Foreword

On behalf of the Australian Council on Healthcare Standards (ACHS), I would like to present the Australasian Clinical Indicator Report 21st Edition 2012-2019. The report examines data sourced from a broad range of clinical specialty areas. As in previous years, the 21st Edition of the Australasian Clinical Indicator Report provides key points on significant trends, strata differences and outlier effects between 2012 and 2019 for a broad range of Clinical Indicators.

The report also includes commentary by professionals within the respective healthcare specialty to provide context to the complex and ever-changing healthcare environment and provide insight for the potential to improve quality and safety within their facility.

During the 31-year history of developing the Clinical Indicators and this new Australasian Clinical Indicator Report, ACHS has proudly collaborated with medical colleges, societies, and associations. These key stakeholders have been offered the opportunity to contribute comments within their specialist area for each of the 20 Clinical Indicator sets, which contain 324 individual Clinical Indicators.

Dr Brian Collopy and Simon Cooper have written the feature report contained within this year’s Report. It discusses maintaining Clinical Indicator relevance in a period of significant technological change and when the use of data is growing exponentially. The ACHS provides the Australasian Clinical Indicator Report to key health industry bodies, Federal and State Governments, our members and assessors, and other interested parties. The report is available to download on the ACHS website. A full retrospective report for each Clinical Indicator set is also available on the website.

To conclude, I have confidence that the Australasian Clinical Indicator Report 21st Edition 2012-2019 will provide you with valuable knowledge of our healthcare industry for which it was intended. In providing this insight, I would like to extend my appreciation to all collaborating colleges, associations, and societies. Their continued support of the Clinical Indicator Program allows us to continue our efforts to improve healthcare standards in Australia and internationally.

Prof Len Notaras AM ACHS President September 2020