Canadian Medical Guide > Analytical, Diagnostic and Therapeutic Techniques and Equipment > Therapeutics > Patient Care > Hospitalization Terms and Definitions

Hospitalization

	Length of Stay - The period of confinement of a patient to a hospital or other health facility.
	Patient Admission - The process of accepting patients. The concept includes patients accepted for medical and nursing care in a hospital or other health care institution.
	Patient Discharge - The administrative process of discharging the patient, live or dead, from hospitals or other health facilities.
	Patient Readmission - Subsequent admissions of a patient to a hospital or other health care institution for treatment.
	Patient Transfer - Interfacility or intrahospital transfer of patients. Intrahospital transfer is usually to obtain a specific kind of care and interfacility transfer is usually for economic reasons as well as type of care provided.

Hospitalization Medical Definitions and Terms