The Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI) released 3 new indicators that show how Canada’s health systems are faring:
- Hospital stays for harm caused by substance use – This indicator measures how many hospital stays are a direct result of substance use, including alcohol, cannabis, cocaine and other drugs. The first-year results are based on 2017–2018 data.
- Frequent emergency room visits for help with mental health and/or addictions – This indicator measures how many Canadians visited the ER 4 or more times in 1 year.
- Hospital stay extended until home care services or supports ready – This indicator measures the number of days patients remain in hospital while waiting for home care services or supports to be ready.
These indicators are the first 3 of 12 chosen by the federal, provincial and territorial health ministries, in consultation with Canadians, to measure access to mental health and addictions services and to home and community care. This first year of results provides a baseline against which to track improvements over time.
In addition to the release of the 3 new indicators measuring access to mental health and addictions and home care services, CIHI has also updated the results for 31 existing health system performance indicators and contextual measures in the Your Health System web tool and Health Indicators e-Publication (CIHI’s Health Indicators Interactive Tool).
Read more:
- The indicator results are available in the Your Health System: In Brief web tool at the provincial and territorial levels.
- A companion report is available to provide context and assist with interpretation.
- Related CIHI news release: https://www.cihi.ca/en/new-data-available-on-home-care-and-mental-health-and-addictions