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The AusPSIs: the Australian version of the Agency of Healthcare Research and Quality patient safety indicators.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
We describe the process recently undertaken to translate and revise the patient safety indicators (PSIs) so they can be of use with ICD-10-AM. The initial translation (electronic mapping, review and revision by expert coder, programming of codes and testing on data from 1996-1998 [ICD 9-CM] to 1998-2006 [ICD-10-AM, through 4 editions]) found that differences between ICD-9-CM and ICD-10-AM datasets presented some challenges. After this phase, which was faithful to AHRQ's case definitions, the indicators were refined for use with the condition onset flag, resulting in the AusPSIs. PMID: 19563325 [PubMed - in process]
Source: Australian Health Review - May 1, 2009 Category: Hospital Management Authors: McConchie S, Shepheard J, Waters S, McMillan AJ, Sundararajan V Tags: Aust Health Rev Source Type: journals

Cholesterol-lowering therapy and the Australian Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme: a population study.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
CONCLUSIONS: The majority of people at high risk of CVD were not receiving LLT, and LLT is not being used to its full effectiveness. People with low incomes or on government benefits or pensions were not less likely to use LLT than others under the PBS scheme. Whether higher copayments for those on low incomes who do not qualify for concessional payments is a significant barrier to LLT use needs further research. PMID: 19563324 [PubMed - in process]
Source: Australian Health Review - May 1, 2009 Category: Hospital Management Authors: Adams RJ, Appleton S, Wilson DH, Taylor AW, Chittleborough C, Gill T, Ruffin RE Tags: Aust Health Rev Source Type: journals

Working together: collaboration between midwives and doctors in public hospitals.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
This article draws on qualitative research in several Victorian public maternity units to consider the challenges to inter-professional collaboration. It reports what doctors and midwives looked for in colleagues they liked to work with - the attributes of a "good doctor" or a "good midwife". Although their ideals did not entirely match, both groups respected skill and hard work and sought mutual trust, respect and accountability. Yet effective working together is limited both by tensions over role boundaries and power and by incivility that is intensified by increasing workloads and a fragmented labour force. The skills a...
Source: Australian Health Review - May 1, 2009 Category: Hospital Management Authors: Reiger KM, Lane KL Tags: Aust Health Rev Source Type: journals

GP access to MRI: the Australian reality.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Twelve months ago, the Australian Medical Association (AMA) called upon the Federal Labor Government to im1plement a previous coalition policy allowing general practitioners to directly refer patients for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans of the knee and brain. To support their position, the AMA commissioned a University of Sydney report evaluating the health care and economic outcomes of the policy. The AMA reported that the results supported the policy and would result in a $42 million saving from fewer computed tomography (CT) scans and fewer specialist referrals and consultations. Arguably, this was not an acc...
Source: Australian Health Review - May 1, 2009 Category: Hospital Management Authors: Bradfield OM Tags: Aust Health Rev Source Type: journals

Becoming Australian? Two different approaches to health care reform in the United States.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
PMID: 19563321 [PubMed - in process]
Source: Australian Health Review - May 1, 2009 Category: Hospital Management Authors: Roydhouse JK Tags: Aust Health Rev Source Type: journals

Editorial.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
PMID: 19563320 [PubMed - in process]
Source: Australian Health Review - May 1, 2009 Category: Hospital Management Authors: Yarmo-Roberts D Tags: Aust Health Rev Source Type: journals

Interpreting the global bio-economy.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
PMID: 19563319 [PubMed - in process]
Source: Australian Health Review - May 1, 2009 Category: Hospital Management Authors: Benner M Tags: Aust Health Rev Source Type: journals

Medicines policy and drug company investments: the Irish experience.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
PMID: 19563318 [PubMed - in process]
Source: Australian Health Review - May 1, 2009 Category: Hospital Management Authors: Löfgren H Tags: Aust Health Rev Source Type: journals

Complementary medicines regulatory reform.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
PMID: 19563317 [PubMed - in process]
Source: Australian Health Review - May 1, 2009 Category: Hospital Management Authors: Bollen MD, Whicker SD Tags: Aust Health Rev Source Type: journals

A review of proposals to reform the regulation of complementary medicines.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
In 2003, the Therapeutic Goods Administration instituted a major recall of products made by Pan Pharmaceuticals Limited. Later that year, an expert committee produced 49 recommendations for complementary medicines reform, many of which were to be implemented by the proposed Australia New Zealand Therapeutic Products Authority (ANZTPA). In 2008, the Pan Pharmaceuticals affair reached some conclusion in the courts, the ANZTPA had been abandoned and the case for reform had intensified. There was widespread and increasing use of complementary medicines yet consumers were often unaware that, unlike conventional medicines, t...
Source: Australian Health Review - May 1, 2009 Category: Hospital Management Authors: J Harvey K Tags: Aust Health Rev Source Type: journals

Doctor and pharmacist - back to the apothecary!Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
The Australian National Medicines Policy embodies four tenets: availability, quality, safety and efficacy of medicines; timely access to affordable medicines; quality use of medicines (QUM); and a responsible and viable medicines industry. The promotion of QUM requires a multidisciplinary approach, including contributions from government, the pharmaceutical industry, health professionals, consumers and academia. However, there are significant tensions and unintended effects associated with the multidisciplinary approach, especially with the relationships between prescribers and dispensers of medicines. The general prac...
Source: Australian Health Review - May 1, 2009 Category: Hospital Management Authors: Liaw ST, Peterson G Tags: Aust Health Rev Source Type: journals

Policy challenges of nanomedicine for Australia's PBS.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
This article challenges that proposition and seeks to explore what features of nanomedicines may create unique or heightened policy challenges for government systems of cost-effectiveness regulation. The Australian Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) is a key exemplar of the latter type of regulation in that it links expert scientific evaluation of cost-effectiveness with the pricing of PBS-listed drugs. In the current global financial crisis such systems are likely to become increasingly attractive and how they handle the demands made upon them by nanomedicines (including by application of a variation of the precautionar...
Source: Australian Health Review - May 1, 2009 Category: Hospital Management Authors: Faunce TA Tags: Aust Health Rev Source Type: journals

Biopharmaceutical innovation and industrial developments in South Korea, Singapore and Taiwan.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
This article explores, through economic analysis, the rationale for this decision and the strategies chosen for linking into the global bio-economy with the objective of catching up in biopharmaceuticals. The paper identifies three comparative advantages enjoyed by these countries in the biopharma sector: (1) public investments in basic research; (2) private investments in phase 1 clinical trials; and (3) a potentially significant contract research industry managing latter-stage clinical trials. Governments employ a range of industrial policies, consistent with these comparative advantages, to promote the biopharmaceutical...
Source: Australian Health Review - May 1, 2009 Category: Hospital Management Authors: Hsieh CR, Löfgren H Tags: Aust Health Rev Source Type: journals

PBS copayments and safety nets.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
PMID: 19563312 [PubMed - in process]
Source: Australian Health Review - May 1, 2009 Category: Hospital Management Authors: Lopert R Tags: Aust Health Rev Source Type: journals

Australia's pharmaceutical cost sharing policy: reducing waste or affordability?Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
In this paper we argue that Australia's pharmaceutical cost sharing policy has been applied as if cost sharing is unproblematic for medicine affordability and good health outcomes. Australian and international experience with pharmaceutical cost sharing strongly suggests a negative impact on affordability and quality use of medicines, disproportionately affecting low income patients. We argue that Australia's use of cost sharing reflects the currency of a cognitively powerful and morally charged idea - moral hazard. Moral hazard refers to the change in behaviour induced by insurance coverage. Applied to pharmaceuticals...
Source: Australian Health Review - May 1, 2009 Category: Hospital Management Authors: Doran E, Robertson J Tags: Aust Health Rev Source Type: journals

The impact of copayments and safety nets on PBS expenditure.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
This article discusses the impact on patients of changes in copayments and safety net thresholds (SNT) within the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS). Trends in the nominal and real values of copayments and SNTs are examined, as are changes in the numbers of types of patients. The relationship between the number of safety net cardholders and copayments and SNTs is estimated. Increases in the number of copayments necessary to reach the safety net threshold restrict the number of patients able to benefit from this provision. Policy for determining the levels of copayments and safety net thresholds needs to be put on a ratio...
Source: Australian Health Review - May 1, 2009 Category: Hospital Management Authors: Sweeny K Tags: Aust Health Rev Source Type: journals

High prices for generics in Australia - more competition might help.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
This article reports the results of an analysis comparing dispensed prices for the most commonly prescribed and the highest cost items in Australia with dispensed prices in the US. Although a large majority of items are less expensive in Australia than in the US, Australian prices are higher for a substantial number of products, particularly generic drugs. This article examines various policies affecting the pricing of generics in Australia. It is postulated that the main cause for higher prices for a substantial number of generic products is the lack of price competition. This results from government policy which ensures ...
Source: Australian Health Review - May 1, 2009 Category: Hospital Management Authors: Bulfone L Tags: Aust Health Rev Source Type: journals

Transparency in pricing arrangements for medicines listed on the Australian Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Australia's system for assessing the cost-effectiveness of drugs for listing under the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) is recognised internationally. A variety of mechanisms, such as evidence-based rules for determining eligibility for initial or continuing subsidy, price-volume agreements, rebates, and caps on government expenditure are used to contain PBS expenditures. In this paper we assess the extent of use of special pricing arrangements in Australia and how and where they are communicated to health professionals and the community. We searched publicly available documents published by the Pharmaceutical Bene...
Source: Australian Health Review - May 1, 2009 Category: Hospital Management Authors: Robertson J, Walkom EJ, Henry DA Tags: Aust Health Rev Source Type: journals

The PBS in a globalised world: free trade and reference pricing.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
This article argues that recent reforms to the PBS partially delivered on an issue that the US has compelled its trade negotiators to ensure since 2002: the elimination of reference pricing. In Australia, reference pricing, as used by the PBS, had been credited with obtaining money when buying new medicines. PMID: 19563307 [PubMed - in process]
Source: Australian Health Review - May 1, 2009 Category: Hospital Management Authors: Searles A Tags: Aust Health Rev Source Type: journals

PBS reform - a missed opportunity?Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
This article examines the potential impact of these changes on the PBS and pharmaceutical policy in Australia more broadly. PMID: 19563306 [PubMed - in process]
Source: Australian Health Review - May 1, 2009 Category: Hospital Management Authors: de Boer R Tags: Aust Health Rev Source Type: journals

The economic crisis, the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme, and the dilemmas of medicines policy.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
PMID: 19563305 [PubMed - in process]
Source: Australian Health Review - May 1, 2009 Category: Hospital Management Authors: Löfgren H Tags: Aust Health Rev Source Type: journals

Developing a national research and development centre in assistive technologies for independent living.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Assistive technology (AT) plays a pivotal role in the lives of people who require assistance with one or more aspects of daily living. Ranging from simple devices such as an augmented fork to complex devices like a power wheelchair with integrated environmental control, AT is a broad term to describe a range of products and services that provide assistance. Historically used in the "disability sector", in recent years AT devices have merged into the ageing sector as more Australians develop an impairment through "age-related disability", creating a larger market for equipment that provides independence or restores lost...
Source: Australian Health Review - February 1, 2009 Category: Hospital Management Authors: Hobbs DA, Close JK, Downing AR, Reynolds KJ, Walker LT Tags: Aust Health Rev Source Type: journals

The effect of guidance in the use of routine outcome measures in clinical meetings.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
We report on an initiative undertaken by one of these teams. QUATRO team members attended team meetings of four adult community teams (three metropolitan and one rural) fortnightly over about 3 months. QUATRO staff contributed to discussion of outcome measures during routine clinical review, using local and national outcome measurement data and tools, and their own expertise. Attitudes of clinicians toward ROM in general and the specific instruments were assessed at the beginning and end of the period, and again after about 5 months. Qualitative findings consist of observations of factors that assist and hinder use of ROM....
Source: Australian Health Review - February 1, 2009 Category: Hospital Management Authors: Trauer T, Pedwell G, Gill L Tags: Aust Health Rev Source Type: journals

Health smart cards: differing perceptions of emergency department patients and staff.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
An analytical, cross-sectional survey of 270 emergency department patients and 92 staff undertaken in three tertiary referral hospital emergency departments was completed to compare the perceptions of patients and staff regarding the use of health smart cards containing patient medical records. The study recorded data on a range of health smart card issues including awareness, privacy, confidentiality, security, advantages and disadvantages, and willingness to use. A significantly higher proportion of staff had heard of the card. The perceived disadvantages reported by patients and staff were, overall, significantly di...
Source: Australian Health Review - February 1, 2009 Category: Hospital Management Authors: Mohd Rosli R, Taylor DM, Knott JC, Das A, Dent AW Tags: Aust Health Rev Source Type: journals

Patterns of recovery following knee and hip replacement in an Australian cohort.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Most literature reporting the impressive results from knee and hip replacement derives from international data. Few Australian studies have comprehensively compared outcomes after joint replacement up to 1 year. This paper compares the patterns of recovery across physical and patient-centred outcomes following knee or hip replacement in an Australian cohort. One hundred and twenty-two consecutive patients undergoing knee or hip replacement were prospectively followed. Serial assessments were conducted (preoperatively, and 2, 6, 12, 26 and 52 weeks post-surgery). Joint pain, patient's global improvement, timed mobility,...
Source: Australian Health Review - February 1, 2009 Category: Hospital Management Authors: Naylor JM, Harmer AR, Heard RC, Harris IA Tags: Aust Health Rev Source Type: journals

Local trends in emergency department attendances by older patients in an ageing national population.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
This study examined local trends in ED attendances by older patients. A retrospective study was conducted at an inner-city adult ED in a region with a 2.2% annual growth rate. Patient demographics, Australasian Triage Scale (ATS) category and admission/discharge status were collected from January 2002 to December 2006. Total ED attendances increased 7.7% from 66 687 in 2002 to 71 801 in 2006. Older patients' attendances, however, decreased 3.1% from 12 356 to 11 971. This decrease in ED attendances by older patients was unexpected. This may represent local population trends and/or be related to ED services designed to mana...
Source: Australian Health Review - February 1, 2009 Category: Hospital Management Authors: Chu K, Brown A, Lukin W Tags: Aust Health Rev Source Type: journals

Medicare-related service use and costs among people with diagnosed and undiagnosed diabetes and respiratory conditions.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
CONCLUSIONS: Diabetes, asthma, and COPD are costly conditions in terms of health service use. Costs associated with undiagnosed asthma and COPD are similar to their diagnosed states. Prevention of progression along each chronic disease continuum is likely to reduce costs. PMID: 19203340 [PubMed - in process]
Source: Australian Health Review - February 1, 2009 Category: Hospital Management Authors: Chittleborough CR, Burke MJ, Taylor AW, Wilson DH, Phillips PJ, Adams RJ, Ruffin RE, Adelaide Health Study Team TN Tags: Aust Health Rev Source Type: journals

Alcohol and other drug treatment experiences of hepatitis C-positive and negative clients: implications for hepatitis C treatment.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
To assess whether HCV-positive clients perceive that alcohol and other drug (AOD) staff discriminate against them, this study compared the treatment experiences of 120 HCV-positive clients with those of 120 HCV-negative clients attending the same AOD treatment facility. Despite the overall findings of favourable attitudes of HCV-positive clients toward their health care workers, these attitudes were less positive than those of their HCV-negative counterparts. Clients with HCV also rated their interpersonal treatment by their health care workers less favourably. These findings suggest that HCV-positive clients' attitude...
Source: Australian Health Review - February 1, 2009 Category: Hospital Management Authors: Brener L, Treloar CJ Tags: Aust Health Rev Source Type: journals

It's not that bad: the views of consumers and carers about routine outcome measurement in mental health.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
The mandatory use of routine outcome measurement (ROM) has been introduced into all public sector mental health services in Australia over the past 6 years. Qualitative processes were used to engage consumers and carers in suggesting how the measures can be used in clinical practice. The project involved an audit by survey, followed by a range of interactive workshops designed to elicit the views of consumers, carers and clinicians, as well as to involve all parties in dialogue about ROM. In addition, there was engagement of consumers and carers in the training of clinicians in the clinical use of ROM, and in the produ...
Source: Australian Health Review - February 1, 2009 Category: Hospital Management Authors: Black J, Lewis T, McIntosh P, Callaly T, Coombs T, Hunter A, Moore L Tags: Aust Health Rev Source Type: journals

The cost and compensability of trauma patients.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
This study aimed to examine the direct costs of trauma patients in a Level 1 trauma centre and determine the compensability of those patients. Data on all admitted patients (206) filling trauma criteria were collected prospectively over a 3-month period (November 2006 to January 2007). A 10-question survey was completed on each patient to record mechanism of injury, third party private health insurance or workers compensation, and direct costs were also obtained. 30% of trauma admissions had an injury severity score (ISS)> 15 (n = 62; median ISS =9; range, 1-56). Median length of stay was 3 days (range, 1-126). Almost h...
Source: Australian Health Review - February 1, 2009 Category: Hospital Management Authors: Curtis K, Dickson C, Black D, Nau T Tags: Aust Health Rev Source Type: journals

Orthopaedic trauma from road crashes: is enough being done?Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
A file review of patients presenting to the Emergency Department of St Vincent's Hospital with fractures sustained in a road crash was completed to describe patterns of orthopaedic injury, acute intervention and separation as well as the cost of care for adult road crash victims. One-hundred and eighty-seven patients were included. 65.8% were male; 48.1% were pedestrians. Differing patterns of injury corresponded to the role of the patient in the road crash (eg, pedestrian, driver of vehicle, etc). The mean length of stay was 8.8 days. 35.2% of patients were prescribed a different analgesic at discharge to that which t...
Source: Australian Health Review - February 1, 2009 Category: Hospital Management Authors: Donaldson LH, Brooke K, Faux SG Tags: Aust Health Rev Source Type: journals

The health care system as a social determinant of health: qualitative insights from South Australian maternity consumers.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
This study included semi-structured qualitative interviews and a questionnaire to collect demographic data and household details for a purposeful sample of 38 mothers and 24 fathers from four socioeconomic areas of metropolitan South Australia who had at least one child aged between 1 and 6 years of age. The participants reported that birth experiences within the predominantly medicalised maternity system were at odds with the expectations of a significant proportion of contemporary consumers that maternity care will leave them not only with a healthy mother and baby, but also with no undue adverse impacts on their physica...
Source: Australian Health Review - February 1, 2009 Category: Hospital Management Authors: Newman LA Tags: Aust Health Rev Source Type: journals

Clinical orientation program for new medical registrars - a qualitative evaluation.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
We present a qualitative evaluation of a clinical orientation program for medical registrars within the Wellington region in New Zealand, designed and implemented by current advanced registrars. This program was intended to improve the transition from house officer to medical registrar. The program was qualitatively evaluated using focus groups comprising participants, presenters and senior nursing staff. Purposive samples were drawn from each of these groups. The most significant finding was the perception of enhanced professional collegiality among medical staff. There were benefits to participants and presenters with im...
Source: Australian Health Review - February 1, 2009 Category: Hospital Management Authors: Rosemergy I, Bell DA, Jayathissa SK Tags: Aust Health Rev Source Type: journals

The continuing medical education activities and attitudes of Australian doctors working in different clinical specialties and practice locations.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
CONCLUSIONS: Traditional forms of CME were more popular than modern CME approaches, such as e-learning. Australian doctors had a positive attitude towards undertaking CME despite struggling to find time to perform CME. The differences in attitudes towards CME demonstrated between specialties and different practice location will aid future CME planning. PMID: 19203333 [PubMed - in process]
Source: Australian Health Review - February 1, 2009 Category: Hospital Management Authors: Stewart GD, Khadra MH Tags: Aust Health Rev Source Type: journals

A profile of physiotherapy clinical education.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
The purpose of the study was to examine clinical education placement data to generate a profile of providers and examine the students' exposure to health care and educational factors during clinical education. A retrospective audit of clinical placement rosters was undertaken for 3 calendar years (2001-2003). Data were analysed overall and by clinical school for sites and placements, public or private sector and type of placement. Over the 3-year period, 209 sites provided 3475 clinical placements, with the number of placements increasing from 1066 placements in 2001 to 1133 in 2002 and to 1276 in 2003. Overall, 72.2% ...
Source: Australian Health Review - February 1, 2009 Category: Hospital Management Authors: Dean CM, Stark AM, Gates CA, Czerniec SA, Hobbs CL, Bullock LD, Kolodziej I Tags: Aust Health Rev Source Type: journals

Allied, scientific and complementary health professionals: a new model for Australian allied health.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
There is no standard or agreed definition of "allied health" nationally or internationally. This paper reviews existing definitions of allied health, and considers aspects of allied health services and service delivery in order to produce a new model of allied health that will be flexible in a changing health service delivery workforce. We propose a comprehensive model of allied, scientific and complementary (ASC) health professionals. This model recognises tasks, training, organisation, health sectors and professional regulation. It incorporates traditional and new services which are congruent with allied health foci,...
Source: Australian Health Review - February 1, 2009 Category: Hospital Management Authors: Turnbull C, Grimmer-Somers K, Kumar S, May E, Law D, Ashworth E Tags: Aust Health Rev Source Type: journals

Substitution across professions within the home care sector: an investigation of nursing and allied health services.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
CONCLUSIONS: The higher labour turnover among allied health staff compared with the nursing staff reported by the agency implies a substitution of labour between the two professions to ensure that the needs of clients are met. Health policy makers and health care professional educators need to acknowledge that workforce shortages will inevitably reshape professional boundaries. Leaving labour-force substitution undiscussed and unplanned may compromise the quality and safety of care. PMID: 19203330 [PubMed - in process]
Source: Australian Health Review - February 1, 2009 Category: Hospital Management Authors: Stevens S, Vecchio N Tags: Aust Health Rev Source Type: journals

The use of the Health of the Nation Outcome Scales (HoNOS) to inform discharge and transfer decisions in community mental health services.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
This article describes a quality improvement project to develop a flag for mental health workers to prompt decisions regarding discharge and transfer using the Health of the Nation Outcome Scales (HoNOS). Relevant literature and HoNOS data collected as part of routine clinical practice were reviewed to develop the flag. The implementation process is described along with plans for future developments. PMID: 19203329 [PubMed - in process]
Source: Australian Health Review - February 1, 2009 Category: Hospital Management Authors: Prowse L, Coombs T Tags: Aust Health Rev Source Type: journals

Great debate: how clinicians make their views heard in health reform.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
PMID: 19203328 [PubMed - in process]
Source: Australian Health Review - February 1, 2009 Category: Hospital Management Authors: Blackwell S, Gibson K, Combs S, Davidson R, Drummond C, Olsson H, O'Neill B Tags: Aust Health Rev Source Type: journals

Clinical orientation program for new medical registrars--a qualitative evaluation.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
We present a qualitative evaluation of a clinical orientation program for medical registrars within the Wellington region in New Zealand, designed and implemented by current advanced registrars. This program was intended to improve the transition from house officer to medical registrar. The program was qualitatively evaluated using focus groups comprising participants, presenters and senior nursing staff. Purposive samples were drawn from each of these groups. The most significant finding was the perception of enhanced professional collegiality among medical staff. There were benefits to participants and presenters with im...
Source: Australian Health Review - February 1, 2009 Category: Hospital Management Authors: Rosemergy I, Bell DA, Jayathissa SK Tags: Aust Health Rev Source Type: journals

Models of care. Editorial.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
PMID: 19226712 [PubMed - in process]
Source: Australian Health Review - February 1, 2009 Category: Hospital Management Authors: Yarmo-Roberts D Tags: Aust Health Rev Source Type: journals

Smart health cards or health smart cards?Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
PMID: 19226710 [PubMed - in process]
Source: Australian Health Review - February 1, 2009 Category: Hospital Management Authors: Leggat SG Tags: Aust Health Rev Source Type: journals

Quality frameworks for telephone triage.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
The establishment of the Grampians After-Hours Service has led to the development of a quality framework for nurse telephone triage. The service providers believe this framework is the basis for the service's success. While quality frameworks including critical evaluation and peer review are not new to the health industry, the development of organisational systems to improve quality in after-hours services is innovative. The framework developed is comprehensive, evidenced-based and emphasises training, protocols and documentation. It also involves a continuous and non-punitive quality review process that operates at th...
Source: Australian Health Review - November 1, 2008 Category: Hospital Management Authors: McGrath AC, Macdonald CR Tags: Aust Health Rev Source Type: journals

Estimating and projecting subacute care demand: findings from a review of international methods.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
A review of projection methodologies used to project sub-acute inpatient activity in various international health care jurisdictions was undertaken as part of a project to develop subacute inpatient activity projections for the state with the largest population in Australia. The literature search identified nearly 200 articles and found three main groups of projection methodologies: projections with a focus on subacute care; projections with a focus on acute care, but which often included subacute activity in the overall projections; and projections of specific diseases/conditions influencing the demand for subacute ca...
Source: Australian Health Review - November 1, 2008 Category: Hospital Management Authors: Gibbs A, Pearse EJ, Sheehan JA, Meleady KT, Jayasinha H, Jones N Tags: Aust Health Rev Source Type: journals

A decade of data linkage in Western Australia: strategic design, applications and benefits of the WA data linkage system.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
OBJECTIVES: The report describes the strategic design, steps to full implementation and outcomes achieved by the Western Australian Data Linkage System (WADLS), instigated in 1995 to link up to 40 years of data from over 30 collections for an historical population of 3.7 million. Staged development has seen its expansion, initially from a linkage key to local health data sets, to encompass links to national and local health and welfare data sets, genealogical links and spatial references for mapping applications. APPLICATIONS: The WADLS has supported over 400 studies with over 250 journal publications and 35 graduate r...
Source: Australian Health Review - November 1, 2008 Category: Hospital Management Authors: Holman CD, Bass AJ, Rosman DL, Smith MB, Semmens JB, Glasson EJ, Brook EL, Trutwein B, Rouse IL, Watson CR, de Klerk NH, Stanley FJ Tags: Aust Health Rev Source Type: journals

How are language barriers bridged in acute hospital care? The tale of two methods of data collection.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
CONCLUSIONS: Professional interpreter usage is lower than desirable in the hospital, especially in the Emergency Department. Relatives frequently interpret. Under-reporting on the medical record is suggested, implying a need for improved documentation, while possible over-reporting in the telephone survey may relate to recall bias and social acquiescence. PMID: 18980572 [PubMed - in process]
Source: Australian Health Review - November 1, 2008 Category: Hospital Management Authors: Garrett PW, Forero R, Dickson HG, Klinken Whelan A Tags: Aust Health Rev Source Type: journals

A case study of centralised monitoring of hospital access performance.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Access to care for patients remains a concern for all parties in the provision of hospital services. It is the subject of patient complaints, large investments of funds and vigorous debate in the community, hospitals and the political arena. This is a common problem in developed nations. There has been little achievement in information technology solutions to this significant problem in Australia. This paper presents a case study of the development and implementation of an organisational access display system intended to provide real-time, or near to real-time information and feedback on access for staff on the floor. ...
Source: Australian Health Review - November 1, 2008 Category: Hospital Management Authors: Bain CA, Mehta SM, Ratnayake K, Symonds TL, Kennedy MP Tags: Aust Health Rev Source Type: journals

Pay for performance programs in Australia: a need for guiding principles.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Pay-for-performance (P4P) programs which reward clinical providers with incentive payments based on one or more measures of quality of care are now common in the United States and the United Kingdom and it is likely they will attract increasing interest in Australia. However, empirical evidence demonstrating effectiveness of such programs is limited and many existing programs have not had rigorous outcome evaluation. To maximise success, future P4P programs should incorporate the lessons and insights obtained from previous experience. Based on a review of published trials, program evaluations and position statements, t...
Source: Australian Health Review - November 1, 2008 Category: Hospital Management Authors: Scott IA Tags: Aust Health Rev Source Type: journals

The negative impact on nurses of lack of alignment of information systems with public hospital strategic goals.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
The objectives of this study were to investigate the degree to which hospital information systems are aligned with hospital strategies and how they impact on nurses. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with nine hospital staff from a range of disciplines in a large public hospital in Australia. The interviews revealed that the focus of hospital information systems on administration has meant that applications to support the patient's clinical journey have been deemed unaffordable. A consequence is that the historic use of the nurses' station as a source of verbal information about patients has continued, with negativ...
Source: Australian Health Review - November 1, 2008 Category: Hospital Management Authors: Firth LA, Mellor DJ, Francis PS Tags: Aust Health Rev Source Type: journals

Public health systems research: the state of the field.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Public health infrastructure provides the building blocks required for the system to achieve public health goals. A systems approach to public health has been suggested as a means to tackle persistent and emerging problems. Systems and infrastructure are attracting increased research attention. A review of the Australian and international literature suggests an absence of empirical evidence about how the system and its component parts does, or should, work and highlights some of the difficulties associated with generating such evidence. It also indicates there is significant scope for further research. PMID: 189805...
Source: Australian Health Review - November 1, 2008 Category: Hospital Management Authors: Bagley P, Lin V Tags: Aust Health Rev Source Type: journals