A novel cooperative global information system for healthcare. This project will develop a global model for healthcare based on the groundbreaking Protocol Hypothesis Testing (PHT) system, allowing expert groups of clinicians to create and share knowledge across organizations. The PHT is a unique functioning knowledge management system that allows clinicians to record patient and treatment data as it is generated in clinical practice and applies scientific methods to generate clinical knowledge, ....A novel cooperative global information system for healthcare. This project will develop a global model for healthcare based on the groundbreaking Protocol Hypothesis Testing (PHT) system, allowing expert groups of clinicians to create and share knowledge across organizations. The PHT is a unique functioning knowledge management system that allows clinicians to record patient and treatment data as it is generated in clinical practice and applies scientific methods to generate clinical knowledge, all in real-time. The project will develop and test a framework for the PHT system to be used cooperatively by expert groups across virtual organizations, refining the PHT system in the process.Read moreRead less
Introducing computer-based documentation to Residential Aged Care: a multi-method evaluation of success. Improvements to quality and use of evidence-based methods in residential aged-care are restricted due to the very slow adoption of electronic information systems. This research will provide key investors, government, aged care providers and IT vendors, with tools to measure success in introducing IT into this sector. The project will create a platform with the national peak body, to dissemina ....Introducing computer-based documentation to Residential Aged Care: a multi-method evaluation of success. Improvements to quality and use of evidence-based methods in residential aged-care are restricted due to the very slow adoption of electronic information systems. This research will provide key investors, government, aged care providers and IT vendors, with tools to measure success in introducing IT into this sector. The project will create a platform with the national peak body, to disseminate lessons in successful implementation of computerised systems in residential aged-care, based on studies in two states. The studies will also benefit the international community researching technology adoption, by extending its boundary condition to a novel setting.Read moreRead less
Developing and Enhancing the Quality of National Injury-Related Hospital Morbidity Data. The annual direct cost of treatment of injuries is estimated to be $2.6 billion across health sectors and $1.6 billion for hospitals alone. Quality data on the circumstances surrounding hospitalised injuries are vital for determining injury risk factors, allocating resources appropriately, and evaluating injury prevention strategies. This research firstly assesses the specificity of coded data for external ....Developing and Enhancing the Quality of National Injury-Related Hospital Morbidity Data. The annual direct cost of treatment of injuries is estimated to be $2.6 billion across health sectors and $1.6 billion for hospitals alone. Quality data on the circumstances surrounding hospitalised injuries are vital for determining injury risk factors, allocating resources appropriately, and evaluating injury prevention strategies. This research firstly assesses the specificity of coded data for external causes of injury and identifies the reasons for a lack of quality in coded data. Based on these findings, a targeted educational program will be implemented for clinicians, coders, and injury researchers, to ultimately enhance the quality of national injury-related hospital morbidity data.Read moreRead less
Improving the measurement and surveillance of child abuse in Queensland. Estimates of the prevalence of child abuse suggest 10-20% of children are affected, with financial costs to the community around $5 billion annually, and extensive health and social consequences. Despite these enormous costs, research into risk factors and prevalence of child abuse has been hampered by poorly validated statistics. The use of routine hospital data for the identification of child abuse cases offers an effici ....Improving the measurement and surveillance of child abuse in Queensland. Estimates of the prevalence of child abuse suggest 10-20% of children are affected, with financial costs to the community around $5 billion annually, and extensive health and social consequences. Despite these enormous costs, research into risk factors and prevalence of child abuse has been hampered by poorly validated statistics. The use of routine hospital data for the identification of child abuse cases offers an efficient nationally standardised data source to improve the precision of child protection departmental responses through routine monitoring and audits of linked health and child protection data. Improvement of data will inform identification, intervention and prevention strategies.Read moreRead less
Optimising the Utility of Injury Surveillance Systems for Injury Prevention in Active Populations. Promotion of physical activity is a key national health priority and a major focus for the Australian Defence Force to achieve and maintain operational fitness. Unfortunately, these goals are associated with the negative effects of increased injury occurrence and substantial related costs. Civilian and military injury surveillance systems inform injury prevention priorities and interventions but re ....Optimising the Utility of Injury Surveillance Systems for Injury Prevention in Active Populations. Promotion of physical activity is a key national health priority and a major focus for the Australian Defence Force to achieve and maintain operational fitness. Unfortunately, these goals are associated with the negative effects of increased injury occurrence and substantial related costs. Civilian and military injury surveillance systems inform injury prevention priorities and interventions but research is required to maximise their performance and utility. The project aims to 1) determine the extent to which current systems meet user requirements 2) assess utility and reliability of these systems specifically for active populations and 3) develop recommendations for future systems development and improved user application.Read moreRead less
Can and should we link data at a national level? Vaccine safety surveillance: A case study. This project provides many benefits for the community, exploring the legal and ethical issues around consent for data linkage, convening Citizens' Juries to weigh the evidence and make recommendations. It addresses National Research Priorities: Promoting and Maintaining Good Health and Safeguarding Australia as well as National Collaborative Research Infrastructure Strategy priorities. It uses vaccine sa ....Can and should we link data at a national level? Vaccine safety surveillance: A case study. This project provides many benefits for the community, exploring the legal and ethical issues around consent for data linkage, convening Citizens' Juries to weigh the evidence and make recommendations. It addresses National Research Priorities: Promoting and Maintaining Good Health and Safeguarding Australia as well as National Collaborative Research Infrastructure Strategy priorities. It uses vaccine safety surveillance as a case study to evaluate the effectiveness of data linkage (through linking Commonwealth immunisation data to state hospital data) and the methodologies and lessons learnt from cross jurisdictional data linkage can be transferred to other areas. Read moreRead less
Enhancing patient management at point of care using electronic-based clinical pathways. Clinical pathways have been adopted by most Australian hospitals and the development of a 'proof of concept' digitised clinical pathways management system (DCPMS) would provide significant benefits to the Australian healthcare system in improving the efficiency of this approach. These include improved outcomes of care arising from a better match of patient requirements to nursing care and other health resour ....Enhancing patient management at point of care using electronic-based clinical pathways. Clinical pathways have been adopted by most Australian hospitals and the development of a 'proof of concept' digitised clinical pathways management system (DCPMS) would provide significant benefits to the Australian healthcare system in improving the efficiency of this approach. These include improved outcomes of care arising from a better match of patient requirements to nursing care and other health resources and better management of resources where savings can be re-directed into front-line patient care. This Australian innovation can then be exported to international health systems that are increasingly turning to hospital funding models that utilise clinical pathway information.Read moreRead less
Modelling the adoption and use of virtual services technologies for rural and regional healthcare: Economic and quality of care perspectives. Rural and regional Australians account for more than a third of the population. Compared with their urban counterparts, they face higher mortality rates and experience higher hospitalisation rates. They face significant challenges in accessing healthcare services and expertise. This research will provide guidelines on the effective and efficient use of ....Modelling the adoption and use of virtual services technologies for rural and regional healthcare: Economic and quality of care perspectives. Rural and regional Australians account for more than a third of the population. Compared with their urban counterparts, they face higher mortality rates and experience higher hospitalisation rates. They face significant challenges in accessing healthcare services and expertise. This research will provide guidelines on the effective and efficient use of virtual services technologies to provide more equitable access to healthcare for rural and regional Australians. This will enable healthcare providers and government agencies to select and deliver appropriate technology solutions yielding improved quality of care at a reduced cost. Access delays will be reduced through localised healthcare delivery.Read moreRead less
A SENTINEL STUDY OF TRENDS IN CORONARY HEART DISEASE RISK FACTORS IN AUSTRALIA. This project will use data collected by the Sydney Adventist Hospital from the managerial workforce during the past 25 years to examine the relationships of food consumption, smoking and lifestyle habits to risk of heart disease, obesity and mature onset diabetes. The lifestyles of different groups of people will be compared and related to disease risk. The effectiveness of hospital based health promotion in reducing ....A SENTINEL STUDY OF TRENDS IN CORONARY HEART DISEASE RISK FACTORS IN AUSTRALIA. This project will use data collected by the Sydney Adventist Hospital from the managerial workforce during the past 25 years to examine the relationships of food consumption, smoking and lifestyle habits to risk of heart disease, obesity and mature onset diabetes. The lifestyles of different groups of people will be compared and related to disease risk. The effectiveness of hospital based health promotion in reducing these disease risk factors will be assessed. Likely outcomes include better understanding of the causes of heart disease, obesity and diabetes; more effective hospital based health promotion strategies, and new disease surveillance systemsRead moreRead less
Enhancing patient management and clinical systems in hospital ward settings using mobile, wireless technologies. Wireless networks, hand held devices and associated applications are key emerging technologies. This project will investigate the implementation of wireless devices and applications for patient administration at Southern Health in two ward settings (neurology and neurosurgery) at Monash Medical Centre. A wireless infrastructure is being installed and clinical staff will be able to c ....Enhancing patient management and clinical systems in hospital ward settings using mobile, wireless technologies. Wireless networks, hand held devices and associated applications are key emerging technologies. This project will investigate the implementation of wireless devices and applications for patient administration at Southern Health in two ward settings (neurology and neurosurgery) at Monash Medical Centre. A wireless infrastructure is being installed and clinical staff will be able to conduct their rounds with notebook computers or PDAs at the patients' bedside. The research team will assess the acceptance of the new devices and applications by nursing and medical staff. Outcomes from the project will include a set of guidelines and techniques for introducing and managing technology-enhanced patient administration and clinical systems.Read moreRead less