CIHI survey: Alternative level of care in Canada: a summary.

Canadian health system managers are increasingly concerned about the number of hospital in-patients who do not need acute care services (Ontario Association for Community Care Access Centres et al. 2006; Yassi et al. 2008). These patients are widely known as "ALC patients" because they are awaiting an alternative level of care in a more appropriate setting. ALC days in hospitals is a systems issue, reflecting challenges in different parts of …