Implementing teleauscultation for remote user health services in Australia: A case study with economic evaluation. By reducing the requirement for patients to travel to major centres for assessment, this project is expected to result in significant direct savings per individual patient. Indirect cost reductions will also result from the minimisation of travel for patients, with the potential for national savings in transport infrastructure costs, greenhouse gases emissions, and decreasing other ....Implementing teleauscultation for remote user health services in Australia: A case study with economic evaluation. By reducing the requirement for patients to travel to major centres for assessment, this project is expected to result in significant direct savings per individual patient. Indirect cost reductions will also result from the minimisation of travel for patients, with the potential for national savings in transport infrastructure costs, greenhouse gases emissions, and decreasing other undesirable consequences of either private or public transport travel for patients and/or specialist physicians. Further indirect benefits include incidental learning by staff working with patients in remote location through the remote link. Other advantages include happier patients as they will not need to leave their home and loved ones as often.Read moreRead less
Can technology make communication in complex systems safer and more efficient? Evaluation of an electronic test management system in health care. In many industries poor communication has a major impact on safety; in health, missed test results have impacts ranging from inappropriate antibiotic therapy to missed cancer diagnoses. This research will evaluate new information technology which can improve health outcomes and communication between clinicians, laboratories and patients.
National registration of health practitioners: a comparative study of the complaints and notification system under the national system and in NSW. This project will compare the NSW healthcare complaints system with that of the new Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency to provide insight into complaints handling and notification at a state and national level. It will determine best practice in government assessment and resolution methods and reveal complainant experiences.
Stopping the run-around: comorbidity action in the north (CAN). The purpose of the project is to identify the barriers and facilitators to effective use of mental health and drug and alcohol services in a metropolitan region of South Australia. The evidence base will then drive the development and implementation of effective change to service delivery to improve outcomes for people with comorbidity.
Emergency Health Services: Demand and service delivery models. Congestion of emergency health services is causing considerable community concern regarding Australia's capacity to manage daily health emergencies and to respond to major incidents and disasters. The service models developed in this project will provide the basis for policy and service initiatives which will address the growing demand for emergency health services more efficiently and effectively and thus meet community expectations ....Emergency Health Services: Demand and service delivery models. Congestion of emergency health services is causing considerable community concern regarding Australia's capacity to manage daily health emergencies and to respond to major incidents and disasters. The service models developed in this project will provide the basis for policy and service initiatives which will address the growing demand for emergency health services more efficiently and effectively and thus meet community expectations. Improved services will result in improved community health and wellbeing. This project will also develop the research capacity of Australia through training of key individuals who will lead future research and development of emergency health services in Australia.Read moreRead less
The impact and cost of short-term health staffing in remote communities. This project aims to examine the impact of the increasing levels of short-term health staffing in remote communities upon service acceptability to patients, workload and attitudes of long-term resident primary health care staff, and the effectiveness and cost of health services. There is a dearth of information about this 'fly in/fly out' (FIFO) workforce in remote communities, which have the worst health outcomes in the co ....The impact and cost of short-term health staffing in remote communities. This project aims to examine the impact of the increasing levels of short-term health staffing in remote communities upon service acceptability to patients, workload and attitudes of long-term resident primary health care staff, and the effectiveness and cost of health services. There is a dearth of information about this 'fly in/fly out' (FIFO) workforce in remote communities, which have the worst health outcomes in the country. The project aims to inform consumers, health practitioners, health service planners and policy-makers about the impact of FIFO, as well as to contribute to the development of strategies designed to stabilise the remote health workforce.Read moreRead less
Improving management decisions in mental health care through applications of advanced simulation modelling. Evidence to inform management decisions about the best way to structure mental health care services is currently lacking. This project will develop a simulation modelling tool that will allow managers to explore various service configurations in virtual reality, enabling predictions to be made about the cost and quality of care.
Strengthening the capacity of public health organisations to deliver effective public health services. In an effort to maintain and improve the health of the population Australia has defined the core public health functions that must be carried out. This project will examine public health infrastructure and capacity in three states - mapping the implementation of core functions, assessing current infrastructure, comparing organisational approaches, and developing measures of local public health ....Strengthening the capacity of public health organisations to deliver effective public health services. In an effort to maintain and improve the health of the population Australia has defined the core public health functions that must be carried out. This project will examine public health infrastructure and capacity in three states - mapping the implementation of core functions, assessing current infrastructure, comparing organisational approaches, and developing measures of local public health capacity. These will then become industry benchmarks to guide investment and interventions, and to assess the quality of these. The project will investigate the context in which core public health functions are successfully delivered and develop tools to measure local capacity and delivery functions.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
Remote patient assessment using digital stethoscope for telehealth systems in Australia. The direct saving will be about $15 600 per individual patient. Indirect cost reductions will significantly minimise travel for patients, national savings in transport infrastructure costs, greenhouse gases emissions and all the other undesirable consequences of either private or public transport travel for patients and/or specialist physicians. Other indirect benefits include incidental learning by staff w ....Remote patient assessment using digital stethoscope for telehealth systems in Australia. The direct saving will be about $15 600 per individual patient. Indirect cost reductions will significantly minimise travel for patients, national savings in transport infrastructure costs, greenhouse gases emissions and all the other undesirable consequences of either private or public transport travel for patients and/or specialist physicians. Other indirect benefits include incidental learning by staff working with patients in the remote location through the remote link. Other advantages include happier patients as they will not need to leave their home and loved ones as often. This can be translated into national benefits through reduction in anxiety and less stressful patients.Read moreRead less