The Healthcare Improvement Unit Data Collections Project implemented data standards for its elective surgery, specialist outpatients, emergency, gastrointestinal endoscopy and radiation therapy data collections, and these standards and definitions are documented in a Minimum Data Set and a Manual.
Healthcare Improvement Unit (HIU) Data Collections
Initiative Type
Data Collection
Status
Close
Added
Last updated
Summary
Key dates
Jul 2015
Mar 2016
Implementation sites
The data collections were implemented across Queensland in all Hospital and Health Services
Aim
The ability to accurately measure performance and activity empowers the health system to respond to changes in demand, deploy resources more effectively and deliver improved experiences and reduced waiting times for patients.
Benefits
- Consistent and standardised scope and data definitions across the state.
- The technical infrastructure to collect a single, high quality, system agnostic view of the activity and performance of services.
- The ability for customers to actively improve information quality so that each patient is accurately represented.
- Customer access to information in an easy to use, clearly documented format, for the creation of high value outputs such as planning, funding and research.
Background
The project came about as a result of increased focus on hospital waiting times. Lower waiting numbers meant greater scrutiny and it was felt that greater focus on data quality would provide decision makers with the ability to target specific areas for improvement.
Solutions Implemented
The Healthcare Improvement Unit Data Collections Project implemented data standards for its elective surgery, specialist outpatients, emergency, gastrointestinal endoscopy and radiation therapy data collections, and these standards and definitions are documented in a Minimum Data Set and a Manual.
Lessons Learnt
Encouraging hospital staff to focus on quality data within a busy clinical setting is not without its challenges. To increase acceptance of the Project, a broad range of stakeholders were engaged and requirements were clearly explained and regularly reinforced. Great importance was placed on understanding the impacts that the project changes would have on users, and particularly those in a clinical environment.
Change communications were delivered to process users across Queensland Health through the Influencers. A key target group identified as essential to the Project were data entry officers in hospitals. It was important to build this group’s understanding that the patient information they entered into their terminal had a broader use across the health sector. The project used newsletters to reinforce the message that high-quality data was essential to the effective planning and improvement of public health services. It was further explained that if poor-quality data was used for decision making, it was increasingly difficult to identify health risks and improve health outcomes for vulnerable populations.
