Coronavirus hospitalization costs $23,000 per stay, four times as much as average: CIHI

Data from the Canadian Institute for Health Information shows COVID-19-related hospitalizations in Canada cost $23,000 per stay — about four times as much as the average.

CIHI says the average length of stay for a COVID-related hospitalization in Canada was two weeks.

The agency examined data from from January to November 2020, but did not include Quebec.

In that time period, the estimated total cost of COVID-19-related hospitalizations in Canada was more than $317 million.

There were nearly 14,000 hospital stays for patients with a diagnosis of COVID-19 in Canada between last January and November, along with more than 85,400 emergency department visits for COVID-19.

Of the 13,906 COVID-related hospitalizations analyzed, CIHI found that 57.1 per cent were discharged home while 18.7 per cent (2,605) died in hospital.

Another 14.2 per cent were transferred to another in-patient care facility.

Nearly 55 per cent of those requiring hospitalization were men and the median age was 67. Men also made up a higher percentage of ICU admission (64.1).

CIHI data showed 47 per cent of those requiring ICU admission were 65 or over, while the median age was 63. The average length of stay in an ICU was 20.8 days.

More than 60 per cent (60.2) of ICU patients needed ventilation. Thirty per cent died in hospital while 43.3 were discharged.

CIHI also found that 30.2 per cent of all COVID-19 hospitalizations came from Canada’s lowest income neighbourhoods, compared to 12.1 per cent from the highest income areas.

The agency says results from April to November were derived from provisional data, which is not final, adding “results should be interpreted with caution.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 25, 2021.