Resource library

This medication skills assessment is intended for nursing and care staff in residential aged care facilities (RACFs) who deliver medicine/s to residents using the National Residential Medication Chart (NRMC). 

Dr Lorraine Anderson, Medical Director at the Kimberley Aboriginal Medical Services in Western Australia, explains why managing patients with sepsis in a remote community is high stakes – and how the national Sepsis Clinical Care Standard released on 30 June 2022 will help.

On 27 April 2022, the Commission released the new national Opioid Analgesic Stewardship in Acute Pain Clinical Care Standard.

On 21 March 2022, the Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care, the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission and the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission have launched the Joint Statement on the important issue of inappropriate use of psychotropic medicines with people with disability and older people as a form of restrictive practice, and committed to collaborative action to reduce it.

The Commission develops and maintains a rolling three year Data Plan to ensure the implementation of its role in leading and coordinating safety and quality improvements across Australia. The Data Plan supports Commission’s Work plan by articulating its data functions and outlining potential data sources for use.

Many people have never heard of sepsis, but it kills more Australians every year than road traffic accidents or stroke. This summary backgrounder and Q&A provides an overview of this life-threatening condition, how you can get it and the longer term impacts on people.

The Sepsis Clinical Care Standard will help to ensure that patients with signs and symptoms of sepsis are recognised early, and receive rapid treatment and coordinated care to prevent organ failure, disability or death.

The Commission has consulted widely including with a number of clinical colleges and societies, and gratefully acknowledges their contributions.

On 4 November 2022, the Commission released the first national Stillbirth Clinical Care Standard to reduce rates of stillbirth and remove the culture of silence.

The standard provides a framework for healthcare practitioners to identify stillbirth risks, communicate effectively with women about reducing risk, discuss clinical investigations after stillbirth, and provide support after perinatal loss.

List of Topic Working Group members for the Low Back Pain Clinical Care Standard.

A list of members in the Topic Working Group supporting the development of the clinical care standard aiming to reduce inappropriate use of psychotropic medicines for behaviour.

On 1 September 2022, the Commission released the first national Low Back Pain Clinical Care Standard to improve early management of patients with this common condition, which is a leading cause of disability worldwide.

The standard advocates a shift towards active approaches to support people with low back pain and reduce their chance of ongoing problems.

The Alfred Hospital’s substantial program of work has delivered improvements in the timeliness and appropriateness of antimicrobial therapy for sepsis. Learn more about their key initiatives including a randomised controlled trial assessing the impact of antimicrobial stewardship (AMS) reviews following medical emergency team (MET) calls for suspected sepsis, and the creation of a sepsis pharmacist role.

Australian broadcaster and game show host John Burgess considers himself one of the lucky survivors of sepsis who “dodged a bullet”. He is an advocate of the Sepsis Clinical Care Standard, released by the Commission on 30 June 2022.

On 30 June 2022, the Commission released the new Sepsis Clinical Care Standard. The new standard is a ‘game changer’ that will ensure healthcare workers recognise sepsis as a medical emergency.

A Topic Working Group was convened to provide advice to the Commission on this project. The group comprised individuals with relevant expertise in pain medicine, emergency medicine, orthopaedic surgery, urological surgery, addiction medicine, emergency nursing, perioperative nursing, general practice, clinical pharmacy, community pharmacy, as well as a consumer representative.