B.C. hospital stays increasingly complex, UBC study finds

Health-care workers have talked about it for decades, but a new study out of the University of British Columbia (UBC) has backed up reports that hospital stays are more complex than they used to be.

Researchers looked at 3.4 million non-elective hospitalizations in B.C. over 15 years — between 2002 and 2017 — and found that by the end of the study, patients were more likely to be 75 years or older, have multiple medical issues, and rely on multiple medications.

They were also more likely to be admitted to the hospital via the emergency room, suffer an adverse event while in hospital, and require an unplanned readmission within 30 days.

“This study isn’t just about numbers. It’s about real people with increasingly complex health needs,” study author Dr. Hiten Naik, a research fellow with the UBC faculty of medicine’s Clinician Investigator Program, said.

“These trends highlight how important it is for health-care systems to evolve to meet the changing needs of not only patients, but also the health professionals who treat and care for them.”

Given the study wrapped up before the pandemic, the effect of COVID-19 on the trends found was not measured.

While the complexity of patients has grown, researchers note this trend isn’t necessarily leading to more serious outcomes. They say the study has found patients were actually less likely to die or be admitted to intensive care while in hospital, pointing to a health system that is adapting to changing needs.

The study highlights “the need for governments to be proactive” to ensure care adapts to the needs of patients.