Hospitalization is the act of being admitted to a hospital to receive medical care, or the period of time someone spends there as a patient. When someone's illness or injury is too serious to treat at home or in a doctor's office, they need hospitalization. A broken bone might just need a doctor's visit, but a serious infection or surgery usually requires hospitalization so doctors and nurses can monitor the patient closely.

During hospitalization, patients stay in hospital rooms where medical staff can check on them regularly, give them medicine, perform tests, and make sure they're recovering properly. Someone might face hospitalization for a few days after appendix surgery, or for weeks while recovering from a major accident.

People sometimes use the phrase hospitalization insurance to describe coverage that helps pay the costs of staying in a hospital. Parents might tell kids that Grandma's hospitalization went well, meaning her stay in the hospital helped her recover and she's doing better now.