Accessing healthcare service information

Providing access to information about your service will help consumers decide when, how and whether to use the service. Access details can refer to physical access or remote access where telehealth is used. Where the same service is provided from multiple sites, access details for each site should be provided. Where services are provided in a patient’s home, access details are not required.

Ideally, consider involving consumers in the development of information about your healthcare service. It can be useful to ask questions about what information they need, when they need it (whether on the organisation’s website, when making an appointment or in the waiting room) and what format will work best for them. Testing the final resource with consumers can tell you whether the information meets their needs.

• How can people find information about your healthcare service?
• How can consumers provide feedback about your service’s accessibility?
• How is information regarding costs made readily available to consumers in an accessible manner?
• Where would consumers find information about who they can contact in an emergency when your healthcare service is not available?

• Consider a resource that provides details about
  • the services available 
  • the opening hours and how to access health care, including accessibility
  • who can access the service and contact for special requirements 
  • estimated service costs
  • alternative health care when the service is closed, after-hours and in an emergency 
  • service location(s) and access details, including parking and public transport 
  • how to provide feedback or make a complaint and contact details for the appropriate healthcare complaints authority. 
• Take into account that a resource may be a web page, fact sheet, poster display or a frequently asked questions sheet for the workforce.
• Ensure your resource is freely available and displayed in a prominent place, on your website (if relevant), and available to the workforce to answer queries from consumers.

The type and comprehensiveness of evidence used is dependent on each healthcare service context, but could include:

• Healthcare service website that includes details of the services provided, how consumers can access those services, opening hours, costs, the service’s physical location, if applicable and contact details such as phone and email information
• Brochures, links to or information about options for emergency care providers when the healthcare service is not open or not able to provide urgent care or for additional support.

Commission resource

• Fact sheet 4 – Writing health information for consumers – describes how you can review and improve the content and format of your organisation’s written information. Making your written information easier to understand will improve your health literacy environment and help you meet some of the requirements of the NSQHS Standards.

Other resource

• Healthdirect: After-hours general practitioner (GP) helpline – a safety-net health service that helps people in rural and remote areas obtain the services of a GP and provides an alternative to visiting a hospital emergency department.