Reducing avoidable hospital readmissions supports better health outcomes, improves patient safety and leads to greater efficiency in the health system.
Based on advice, feedback and discussions with clinical experts and health services from across Australia, the Commission has compiled a list of FAQs and resources that may assist health services in the prevention and reduction of hospital-acquired complications (HACs).
Explore these resources and share your feedback.
Two groupers have been developed to support the implementation of the hospital-acquired complications (HACs) list. These tools that can be used by hospitals, health services and system managers to identify and monitor HACs.
Development of the HACs list involved a literature review, environmental scan, clinician-driven reports, a proof-of-concept study and subsequent refinements.
The Governance Framework embeds clinical trials into routine health service provision and strengthens the clinical and corporate governance arrangements for governments, hospital administrators, health services, private companies, trial sponsors and trial investigators.
The Classification of Hospital Acquired Diagnoses (CHADx) allows hospitals to identify, count and monitor adverse events that occur in hospital to support safety improvement efforts.
Well-designed incident management systems assist patients, carers, families and the workforce to identify, report, manage and learn from incidents.
A hospital-acquired complication (HAC) refers to a complication for which clinical risk mitigation strategies may reduce (but not necessarily eliminate) the risk of that complication occurring.
The Commission and the Independent Health and Aged Care Pricing Authority (IHACPA) have established a Joint Working Party (JWP) to consider potential approaches to pricing for safety and quality in public hospital services in Australia.
The core hospital-based outcome indicators (CHBOIs) contain a range of mortality indicators which have been developed to enhance safety and quality reporting and feedback.
Australia’s national Clinical Quality Registries (CQRs) make a unique contribution to the Australian health system. They collect, analyse and report information about the care and outcomes being delivered by health service organisations, and serve as a fundamental driver of ongoing improvements in the safety and quality of the care provided to Australian consumers.
Outcome: By completing Step 3.4 you will be able to develop ideas for translating AHPEQS results into actions that support quality and safety improvement in your services
Outcome: By completing Step 3.3, you will have decided how to present and report AHPEQS results, the purpose of the different types of reports, who you will present them to and how often.
Outcome: By completing Step 3.2, you will have an analysis strategy for the raw AHPEQS data you will receive from patients.
Outcome: By completing Step 2.7 you will be able to develop a set of practical tasks which need to be completed to automate the processes of getting the survey to a patient and getting it back. This task list will help to determine the initial and ongoing costs and human resources required for administering the survey.
Outcome
By completing Step 2.6, you will have a set of principles and actions to ensure you protect patients’ privacy and use their information ethically when collecting, analysing and reporting AHPEQS results.
Outcome: By completing Step 2.5, you will have decided the mode of administration of the survey and how you will present it to patients, as well as what you might need to do to accommodate the needs of different patient groups.
Outcome: By completing Step 2.4, you will have decided whether and why you would like to adapt some aspect of AHPEQS, and you will understand the implications of doing this.
Outcome: By completing Step 2.3, you will have a plan for how often you will administer surveys to your sample or population of patients, and when you will administer the survey in relation to each person’s discharge. These timing decisions will need to support your objectives for using AHPEQS. For example, if you plan to report to your board or other regular meetings, your reporting cycle will affect your surveying and analysis cycle.