PIRT Bulletin Board



 
Data Collection
Last updated 4 April 2012

  • The 2004-first half of 2011 trend report and comparison reports for the second half of 2011 are now available to be downloaded from PIRT Online.
  • Obstetrics indicators Medical complications / diseases of pregnancy should be excluded from both numerators and denominators for indicators 1.1 – 1.4 .    

Frequently Asked Questions:

  • Intensive Care If you are concerned that the calculated rate for indicators in Area 6 (6.1 to 6.5) do not appear to be accurate, it is because the calculation is presenting the rate as per 1,000 patients, rather than per 100 patients. The working party requested this, as all the literature in this area reports the events as per 1,000 patients.
  • Intensive Care The indicators that address Rapid Response System Calls in relation to the deteriorating patient within the healthcare organisation are located in the Intensive Care set. The Area 6 clinical indicators relate to the entire healthcare organisation, not the intensive care unit. Reporting on this sub-set of indicators is critical, as it will add to the evidence around this topic and assist Australian researchers to demonstrate the impact of recognition and response to clinical deterioration in inpatients. An additional peer grouping has been added to the Intensive Care set in PIRT specifically for this sub-set of indicators. All HCOs are strongly advised to report on these 5 indicators. If you require any further information on these indicators, and their importance, please contact Kylie Mercer on either kmercer@achs.org.au or 02 8218 2733.
  • Hospital-Wide The denominator figure for indicator 3.1 should always be much greater than the denominator for 3.2, as the first one is counting occupied bed days and the later indicator is counting hospital admissions. The denominator figures for indicators 3.1, 4.1, 4.2, and 4.3 should be the same as they exclude day stay patients.
  • Hospital-Wide and Internal Medicine The peer grouping stratification for both these sets uses the AIHW peer grouping framework - all numbers presented in this table (such as separations) to determine which peer grouping you are in refer to annual figures, NOT 6-monthly figures. All AIHW statistics relate to annual numbers, whereas ACHS collection periods are 6 months.
  • Mental Health Inpatient Acute inpatient refers to the short-term management and treatment during an acute phase of mental illness, and can include both voluntary and involuntary status. The focus is on assessment and symptom control, rather than maintenance and rehabilitation. It would generally be expected that the length of stay be 3 months or less.
  • Pathology Weekends should be included in the count in relation to indicators 3.1 to 3.4.

If you have any comments or questions about data collection, please contact the Performance and Outcomes Service team on either pos@achs.org.au or 02 9281 9955. 
 

  		 
Education
Last updated 19 April 2012 


Updated Relevant Clinical Indicators for EQuIP5 Criteria
Following several amendments, additions and version changes to ACHS Clinical Indicators since the publication of EQuIP5, the list of relevant ACHS Clinical Indicators for EQuIP5 criteria has been updated as a useful tool for EQuIP5 members. The updated list may be marked for reference on the relevant pages in the EQuIP5 Guide (Section 4, paragraph 4.4.5, pages 38-40).
Please click here to access the updated list of relevant ACHS Clinical Indicators for EQuIP5 Criteria (your EQuIP member log-in password is required).
 

     Quick Tips
  • The PIRT Online User Guide (previously PIRT User Instruction) has been completely revised, and is now available. Please have a look at it and let us know what you think. It provides more screenshots on how the screen should look when performing tasks, and is set out in the sequence that you would use entering data. Additionally, please let us know if there are sections that are not clear.
  • You might have noticed a new feature in PIRT when entering data into your indicator. The screen now contains a row that provides you with information about any definitions or exclusions/inclusions relevant to the individual indicator, as well as your data (numerator, denominator, and rate) from the last 2 collection periods. This has been implemented to improve the data quality and to alert you to inconsistent data, and it is recommended you read this information prior to entering your data for each indicator.

     Scheduled Measurement in Health Care Workshops for May-Dec 2012

  • Measurement in Health Care: How to Maximise the Benefits of Clinical Indicators workshops will be provided in
    • VIC - Melbourne Thursday 3 May
    • NSW - Sydney Thursday 10 May
    • QLD - Brisbane Tuesday 17 July
    • VIC - Melbourne Tuesday 11 Sep
  • The six-hour workshop will expose you to the intent and design of clinical indicators, the issues that surround their interpretation and use, and how clinical indicators can best be used to evaluate and improve clinical care. Specific measurement workshops for individual healthcare organisations or clusters or networks can also be arranged. Dates for all 2012 ACHS workshops and accompanying registration forms are available on the ACHS website via the Education Calendar.

    If you have any questions about the measurement workshops, please contact the Performance and Outcomes Service team on either pos@achs.org.au or 02 9281 9955.

     Enhancements Under Development

  • We are currently developing a PIRT Quick Guide, to remind you of the sequence of steps when entering your data.
  • We are also developing a range of time-saving features for PIRT, based on the feedback we received from our 2010 Clincial Indicator Program survey. As the features are developed, we will place information on the Bulletin Board as to what the new features hope to achieve and the estimated date of when they will be available. The next feature we are developing is the ability to autopopulate repeated denominators. If there is a denominator that is repeated across a number of indicators, you will be prompted after you enter the denominator the first time if you wish this denominator to be entered into the other indicators using the same denominator. This feature will be ready for the 1H 2012 collection period
 

 

Indicator Sets Updates
Last updated 4 April 2012
  • Rehabilitation Medicine version 5 is now available and ready for implementation in the second half (July – December) of 2012 data collection.
  • Oral Health version 3 is available at http://www.achs.org.au/cimanuals/
  • Emergency Medicine version 5 is now available for the 2H 2011 collection period. Apart from increasing the number of indicators to 21 through the addition of 5 new areas, the Peer Groupings have also changed. Rather than the current 5 stratification options, such as Major Referral ED, Urban District ED, and so on, the ACEM have revised the Role Delineation document, and the options will now be Level 1 ED, Level 2 ED, and Level 3 ED. Reporting of the indicators in this revised set is highly recommended for all HCOs that provide ED services.

    Unfortunately, the revised Role Delineation document is still awaiting ratification from ACEM, and this is unlikely to occur until after April 2012. Thus, we will provide the revised indicators plus the existing Role Delineation document (5 stratifcation options) in the existing user manual for the July to December 2011 collection period. Following ratification from ACEM next year, the user manual will be updated with the new Role Delineation document (3 stratification options) for the January to June 2012 collection period.

       Please click here for more information about the updates for data collection.

   If you have any comments or questions about the above updated indicator sets, please contact Kylie Mercer on either kmercer@achs.org.au or 02 8218 2733.

 

 

 

Working Party Progress
Last updated 20 April 2012
  • Day Surgery commenced their review in 2010, and the revised user manual is expected to be completed for dissemination to the working party by the end of April. The indicator areas include Preadmission Preparation, Procedure Non-Attendance, Procedure Cancellation, Episode of Care Harm, Unplanned Return to Operating Room, Unplanned Transfer / Admission, Discharge, and Post-Discharge Follow-up. Version 5 will have a total of 13 indicators, and the name of the set will be changed to Day Patient. A draft version of the user manual will be available from the Bulletin Board once it has been sent to the working party, and you will be able to comment on the new indicators.
  • Gastrointestinal Endoscopy commenced their review in 2010, and have proposed new indicators in the areas of colorectal cancer. Please CLICK HERE to download the draft of the proposed indicators in the new version. If you would like to provide comments on the proposed indicators, please email them to pos@achs.org.au.
  • Mental Health Community Based commenced their review in 2010, and are still attempting to establish the new areas of indicator development. Volunteers for a new working party will be called in early 2012.
  • Ophthalmology commenced their review in May 2010, and have proposed new indicators in the areas of Timeout and Toric Lens. The literature review for this set is currently being completed.
  • Paediatric working party met in February 2012 and have proposed major changes to the set. Further information will be posted once available.
  • Radiation Oncology had their initial review meeting in October 2010, and propose to delete a number of existing indicators as well as adding new areas such as IMRT for carcinoma of the nasopharynx, dose escalation treatment for localised carcinoma of the prostate, dosimetry, multi-modal imaging, and online correction of position.
  • Radiology had their initial review meeting in October 2010, and propose to modify the area of report availability, delete the area of morbidity of radiological procedures, and introduce new indicators in the areas of adverse events, radiology reports requiring amendment or addendum, efficacy of core biopsies, and complications of PICC.  
     
  • An Infection Control working party meeting will be held on Thursday 14 June 2012.
  • A Domiciliary Nursing working party meeting will be held on Wednesday 20 June 2012. If you are interested in being on this working party, please contact Kylie Mercer.

    If you have any comments or questions about the above working party activity, please contact Kylie Mercer on either kmercer@achs.org.au or 02 8218 2733.

 

 

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