ACSQHC-ARCR-465

The UNSW ePBRN is a virtual clinical registry that integrates general practice and hospital data to drive quality improvement in chronic disease and mental health care. Established in 2010 in South West Sydney (SWS), it links routinely collected Electronic Health Record data from 18 general practices (GP) and 5 hospitals in the Fairfield/Wollondilly region. 

The purpose of the ePBRN is to collect, link, and analyse real-world primary and hospital care data for a diverse, multi-morbid population, generating evidence to improve care coordination, safety, and outcomes across care settings. The registry monitors longitudinal outcomes and quality indicators, such as hospital admissions and readmissions, emergency presentations, chronic disease management metrics, and care transitions, aligned with national priority areas. The probabilistic linkage of GP and hospital records yields a unified dataset, which is converted to the OMOP common data model, offering a view of continuity of care. Governance is through the Secure Research Environment for Digital Health (SREDH) Consortium’s ePBRN Working Group, with UNSW Sydney, the local Health District, and Primary Health Network as stakeholders. 

Robust data quality, privacy, and ethics oversight (UNSW ethics approvals, SREDH governance framework) ensure secure use of de-identified data. The registry provides feedback to participating clinicians and disseminates aggregate findings via consortium reports, publications, and community updates, promoting clinician and public access to insights for service redesign and policy evaluation.