To the Editor: The Garling report highlights gaps in the New South Wales health system and establishes a framework for change.1 We support Garling’s view that there is a need for greater measurement of the health system to assess quality of care, and we believe that clinical networks have an important role to play in establishing, interpreting and actioning quality indicator data.2 But the statement that “There is already a great reservoir of information available within NSW Health from which data are available to measure the quality of patient care ...”1 is unhelpful in moving this work forward.
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- School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, Monash University, Melbourne, VIC.
- 1. Garling P. Final report of the Special Commission of Inquiry: Acute Care Services in NSW Public Hospitals. Overview. Sydney: NSW Government, 27 Nov 2008. http://www.lawlink.nsw.gov.au/lawlink/Special_Projects/ll_splprojects.nsf/pages/acsi_finalreport (accessed Jan 2009).
- 2. Evans SM, Cameron PA, Wilson S, et al. Measuring quality in private hospitals. Melbourne: Australian Centre for Health Research, 2008.
- 3. Westaby S, Archer N, Manning N, et al. Comparison of hospital episode statistics and central cardiac audit database in public reporting of congenital heart surgery mortality. BMJ 2007; 335: 759-763.
- 4. Rosenthal MB, Frank RG. What is the empirical basis for paying for quality in health care? Med Care Res Rev 2006; 63: 135-157.
- 5. EyeNet Sweden. Handbook for establishing quality registries. Karlskrona: EyeNet Sweden, 2005.