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Health Complaints Commissions in Australia: Time for a National Approach to Data Collection. Merrilyn Walton, University of Sydney Jennifer Merry-Smith, University of Sydney Judith Healy, Australian National University Fiona McDonald, Queensland University of Technology
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Health Complaints Commissions in Australia: Time for a National Approach to Data Collection Merrilyn Walton, University of Sydney Jennifer Merry-Smith, University of Sydney Judith Healy, Australian National University Fiona McDonald, Queensland University of Technology (2012) 11:1 Australian Journal of Public Affairs 1-18
Project Are Australian health complaints commissions an effective tool to improve health services?
Health system reform Focus: increased accountability • Mandatory accreditation • National standards • National framework for health professional regulation
Health Complaints Commissions • ‘Public watchdog’ – accountability • Empower patients • Dispute resolution • Accessible • Independent • Window on quality
Data collection sub-project • Is the data collected by health complaints commissions in Australia comparable so that conclusions can be drawn about complaints management and the safety and quality of health services in Australia?
Methods Comparison of statistics from Health Complaints Commission annual reports: 2005-2006 2009-2010
Results • Comparisons possible only for the most basic data • Considerable variability in data presented
Results • Jurisdiction of commissions vary • Definitions vary • Classifications vary
Complaints data 2009-2010 • NSW & QLD record procedural steps • Vic & Tas record outcomes for complainants • NT, ACT, SA, WA no data reported Data only comparable on 4 out of 18 data items
Conclusion • Data collected does not allow us to nationally - benchmark complaints - make definitive comparisons - establish best practice A standardised data set needs to be developed by the Commissions