Did you know that Australia lags internationally for patient access to thrombolysis treatment within 60 minutes?  In this presentation Professor Dominique Cadilhac will show you how to use Clinical Stroke Registry data to deliver better care, and Nicola Hall will show you how Logan Hospital in Queensland identified variation in the treatment of patients with acute stroke and used the Commission’s clinical care standards to address this and improve patient outcomes.

All health services need to meet Action 1.28 'Variation in clinical practice and health outcomes' in the National Safety and Quality Health Service Standards (second edition).  In this presentation Nicole Rasmussen takes you through the hitchhiker’s guide to the galaxy of clinical variation and demonstrates practical ways to identify clinical variation, address unwarranted variation and overcome obstacles to improving patient care.

This is our 500^th issue and includes a foreword written by Professor Chris Baggoley AO.

This issue includes items on COVID-19, aged care, Staphylococcus aureus bloodstream infection (SABSI), palliative care, compassionate health care, cultural humility, preventable medication harm, patient and family involvement in patient safety, transfers and more.

This presentation accompanies the video webinar and offers practical tips on managing change, and advice on how to make the investigation and management of healthcare variation part of your clinical governance framework. 

This literature review describes the evidence regarding the burden of disease associated with sepsis in the Australian population and the impacts of sepsis on people who survive. Evidence for interventions to improve recovery and reduce sepsis morbidity is also described.

This issue includes items on COVID-19, “second victims” of adverse events, wrong site surgery, diagnostic safety and more.

Also covered is the latest issue of Pediatric Quality & Safety, along with the latest online papers from BMJ Quality & Safety and International Journal for Quality in Health Care and the latest from the UK’s NICE and the USA’s AHRQ.

The purpose of this fact sheet is to describe the requirements for implementation of the the Multi-Purpose Services Aged Care Module as part of the Australian Health Service Safety and Quality Accreditation Scheme.

The Integrated Health and Aged Care Services Module (IHACS Module) supersedes the MPS Aged Care Module from 1 November 2025. 

Opioid therapy should be monitored regularly by assessing what has been called the '5As' of Analgesia therapy. This monitoring tool will assist you in adapting the treatment and management plan of your patients.