Welcome

Hello and Welcome to the October 2020 edition of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Data Portal (Portal) e-newsletter.

This e-newsletter provides important updates about the Portal as well as a range of additional relevant, timely and important information related to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health data and reporting. 

Content

Item 1: July - August 2020 Reporting in the Portal Feedback Survey: A short online survey was sent via email on Monday 14 September 2020.

Item 2: Qlik Interactive Reports: Information about how you can access Qlik training.

Item 3: nKPI Modifications: Information about modifications to some of the existing nKPIs.

Item 4: The Health Services Data Advisory Group (HS DAG) Update

Item 5: Portal User Support: An overview of the User Support resources that have been created, and Portal Helpdesk and Support team contact information.

Item 1: July - August 2020 Reporting in the Portal Feedback Survey

The Portal team would like to thank all of the Health Services who took the time, in the middle of a pandemic, to fill in and submit responses to our user survey on the Portal. We received feedback from 120 respondents.

Initial feedback themes are encouraging with most respondents satisfied with the way the Portal has been developed. Many respondents requested training on the features of the Qlik interactive reports, to assist them to make better use of their Health Service's data.

The feedback will be analysed and synthesised into themes and may feed into further enhancement to the Portal.

Item 2: Qlik Interactive Reports

Qlik Interactive Reports provide a way for Health Services to obtain a graphic view of their aggregated nKPI data, back to December 2014, and create reports with comparison groups through various filters. It offers a platform for services to analyse their data trends and compare their latest results to those of other Health Services for CQI purposes.

An upcoming feature to the Qlik Interactive Reports will be the availability, after each nKPI collection, of a downloadable PowerPoint file containing all of the graphs from the three summary reports in your Qlik Reports. This will make it easier for Health Services to share nKPI results and comparisons with clinical teams, and may be useful to brief senior management and Boards. The downloadable PowerPoint summary will replace the PowerPoint report provided, in the past, by the AIHW. More details will be provided when this feature is launched.

If you feel you need assistance, or further training to access or navigate your Health Service's Interactive Reports, please contact the Portal Support team (see Item 4 for details). Stuart Dunn and Eileen Aguirre from the Portal Support team can assist in navigating the Interactive Reports in Qlik and help you get the most out of your Health Service's data.

You can also access the QLIK Interactive Reports User Guide at any time.

If you, or anyone in your health service, needs to access the Interactive Reports in Qlik, send an email to indigenousreporting@health.gov.au and the Portal team will give you (and others) the role of Interactive Report Viewer in the Portal. 

Please note your Portal User Administrator will soon be able to assign the Interactive Report Viewer role, and the Published Report Viewer Role in house. More details on this will be sent. 

Item 3: nKPI Modifications

The AIHW review of the nKPI and OSR collections, published in Feb 2020, recommended updating a number of the existing nKPIs, in most cases to bring them in line with current clinical guidelines.

The first group of minor updates, involving indicators 3, 7, 8, 14 and 22, will be in place in clinical system reports and in the Portal in time for the December 2020 nKPI collection. Modifications include:

PI03 – Addition of the 5 to 14 years age group so as to include all age groups. Inclusion of MBS 715 and MBS 228 (VR and non VR health checks) as 'in person' health checks and addition of telehealth MBS item numbers as a separate disaggregation, 'telehealth' count. The Indicator is renamed to 'Proportion of Indigenous regular clients with a current completed health assessment'.

PI07 – As per PI03, inclusion of VR and non VR GP management plans as 'in person' management plan and a separate disaggregation for telehealth items. The indicator is renamed to ' Proportion of regular clients with a chronic disease for whom a Chronic Disease Management Plan was prepared'.

PI08 – The recommendation for this nKPI involves a level of coverage that might need to go beyond the HS DAG for decision. Further information will be provided in the newsletter when available.

PI14 – Addition of all ages from six months onwards as per current clinical guidelines on influenza vaccination. The indicator is renamed to 'Proportion of regular clients aged 6 months and over who are immunised against influenza'.

PI22 - Rename indicator to 'Proportion of regular clients who have had a cervical screening (HPV test)'. Updated to align with cervical screening guidelines and removal of reference to 'pap test'. Age range updated to 25 to 74 years.

For your information, the updated specifications/definitions can be found here.

Item 4: The Health Services Data Advisory Group (HS DAG) Update 

The HS DAG met on 14 September 2020, and discussed modifications to the nKPIs. Decisions and outcomes are available in the Communique found through the link below. 

The HS DAG will meet again on 11 December 2020 to discuss and agree on the next tranche of nKPI modifications.

HS DAG welcomes contributions from all health services and stakeholders, including Clinical Information System (CIS) software vendors, through a submission process. Information about the HS DAG including copies of the meeting Communiques, and details about how to contribute through the submission process, is available on the Health Services Data Advisory Group website .

Item 5: User Support 

The Portal Support team has created a suite of user support resources to help you use the Portal and the Interactive Reports. User support resources include:

• Quick Reference Guides (step-by-step guides)
• User Guides (more technical information) 
• Screencasts (interactive e-learning for new staff to learn the basics of the Portal)
• Webinar Videos (visual step-by-step guides narrated by Stuart Dunn)

You don't need to be in the Portal to access the User Support resources. Just click on the User Help link on the Portal landing page. 

Portal Support Team

You can contact the Portal Support team (Stuart or Eileen), via the Helpdesk, on 1800 316 387 between 8.30am and 5.00pm AEST Monday to Friday (excluding Australian Capital Territory and national public holidays).

Portal Helpdesk

The Portal Helpdesk provides support to assist heath services with Portal registration and set up. The Portal Helpdesk will also be the first point of contact with more complex queries relating to use of the Portal escalated to the Portal Support team for action.

Indigenous Health Data Reporting Contacts

For a full list of data reporting contacts including the AIHW, go to the Portal Contact Details in the Portal webpage or the Contact Us page in the Portal.