The CARAlert Annual Report for 2020 is now available.

This report provides an update on data submitted to CARAlert for the reporting period 1 January 2021 to 28 February 2021, and complements previous analyses and updates of CARAlert data, and the CARAlert 2020 Annual Report. The data update provides information to support prevention and containment of antimicrobial resistance.

The webcast slides were part of the presentation shown at the launch of the Third and Fourth Degree Perineal Tears Clinical Care Standard on 21 April 2021. These slides can be used for presentations and training. A video of the launch webcast can be viewed on the Third and Fourth Degree Perineal Tears Clinical Care Standard web page. 

This issue includes items on COVID-19, the new Third and Fourth Degree Perineal Tears Clinical Care Standard, the forthcoming Fourth Australian Atlas of Healthcare Variation, low value healthcare, shared decision making, patient decision aids, hospital-acquired complications (HACs), smartphone use and more.

The Fourth Australian Atlas of Healthcare Variation maps healthcare use across the country and identifies potentially unwarranted variation and areas for healthcare improvement. 

This infographic outlines key data highlights in the report, announced at the Commission's launch event on 28 April 2021.

This chapter presents the key findings from the Fourth Australian Atlas of Healthcare Variation, and the Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care (the Commission)’s recommendations for action. The Commission consulted widely, but is solely responsible for making the recommendations; as such, the recommendations may not reflect the views of all contributors to the Atlas.