Review of high-quality consumer health information
The Commission has undertaken four environmental scans to consider the content and quality of consumer information about cataract surgery, tonsillectomy in children, heavy menstrual bleeding, and birth options.
Environmental scans: Quality and content of consumer information
These scans were prompted when a notable variation in practice was highlighted for these topics in the Australian Atlas of Healthcare Variation series.
Consumer access to high-quality information about treatment options can be a contributing factor to variation in practice. Consumers need to be provided with high-quality information about the risks and benefits of all relevant treatment options in order to make decisions with their healthcare provider about what is most appropriate for their circumstances.
The purpose of the scans was to identify existing high-quality consumer information about these topics, and to determine if there was a need for new material to support consumer understanding of their healthcare and treatment options.
The scans identified a number of higher-quality resources that provided comprehensive information about risks, benefits, and options related to tonsillectomy in children, cataract surgery, heavy menstrual bleeding, and birth options:
