Average Length of a Hospital Stay (Days)

This measure represents the average length of a single inpatient hospital stay. It is largely influenced by the types of cases that make up the hospital’s patient population and, to some extent, by the ability of hospitals to discharge patients to an appropriate setting when patients are ready to leave the hospital.

Age, number of comorbidities, interventions and availability of out-of-hospital supporting health services are factors affecting the total LOS of an individual patient.

Knowing how long an average patient stays in the hospital may help in understanding patterns of admission and discharge and may assist in understanding patient flow and hospital efficiency.