Jahren zurückgegangen. ©APA/GEORG HOCHMUTH
In the last 25 years, the number of inpatient hospital stays per capita in Austria has decreased by 16.5 percent. The duration of hospital stays has also become shorter, which among other things indicates an increase in day clinic treatments.

The number of inpatient hospital stays per capita in Austria has decreased by 16.5 percent over the past 25 years. According to Statistics Austria, there were nearly 2.2 million discharges from acute care hospitals in Austria in 2024. That is about 231 per 1,000 inhabitants. However, the decline exclusively affects the fully inpatient sector with a decrease of 22 percent. Day clinic treatments have increased by 26 percent since 2000.

Austrians Spend Less Time in Hospitals

The average duration of inpatient treatment has also shortened. On average, an inpatient stay lasted 6.1 days last year. 25 years ago, patients spent on average a good one and a half days longer in the hospital.

Corona Caused a Drop in Numbers

"Since the turn of the millennium, there has been a trend towards fewer and shorter stays in Austria's hospitals," explained Manuela Lenk, Director of Statistical Services at Statistics Austria, in a press release on Wednesday. However, this development has not been continuous. In particular, during the coronavirus pandemic, there was a sharp decline in hospital stays, which have since been rising slightly again.

Compared to the year 2000, the absolute number of discharges from acute care hospitals has decreased by 4.0 percent. However, because the population has grown during this period, there is a significantly stronger decline in stays per capita - namely by 16.5 percent, it was explained. Two percent of all hospital stays in 2024 were accounted for by patients residing abroad, while in 2000 it was 1.6 percent. The largest increases were among people registered in Hungary, Germany, and Romania.

More Seriously Ill Patients in Austria's Hospitals

Mortality during inpatient stays has increased because milder or less advanced diseases can be treated on an outpatient or day clinic basis. As a result, the proportion of seriously ill patients in the fully inpatient care sector has increased, according to Statistics Austria. In 2000, 1.7 percent of all patients died during a hospital stay, while in 2024 it was 2.0 percent. Thus, the number of people who died in the hospital has increased by almost eight percent since the turn of the millennium.

Hospital stays have also become more treatment-intensive. The number of diagnostic and therapeutic services provided on an inpatient basis increased significantly from around 3.2 million to around 4.4 million from 2000 to 2024. In 2024, an average of 2.2 medical services were billed during a fully inpatient hospital stay and an average of 1.2 during a day clinic stay.

(APA/Red)

This article has been automatically translated, read the original article here.

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