NIMC Auditing | Safety and Quality

Assessment to the NSQHS Standards
- National Standards Program updates and consultations
- Information for health service organisations undergoing assessment to the NSQHS Standards
  - Steps for implementing the NSQHS Standards
- Information for dental practices undergoing assessment to the NSQHS Standards
- Information for accrediting agencies
- Resources to implement the NSQHS Standards
  - Logo and icons request form
- NSQHS Standards Advisories
- Australian Health Service Safety and Quality Accreditation Scheme
- Improving care for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People
Colonoscopy Safety and Quality
Clinical Care Standards
- Overview
  - Clinical Care Standards Advisory Committee
- Current consultation
- Antimicrobial Stewardship
  - Project information
  - Endorsements
- Acute Coronary Syndromes
  - Project information
  - Endorsements
- Acute Stroke
  - Project information
  - Endorsements
- Delirium
- Heavy Menstrual Bleeding
- Hip Fracture Care
- Osteoarthritis of the Knee
  - Endorsements
- Venous Thromboembolism Prevention Clinical Care Standard
Clinical Communications
- Clinical Handover
- Patient-Clinician Communication
- Resources
  - External Links
  - Clinical Handover Presentations
Cognitive Impairment
- A better way to care
- Program overview
Credentialling for Health Professionals
- Draft Review by Peers: in professional and administrative process – Stakeholder Written Submissions
End-of-Life Care
- Information for patients, families and carers
- Tools and resources for health services
- End-of-life care projects across Australia
Falls Prevention
- Falls prevention resources
- Latest falls prevention research and practice
General Practice accreditation
- Accrediting agencies assessing general practices
Healthcare Associated Infection
- Antimicrobial Stewardship Initiative
- Building Clinician Capacity
  - Infection Prevention and Control Online Modules
  - Infection Control Signage
- CPE Guide
- National Hand Hygiene Initiative
- National Infection Control Guidelines
- National Surveillance Initiative
- HAI Publications
- Antimicrobial Resistance Standing Committee
- Consultation on Clostridium difficile
Information Strategy
- National arrangements for clinical quality registries
  - Testing and validating the Draft Operating Principles and Technical Standards
- Indicators of Safety and Quality
- Health Information Standards for Safety and Quality
Knee Pain
Medication Safety
- Medication charts
- Medication reconciliation
- Medication administration
- Medication safety and quality education and training
- Medication safety alerts and notices
  - High Risk Medication Alert – Vincristine
  - High Risk Medication Alert – Intravenous Potassium Chloride
- Safer naming, labelling and packaging of medicines
  - National Tall Man Lettering
    - Maintaining the National Tall Man lettering list
    - National Tall Man Lettering Project Report and Tall Man evaluation
  - National Standard for User-applied Labelling of Injectable Medicines, Fluids and Lines
- Electronic Medication Management (EMM)
  - Development of the Guide to Safe Electronic Medication Management in Hospitals
  - Electronic medication management systems in hospitals background
- Medication Safety Tools and Resources
Mental Health
- National Standards in Mental Health Services
- Recognising and responding to clinical deterioration
- Medication Safety in Mental Health
- Emergency mental health contact details
Open Disclosure
- The Australian Open Disclosure Framework
- Implementing the Open Disclosure Framework
- Open disclosure programs, policies and information
  - Open disclosure at Mater Health Services, Brisbane
- Open Disclosure projects and priorities
Patients and Carers
- Be aware of button batteries
Patient and Consumer Centred Care
- National Safety and Quality Health Service Standard 2: Partnering with Consumers
- Health Literacy
  - National workshop on health literacy
- Useful resources
Patient Identification
- Patient / Procedure Matching Protocols
- Specification for a standard patient identification band
Primary Health Care
Prioritising clinical practice guideline development
Recognising and Responding to Clinical Deterioration
- Training and Competencies
- Recognising and Responding to Deterioration in Mental State
- Implementing Recognition and Response Systems
- Evaluating Recognition and Response Systems
  - Audit Tools and Quality Measures for Recognition and Response Systems
- Observation and Response Charts
- Tools and Resources to Support Implementation of the National Consensus Statement
- Past events
Safety in E-Health
- Specification for Hospital-Level Cumulative Antibiogram
- Hospital-Level Cumulative Antibiogram Expert Roundtable, 11 December 2012
- Hospital-Level Cumulative Antibiogram Expert Roundtable, 14 May 2013
Shared Decision Making
- Webinars on Shared Decision Making
- Patient Decision Aids
- Resources and publications
Transvaginal Mesh
- Consumer forums to discuss transvaginal mesh

Safety and Quality > Our Work > Medication Safety > Medication charts > NIMC for Adult Patients > NIMC Auditing

It is recommended that NIMC use is audited at regular intervals. Auditing can:

evaluate the effect of NIMC safety features in hospitals
identify areas of medication safety for future quality improvements including staff education
provide a baseline for NIMC use and future quality improvement initiatives
improve the safety of medication charting in hospitals.

Frequency of auditing will depend on the rate of staff changes, the risk of medication misadventure identified by the health service organisation and other local factors.

However, and if significant non-compliance is identified during auditing, it is recommended that audits occur more frequently within a quality improvement cycle (e.g. plan do study act cycle) until safety feature compliance improves.

The objectives of NIMC audits are to:

evaluate the effect of the medication chart, and the implementation process, on the safety and quality of prescribing and medication documentation
identify further areas for improvement in medication management.

NIMC Audit System

The Commission hosts the NIMC Audit System for hospitals to audit NIMC use locally or to participate in national audits.

The NIMC Audit System is designed for hospitals that use the NIMC. Hospitals that use non-conforming charts cannot use the system as the audit data elements are based on the NIMC and reports using comparative data will be meaningless.

Non-conforming medication charts include:

six page versions of the NIMC
other medication charts which do not conform to the NIMC.

To access the NIMC Audit System, and to download supporting documents, please go to the National Inpatient Medication Chart Audit System site.

Conducting an audit

There is a Guide to Auditing the NIMC which provides question by question advice on conducting the audit.

To assist users of the NIMC Audit System, there is a NIMC Audit System User Guide.

A Guide to Using the NIMC Audit Spreadsheet provides advice on using the NIMC Audit Spreadsheet.

If you require log in to access the NIMC Audit System, contact your local representative or the National Audit Coordinator at nimc.audit@safetyandquality.gov.au

NIMC Audit Reports

NIMC national auditing has resulted in a large body of evidence on use of the NIMC. The NIMC National Audit Reports compile audit data from 2009 until 2014.

NIMC 2014 National Audit Report

NIMC 2012 National Audit Report

NIMC 2012 National Audit Report Supplement

NIMC 2011 National Audit Report

NIMC 2010 National Audit Report

NIMC 2009 National Audit Report