Mandatory performance reporting as part of health care reform:  but where are the clinical data?

Watterson, Leonie M; Holland, Ross B; Davies, Jan M; Hughes, Clifford F

doi:10.5694/j.1326-5377.2010.tb03899.x

Topics

The importance to patient safety of clinician-led mortality auditing needs system-wide recognition

In April 2010, the Council of Australian Governments (COAG) agreed on health and hospitals reform, with the establishment of the National Health and Hospitals Network. The aims of the network include “helping patients receive more seamless care across sectors of the health system” and “improving the quality of care” with “high-performance standards”.1 As a key component of the reforms and a funding condition, health facilities will be required to regularly report performance data to the federal government. Data will be based on national performance indicators that are already agreed to by COAG and address “access to services, quality of service delivery, financial responsibility, patient outcomes and/or patient experience”.2

1 Sydney Clinical Skills and Simulation Centre, Sydney Medical School, Northern Sydney Central Coast Area Health Service, Sydney, NSW.
2 University of Newcastle, Newcastle, NSW.
3 University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada.
4 Clinical Excellence Commission, Sydney, NSW.

Correspondence: Lwatters@nsccahs.health.nsw.gov.au

Competing interests:

Leonie Watterson chaired a plenary session in an educational seminar, cohosted by the CEC and the SCIDUA, in August 2010. The CEC helped meet travel costs of the seminar’s key speakers, including those of Jan Davies. Ross Holland is a member of SCIDUA.

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