Assessing the appropriateness of the management of otitis media in Australia: A population-based sample survey.

AIM: Acute otitis media (AOM) is the most common infectious disease for which antibiotics are prescribed; its management is costly and has the potential to increase the antimicrobial resistance of this infection. This study measured the levels of adherence to the clinical practice guidelines (CPGs) of AOM and otitis media with effusion (OME) management in Australian children. METHODS: We searched for national and international CPGs relating to AOM and OME in children and created 37 indicators for assessment. We reviewed medical records for adherence to these indicators in 120 locations, across one inpatient and three ambulatory health-care settings. Our review sample was obtained from three Australian states that contain 60% of the nation's children. RESULTS: We reviewed the records of 1063 children with one or more assessments of CPG adherence for otitis media. Of 22 indicators with sufficient data, estimated adherence ranged from 7.4 to 99.1%. Overuse of treatment, particularly overprescribing of antibiotics, was more common than underuse. A frequent lack of adherence with recommended care was observed for children aged between 1 and 2 years with AOM. Adherence varied by health-care setting, with emergency departments and inpatient settings more adherent to CPGs than general practices. CONCLUSIONS: Our assessment of a number of indicators in the common settings in which otitis media is treated found that guideline adherence varied widely between individual indicators. Internationally agreed standards for diagnosis and treatment, coupled with clinician education on the existence and content of CPGs and clinical decision support, are needed to improve the management of children presenting with AOM and OME

Quality of Health Care for Children in Australia, 2012-2013.

Importance: The quality of routine care for children is rarely assessed, and then usually in single settings or for single clinical conditions. Objective: To estimate the quality of health care for children in Australia in inpatient and ambulatory health care settings. Design, Setting, and Participants: Multistage stratified sample with medical record review to assess adherence with quality indicators extracted from clinical practice guidelines for 17 common, high-burden clinical conditions (noncommunicable [n = 5], mental health [n = 4], acute infection [n = 7], and injury [n = 1]), such as asthma, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, tonsillitis, and head injury. For these 17 conditions, 479 quality indicators were identified, with the number varying by condition, ranging from 9 for eczema to 54 for head injury. Four hundred medical records were targeted for sampling for each of 15 conditions while 267 records were targeted for anxiety and 133 for depression. Within each selected medical record, all visits for the 17 targeted conditions were identified, and separate quality assessments made for each. Care was evaluated for 6689 children 15 years of age and younger who had 15 240 visits to emergency departments, for inpatient admissions, or to pediatricians and general practitioners in selected urban and rural locations in 3 Australian states. These visits generated 160 202 quality indicator assessments. Exposures: Quality indicators were identified through a systematic search of local and international guidelines. Individual indicators were extracted from guidelines and assessed using a 2-stage Delphi process. Main Outcomes and Measures: Quality of care for each clinical condition and overall. Results: Of 6689 children with surveyed medical records, 53.6% were aged 0 to 4 years and 55.5% were male. Adherence to quality of care indicators was estimated at 59.8% (95% CI, 57.5%-62.0%; n = 160 202) across the 17 conditions, ranging from a high of 88.8% (95% CI, 83.0%-93.1%; n = 2638) for autism to a low of 43.5% (95% CI, 36.8%-50.4%; n = 2354) for tonsillitis. The mean adherence by condition category was estimated as 60.5% (95% CI, 57.2%-63.8%; n = 41 265) for noncommunicable conditions (range, 52.8%-75.8%); 82.4% (95% CI, 79.0%-85.5%; n = 14 622) for mental health conditions (range, 71.5%-88.8%); 56.3% (95% CI, 53.2%-59.4%; n = 94 037) for acute infections (range, 43.5%-69.8%); and 78.3% (95% CI, 75.1%-81.2%; n = 10 278) for injury. Conclusions and Relevance: Among a sample of children receiving care in Australia in 2012-2013, the overall prevalence of adherence to quality of care indicators for important conditions was not high. For many of these conditions, the quality of care may be inadequate

Identification and internal validation of models for predicting survival and ICU admission following a traumatic injury

Abstract Background Measures to improve the accuracy of determining survival and intensive care unit (ICU) admission using the International Classification of Injury Severity Score (ICISS) are not often conducted on a population-wide basis. The aim is to determine if the predictive ability of survival and ICU admission using ICISS can be improved depending on the method used to derive ICISS and incremental inclusion of covariates. Method A retrospective analysis of linked injury hospitalisation and mortality data during 1 January 2010 to 30 June 2014 in New South Wales, Australia was conducted. Both multiplicative-injury and single-worst-injury ICISS were calculated. Logistic regression examined 90-day mortality and ICU admission with a range of predictor variables. The models were assessed in terms of their ability to discriminate survivors and non-survivors, model fit, and variation explained. Results There were 735,961 index injury admissions, 13,744 (1.9%) deaths within 90-days and 23,054 (3.1%) ICU admissions. The best predictive model for 90-day mortality was single-worst-injury ICISS including age group, gender, all comorbidities, trauma centre type, injury mechanism, and nature of injury as covariates. The multiplicative-injury ICISS with age group, gender, all comorbidities, injury mechanism, and nature of injury was the best predictive model for ICU admission. Conclusions The inclusion of comorbid conditions, injury mechanism and nature of injury, improved discrimination for both 90-day mortality and ICU admission. Moves to routinely use ICD-based injury severity measures, such as ICISS, should be considered for hospitalisation data replacing more resource-intensive injury severity classification measures

Assessing the Quality of the Management of Tonsillitis among Australian Children: A Population-Based Sample Survey

Objective: The aims of this study were twofold: (1) to design and validate a set of clinical indicators of appropriate care for tonsillitis and (2) to measure the level of tonsillitis care that is in line with guideline recommendations in a sample of Australian children. Study Design: A set of tonsillitis care indicators was developed from available national and international guidelines and validated in 4 stages. This research used the same design as the CareTrack Kids study, which was described in detail elsewhere. Setting: Samples of patient records from general practices, emergency departments, and hospital admissions were assessed. Subjects and Methods: Patient records of children aged 0 to 15 years were assessed for the presence of, and adherence to, the indicators for care delivered in 2012 and 2013. Results: Eleven indicators were developed. The records of 821 children (mean age, 5.0 years; SD, 4.0) with tonsillitis were screened. The reviewers conducted 2354 eligible indicator assessments across 1127 visits. Adherence to 6 indicators could be assessed and ranged from 14.3% to 73.2% (interquartile range 31.5% to 72.2%). Conclusion: Our main findings are consistent with the international literature: the treatment of many children who present with confirmed or suspected tonsillitis is inconsistent with current guidelines. Future research should consider how the indicators could be applied in a structured and automated manner to increase the reliability and efficiency of record reviews and help raise clinicians’ awareness of appropriate tonsillitis management

Bending the quality curve

With this paper, we initiate the Supplement on Deepening our Understanding of Quality in Australia (DUQuA). DUQuA is an at-scale, cross-sectional research programme examining the quality activities in 32 large hospitals across Australia. It is based on, with suitable modifications and extensions, the Deepening our Understanding of Quality improvement in Europe (DUQuE) research programme, also published as a Supplement in this Journal, in 2014. First, we briefly discuss key data about Australia, the health of its population and its health system. Then, to provide context for the work, we discuss previous activities on the quality of care and improvement leading up to the DUQuA studies. Next, we present a selection of key interventional studies and policy and institutional initiatives to date. Finally, we conclude by outlining, in brief, the aims and scope of the articles that follow in the Supplement. This first article acts as a framing vehicle for the DUQuA studies as a whole. Aggregated, the series of papers collectively attempts an answer to the questions: what is the relationship between quality strategies, both hospital-wide and at department level? and what are the relationships between the way care is organised, and the actual quality of care as delivered? Papers in the Supplement deal with a multiplicity of issues including: how the DUQuA investigators made progress over time, what the results mean in context, the scales designed or modified along the way for measuring the quality of care, methodological considerations and provision of lessons learnt for the benefit of future researchers

Appropriate management of acute gastroenteritis in Australian children: a population-based study

Objectives: To determine the proportion of care provided to children with acute gastroenteritis (AGE) in Australia consistent with clinical practice guidelines. Methods: Indicators were developed from national and international clinical practice guideline (CPG) recommendations and validated by an expert panel. Medical records from children ≤15 years presenting with AGE in three healthcare settings-Emergency Department (ED), hospital admissions and General Practitioner (GP) consultations-from randomly selected health districts across three Australian States were reviewed. Records were audited against 35 indicators by trained paediatric nurses, to determine adherence to CPGs during diagnosis, treatment, and ongoing management. Results: A total of 14,434 indicator assessments were performed from 854 healthcare visits for AGE by 669 children, across 75 GPs, 34 EDs and 26 hospital inpatient services. Documented adherence to guidelines across all healthcare settings was 45.5% for indicators relating to diagnosis (95% CI: 40.7-50.4), 96.1% for treatment (95% CI: 94.8-97.1) and 57.6% for ongoing management (95% CI: 51.3-63.7). Adherence varied by healthcare setting, with adherence in GPs (54.6%; 95% CI: 51.1-58.1) lower than for either ED settings (84.7%; 95% CI: 82.4-86.9) or for inpatients (84.3%; 95% CI: 80.0-87.9); p<0.0001 for both differences. The difference between settings was driven by differences in the diagnosis and ongoing management phases of care. Conclusions: Adherence to clinical guidelines for children presenting to healthcare providers with AGE varies according to phase of care and healthcare setting. Although appropriate diagnostic assessment and ongoing management phase procedures are not well documented in medical records (particularly in the GP setting), in the treatment phase children are treated in accordance with guidelines over 90% of the time.Neroli Sunderland, Johanna Westbrook, Rachel Urwin, Zoe Knights, Jonny Taitz, Helena Williams, Louise K. Wiles, Charlotte Molloy, Peter Hibbert, Hsuen P. Ting, Kate Churruca, Gaston Arnolda, Jeffrey Braithwaite (on behalf of the CareTrack Kids investigative team

Accomplishing reform : successful case studies drawn from the health systems of 60 countries

Healthcare reform typically involves orchestrating a policy change, mediated through some form of operational, systems, financial, process or practice intervention. The aim is to improve the ways in which care is delivered to patients. In our book ‘Health Systems Improvement Across the Globe: Success Stories from 60 Countries’, we gathered case-study accomplishments from 60 countries. A unique feature of the collection is the diversity of included countries, from the wealthiest and most politically stable such as Japan, Qatar and Canada, to some of the poorest, most densely populated or politically challenged, including Afghanistan, Guinea and Nigeria. Despite constraints faced by health reformers everywhere, every country was able to share a story of accomplishment—defining how their case example was managed, what services were affected and ultimately how patients, staff, or the system overall, benefited. The reform themes ranged from those relating to policy, care coverage and governance; to quality, standards, accreditation and regulation; to the organization of care; to safety, workforce and resources; to technology and IT; through to practical ways in which stakeholders forged collaborations and partnerships to achieve mutual aims. Common factors linked to success included the ‘acorn-to-oak tree’ principle (a small scale initiative can lead to system-wide reforms); the ‘data-to-information-to-intelligence’ principle (the role of IT and data are becoming more critical for delivering efficient and appropriate care, but must be converted into useful intelligence); the ‘many-hands’ principle (concerted action between stakeholders is key); and the ‘patient-as-the-pre-eminent-player’ principle (placing patients at the centre of reform designs is critical for success).This work was supported by National Health and Medical Research Council [grant number 1054146 to J.B.].https://academic.oup.com/intqhcam2018School of Health Systems and Public Health (SHSPH

Guideline adherence in the management of head injury in Australian children:A population-based sample survey

BACKGROUND:Head injuries in children are a common and potentially devastating presentation. The CareTrack Kids (CTK) study assessed care of Australian children aged 0-15 years, in 2012 and 2013, to evaluate the proportion in line with guideline-based indicators for 17 common conditions. Overall adherence to guideline-based recommended practice occurred 59.8% of care encounters (95% CI: 57.5-62.0), and 78.3% (95% CI: 75.1-81.2) for head injury. This paper presents results for head injury, at indicator level. METHODS:A modified version of the RAND-UCLA method of indicator development was used. Indicators, measurable components of a standard or guideline, were developed from international and national guidelines relating to head injury in children and were ratified by clinical experts using a Delphi process. Paediatric nurses extracted data from medical records from general practitioners (GPs), emergency departments (EDs) and inpatient wards in Queensland, New South Wales and South Australia, for children under 15 years receiving care in 2012-13. Our purpose was to estimate the percentage adherent for each indicator. RESULTS:The medical records of 629 children with head injury were examined. Fifty-one percent of children were under 5 years old, with more males (61%) than females. Thirty-eight indicators were assessed. Avoidance of nasotracheal airways (100%; 95% CI: 99.4-100) or nasogastric tubes (99.7%; 95% CI: 98.5-100) for children with a head injury had the highest adherence. Indicators relating to primary and secondary assessment of head injuries were mostly adhered to. However, adherence to other indicators was poor (e.g., documentation of the past history of children (e.g., presence or absence of seizures) before the injury; 29.9% (95% CI: 24.5-35.7)), and for others was difficult to estimate with confidence due to small sample sizes (e.g., Children with a head injury who were intubated had PaO2 above 80mm Hg; 56.0% (95% CI: 28.6-80.9)). Indicators guiding clinical decision making regarding the need for CT scan had insufficient data to justify reporting. CONCLUSION:This study highlights that management of head injury in children mostly follows guidelines, but also flags some specific areas of inconsistency. Individual sites are encouraged to use these results to guide investigation of local practices and inform quality improvement endeavours

Guideline adherence in the management of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder in children: An audit of selected medical records in three Australian states

OBJECTIVE: To assess General Practitioner (GP) and pediatrician adherence to clinical practice guidelines (CPGs) for diagnosis, treatment and management of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). METHOD: Medical records for 306 children aged ≤15 years from 46 GP clinics and 20 pediatric practices in Australia were reviewed against 34 indicators derived from CPG recommendations. At indicator level, adherence was estimated as the percentage of indicators with 'Yes' or 'No' responses for adherence, which were scored 'Yes'. This was done separately for GPs, pediatricians and overall; and weighted to adjust for sampling processes. RESULTS: Adherence with guidelines was high at 83.6% (95% CI: 77.7-88.5) with pediatricians (90.1%; 95% CI: 73.0-98.1) higher than GPs (68.3%; 95% CI: 46.0-85.8; p = 0.02). Appropriate assessment for children presenting with signs or symptoms of ADHD was undertaken with 95.2% adherence (95% CI: 76.6-99.9), however ongoing reviews for children with ADHD prescribed stimulant medication was markedly lower for both pediatricians (51.1%; 95% CI: 9.6-91.4) and GPs (18.7%; 95% CI: 4.1-45.5). CONCLUSION: Adherence to CPGs for ADHD by pediatricians was generally high. Adherence by GPs was lower across most domains; timely recognition of medication side effects is a particular area for improvement

Accomplishing reform: successful case studies drawn from the health systems of 60 countries

Healthcare reform typically involves orchestrating a policy change, mediated through some form of operational, systems, financial, process or practice intervention. The aim is to improve the ways in which care is delivered to patients. In our book ‘Health Systems Improvement Across the Globe: Success Stories from 60 Countries’, we gathered case-study accomplishments from 60 countries. A unique feature of the collection is the diversity of included countries, from the wealthiest and most politically stable such as Japan, Qatar and Canada, to some of the poorest, most densely populated or politically challenged, including Afghanistan, Guinea and Nigeria. Despite constraints faced by health reformers everywhere, every country was able to share a story of accomplishment—defining how their case example was managed, what services were affected and ultimately how patients, staff, or the system overall, benefited. The reform themes ranged from those relating to policy, care coverage and governance; to quality, standards, accreditation and regulation; to the organization of care; to safety, workforce and resources; to technology and IT; through to practical ways in which stakeholders forged collaborations and partnerships to achieve mutual aims. Common factors linked to success included the ‘acorn-to-oak tree’ principle (a small scale initiative can lead to system-wide reforms); the ‘data-to-information-to-intelligence’ principle (the role of IT and data are becoming more critical for delivering efficient and appropriate care, but must be converted into useful intelligence); the ‘many-hands’ principle (concerted action between stakeholders is key); and the ‘patient-as-the-pre-eminent-player’ principle (placing patients at the centre of reform designs is critical for success).This work was supported by National Health and Medical Research Council [grant number 1054146 to J.B.].https://academic.oup.com/intqhcam2018School of Health Systems and Public Health (SHSPH