Ontarians can now access the key financial information of their hospital by using the Investigative Journalism Bureau’s Ontario Hospital Finance Explorer.
By searching the name of their local hospital, readers can review metrics such as annual operating deficit or surplus past three fiscal years, amount borrowed from a chartered bank and one-time government funding.
“This tool allows Ontarians to ask their government critical questions about how their hospital gets funded to provide them with the best care,” said IJB reporter Stacey Kuznetsova, whose latest investigation explores the financial red flags in hospitals across the province.
This database was created in partnership with the University of Toronto’s HIVE Lab which is dedicated to developing open-source tools to improve public health.
“Our goal is to make public records usable, not just available,” said Zahra Shakeri, the founder of HIVE Lab. “Collaborating with journalists allows us to turn complex data into an open resource that people can return to whenever questions come up.”
The Ontario Hospital Finance Explorer joins a list of public databases created in partnership with the HIVE Lab designed to bring transparency to critical issues of public health.
Among them is the Patient Files database which provides users with an overview of wait times, experiences from interacting with hospital staff, and the state of facilities at their local hospital. The Lead Tracker, another IJB/HIVE Lab collaboration, allows users to check lead test results for Ontario schools and daycares between 2019 and 2023.
The IJB commits to updating the Ontario Hospital Finance Explorer each fiscal year, as audited financial statements of Ontario hospital systems become available.
Look up your hospital here: Ontario Hospital Finance Explorer
The Investigative Journalism Bureau is a non-profit, impact-driven newsroom telling deeply-reported stories in the public interest.