Hospital Mental Health and Substance Use (HMHSU) Data Asset metadata
Hospital mental health data update: Transitioning from HMHDB to HMHSU Data Asset
As part of CIHI’s data modernization strategy, we are transitioning to the newly developed Hospital Mental Health and Substance Use (HMHSU) Data Asset. CIHI’s hospital mental health data that was previously available through the Hospital Mental Health Database (HMHDB) is now available through the HMHSU Data Asset.
Please email specializedcare@cihi.ca with any questions about these changes.
Overview
The Hospital Mental Health and Substance Use (HMHSU) Data Asset contains data from all provinces and territories in Canada on hospitalizations for mental health and substance use.
Data source
Data in the HMHSU Data Asset is gathered from administrative discharge records of psychiatric and general hospitals from 4 sources:
- Discharge Abstract Database (DAD): Separation records from psychiatric hospitals participating in the DAD
- Hospital Morbidity Database (HMDB): Separation records from psychiatric hospitals in Quebec and selected acute separation records from all provinces and territories
- Hospital Mental Health Survey (HMHS): Separation records from selected psychiatric hospitals that do not report to the DAD
- Ontario Mental Health Reporting System (OMHRS): Separation records for individuals admitted as inpatients to adult mental health services in Ontario, as well as some individuals in youth inpatient beds and selected facilities in other provinces
Data coverage
Inpatient hospital stays in general and psychiatric hospitals in all provinces and territories are represented in the HMHSU Data Asset.
Data availability
Hospital Mental Health indicators based on the HMHSU Data Asset provide statistics on hospitalizations for mental health and substance use.
- Mental Health and Substance Use Disorder Discharges
- Total Days Stayed for Mental Health and Substance Use Disorder Hospitalizations
Next release: 2024–2025 (January 2026)
Classification
| Data source | Diagnostic classification system |
|---|---|
| DAD/HMDB | ICD-10-CA |
| OMHRS | DSM-5, DSM-5-TR |
| HMHS | DSM-III, DSM-IV-TR |
OMHRS data is sourced from the Resident Assessment Instrument–Mental Health (RAI-MH) ©, a unique standardized data collection system for mental health.
ICD-10-CA and CCI documents
- ICD-10-CA/CCI
- Canadian Coding Standards for ICD-10-CA and CCI
- ICD-10-CA and CCI Evolution Tables
- Validation Tables (for Use With ICD-10-CA/CCI)
Historical documents are available upon request.
Data elements
Data consists of demographic and diagnostic information on inpatient hospital stays, such as
- Fiscal year of discharge
- Patient geography
- Hospital geography
- Unique record identifier
- Unique patient identifier
- Length of stay
- Sex
- Age group
- Diagnosis category
- Discharge disposition
Data quality
CIHI ensures that the quality of the information in our data holdings is suited to its intended uses and that data users are provided with accurate information about data quality. Read more about our Data and Information Quality Program.
Privacy impact assessment
Privacy impact assessments (PIAs) evaluate and address the privacy impacts of programs and systems.
Go to the Privacy and security page to view the PIA, which contains further information about the purposes, data elements and data sources for this data holding.
Contact us
For further information, please email
If you would like CIHI information in a different format, visit our Accessibility page.