average length of stay alos in hospital is often used as an indicator of efficiency in delivering hospital services because all other factors being constant a shorter stay will reduce the cost per discharge and allow the treatment of a greater number of patients for given inputs patients admitted for lifethreatening conditions such as acute myocardial infarction heart attack and cerebrovascular diseases stroke also tend to stay much longer in hospital than in other countries for instance patients admitted for acute myocardial infarction ami spend on average days in hospital which is days more than the g and oecd average the difference is even greater for patients admitted for cerebrovascular diseases stroke with these patients in korea staying on average more than days while in most other g countries they are hospitalised for about days only