This indicator measures the risk-adjusted rate of readmission following discharge for mental health and substance use disorders.
Lower rates are desirable.
Data availability:
to (fiscal years)
Geographic coverage
All provinces/territories
Reporting level
National, Province/Territory, Region
Calculation
Risk-adjusted rate for each region = Observed number of readmissions in each region ÷ Expected number of readmissions in the region × Canadian average readmission rate
Unit of Analysis: Episode of care
An episode of care refers to all contiguous inpatient hospitalizations in general and psychiatric hospitals and all day surgery visits regardless of diagnoses. To construct an episode of care, a transfer is assumed to have occurred if the following condition is met:
- Admission to a general/psychiatric hospital or day surgery facility occurs on the same day as discharge from another general/psychiatric hospital or day surgery facility
Denominator
Number of episodes of care for an MHSU disorder discharged between April 1 and March 1 of the fiscal year
Numerator
Cases within the denominator with a readmission for MHSU disorders within 30 days of discharge after the index episode of care
Comments
A 30-day readmission can occur in the same facility as the index episode or in a different facility. A readmission can be a planned or unplanned admission. Planned versus unplanned admissions cannot be distinguished in all available data sources. For jurisdictions where comprehensive information was available, rates including both planned and unplanned readmissions and only unplanned readmissions were compared, and they were not statistically significantly different. Published work has shown that few planned readmissions for MHSU disorders within 30 days are scheduled by practitioners.