Thursday, 18th June 2009
The Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care engaged the Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) to develop indicators of safety and quality in primary care (PDF 665 KB). Consultation has been extensive, and the expected outcome is a set of recommendations to Health Ministers on a succinct set of whole-of-system and local indicators to support and drive improvement in safety and quality in primary care.
The Commission convened the Indicators in General Practice National Round Table to initiate a national dialogue on existing indicators and measures of safety and clinical performance, with the intent of developing a better understanding of current quality indicator initiatives in primary care, starting with General Practice.
The focus of the Round Table was for national organisations working with quality improvement in general practice to:
- Succinctly present their current indicator sets;
- Briefly describe existing measurement, review, feedback and action processes; and
- Initiate dialogue and share learnings between organisations using indicators to drive improvement and evaluate outcomes in primary care.
The following national organisations involved in quality improvement or measurement initiatives in general practice were represented at the round table:
- Australian General Practice Accreditation Limited (QIP/AGPAL)
- Australian General Practice Network
- Australian Institute of Health and Welfare
- Australian Medical Association
- Department of Health and Ageing
- Family Medicine Research Centre, University of Sydney
- Flinders University
- General Practice Australia Accreditation Plus
- Improvement Foundation (Australia)
- National E-Health Transition Authority
- National Prescribing Service
- Primary Health Care Research & Information Service
- Royal Australian College of General Practitioners
- The Australian Council on Healthcare Standards
A background paper (PDF 144 KB) was provided to participants. The intent of the Round Table was to stimulate discussion on the use, value, sensitivity, and standards of indicators of safety and quality of care, and to better understand current approaches to quality measures and processes in general practice.
Indicators in General Practice National Round Table Program and Presentations.
Forum Report (PDF 130 KB)
