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 life-threatening conditions, such as acute myocardial infarction (heart attack) and cerebrovascular diseases (stroke), also tend to stay much longer in hospital than in other countries.1 For instance, patients admitted for acute myocardial infarction (AMI) spend on average 13 days in hospital, which is 6 days more than the G7 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 60 days, while in most other G7 countries, they are hospitalised for about 10-15 days only.