I require links to contact details for as many hospitals as possible in Canada:

Contact details include:

Website,
Physical Address
Phone
Fax
Email.

I also need the total number of hospitals in Canada.

I do _NOT_ require the details for each hospital to be included in the
answer if they are already avaliable on the web. Links to existing
sites/databases are prefered (along with number of hospitals in each
source).

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Request for Question Clarification by scriptor-ga on 10 Dec 2003 11:00 PST

Dear josh_robb,

Please have a look at this database of Canadian health care facilities:
http://www.hospitalsoup.com/rn/asp/CountryID.2/pt/HospitalListings.htm

Unfortunately, the files do not include e-mail addresses and fax
numbers; however, direct links to the institutions' websites are
provided, where applicable. You can choose among various categories of
facilities and thus narrow the results.

This is the best data collection I could find; however, since it does
not fit perfectly with your requirements, I prefer asking you whether
you like it before posting it as an answer.

Regards,
Scriptor

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Clarification of Question by josh_robb-ga on 10 Dec 2003 17:33 PST

Scriptor,

That looks great. To complete the question I need a source for the
total number of hospitals in Canada. If you have that and the number
matches the ball park that the hospitalsoup db provides then feel free
to post it as the answer.

Thanks,

j.

Dear josh_robb,

Unfortunately, I have not been able to find exact figures on the
number of Canadian hospitals for the recent years. Even the official
Statistics Department and Health Department websites of the Canadian
government do not provide any information on how many hospitals there
are in the country. However, I have found the following:

1. A paper on downsizing tendencies in Canadian health system (almost
all Canadian hospitals are public) mentions the following official
figures to illustrate the declining number of hospitals:
- 1986/87 ... 1224 hospitals (public: 1053)
- 1993/94 ... 1157 hospitals (public:  998)
- 1994/95 ...  978 hospitals (public:  901)
Source:
Statistics Canada: Downsizing Canada's Hospitals, 1986/87 to 1994/95 (PDF-file)
http://www.statcan.ca/english/indepth/82-003/archive/1997/hrar1997008004s0a03.pdf

2. The 2003 country profile for Canada, provided by the Canadian
Department of Statistics, says in its brief description of the
Canadian health system:
"...In 1997, Canadians could convalesce in more than 800 hospitals,
including general hospitals and special hospitals with facilities for
children."
Source:
Statistics Canada: Canada e-Book - The People / Hospitals
http://142.206.72.67/02/02b/02b_008c_e.htm

3. A paper on privatization in Canadian health care says:
"But most of Canada?s 850 hospitals are privately owned..."
Source:
Centres of Excellence: Privatization and Health Care Reform in Canada
- Analytic Glossary
http://www.cewh-cesf.ca/healthreform/publications/PDF/PHRC_an_glossary.pdf

Considering the downsizing trend (that has most likely slowed down in
the past few years, since the number of hospitals can't be downsized
at the same rate for ever), a total 2003 number of Canadian general
hospitals of approximately 830 seems very realistic to me.

The HospitalSoup database lists 1438 general hospitals and acute care
facilities for Canada; however, I have examined the data and found out
that a considerable number of sub-facilities and special departments
belonging to one and the same institution are listed seperately; so
the real final number of hospitals listed should approximately equal
or come very close to the estimate number of about 830 facilities.

Here, again, the link to the HospitalSoub database of Canadian health
care facilities:
http://www.hospitalsoup.com/rn/asp/CountryID.2/pt/HospitalListings.htm


I really hope that what I found out will be sufficient to satisfy your needs.
Very best regards,
Scriptor