Download a full PDF of the Third Australian Atlas of Healthcare Variation publication, as well as individual chapter PDFs and data sheets.
Data for each of the items in the Atlas are displayed as graphs and maps to show variation in rates by geographic location of patient residence.
The Third Australian Atlas of Healthcare Variation, released on 11 December 2018, investigates healthcare use in four clinical areas: Neonatal and paediatric health, Cardiac tests, Thyroid investigations and treatments and Gastrointestinal investigations and treatments. It also examines patterns of medicines use over time for four common groups of medicines.
Several overarching themes have emerged from the Atlas series: the need for regular public reporting, access to more complete and informative data, quality improvement strategies for the use of tests, and better information for consumers to allow informed decision‑making.
The Third Australian Atlas of Healthcare Variation investigates healthcare use in four clinical areas as well as patterns of medicines use over time. Antimicrobial medicines, antipsychotic medicines, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) medicines, and opioid medicines are included in Chapter 5, Repeat analyses.
The Third Australian Atlas of Healthcare Variation investigates healthcare use in four clinical areas, including the use of cardiac tests. This chapter includes cardiac stress tests and imaging (exercise ECG, stress echocardiography, myocardial perfusion scans, computed tomography coronary arteries), stress echocardiography, myocardial perfusion scans and standard echocardiography.
The Third Australian Atlas of Healthcare Variation investigates healthcare use in four clinical areas, including thyroid investigations and treatments. This chapter includes thyroid function testing (thyroid stimulating hormone tests and thyroid function tests), neck ultrasound, and thyroidectomy.
The Third Australian Atlas of Healthcare Variation investigates healthcare use in four clinical areas, including gastrointestinal investigations and treatments. This chapter includes colonoscopy hospitalisations, gastroscopy hospitalisations and dispensing of proton pump inhibitor medicines.
The Third Australian Atlas of Healthcare Variation investigates four clinical areas, including neonatal and paediatric health. This chapter includes early planned caesarean sections without medical or obstetric indication, antibiotic medicines dispensing in children, and proton pump inhibitor medicines dispensing in infants.