Working together to avoid misuse of opioid analgesics

The national Opioid Analgesic Stewardship in Acute Pain Clinical Care Standard was embraced across the healthcare sector following its release last month. Every year, more than 2.5 million people undergo surgery in public and private hospitals, some of whom become persistent users of opioid analgesics after being treated for acute pain.

The new standard focuses on ensuring adequate pain relief, while minimising the risk of over-reliance on these high-risk medicines. It aims to reduce patient harms associated with inappropriate prescribing of opioid analgesics in the ED and after surgery. 

Prescribers are encouraged to consider alternate analgesics and therapies for acute pain, as well as to outline how and when opioids will cease post-discharge. Download the standard and practical resources and watch our launch webcast to hear from the experts.

Have your say on diagnostic imaging practices

Do you work in diagnostic imaging or have you had a scan lately? We want your views on safety and quality in diagnostic imaging practices.

Diagnostic imaging is critical for health professionals to identify the cause of a patient’s symptoms and inform healthcare decisions. Each year health professionals perform more than 27 million diagnostic images funded under Medicare, such as x-ray, ultrasound, mammography, CT scans, MRIs, angiography, nuclear medicine and fluoroscopy. 

The Commission is reviewing the Diagnostic Imaging Accreditation Scheme Standards and preparing a diagnostic imaging accreditation model feasibility report. Have your say and register for an online forum.

Action on inappropriate use of psychotropic medicines 

The Commission is concerned about the inappropriate use of psychotropics to manage behaviours of older people and people with a disability – a safety and quality issue. We recently joined the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission and the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission to issue a joint statement committing to national action.

The Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety and the Royal Commission into Violence, Abuse, Neglect and Exploitation of People with Disability identified that psychotropic medicines are being misused and overused.

Read the joint statement and learn more about the Commission's initiatives to reduce inappropriate use of antipsychotics.

Guide for digital mental health service providers

As digital mental health services continue to grow at a rapid rate, it’s more important than ever to ensure they are safe and high quality. The National Safety and Quality Digital Mental Health Standards – Guide for service providers is an essential tool that explains how to implement each action in the Digital Mental Health Standards.

The Guide includes key tasks to help service providers address common challenges including privacy and data security, healthcare rights and partnering with consumers, and ensuring sound clinical and technical governance is in place.

The Commission's former Senior Clinical Advisor, Dr Peggy Brown AO, developed the Guide in consultation with clinicians, consumers and carers, digital mental health service providers and accrediting agencies. Download your copy.

Changes to accreditation assessments in 2022

Are you aware of changes to the provisions for accreditation assessments for health service organisations and general practice? These changes are to support health services and general practices during the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2022, assessments may be: 

1. Onsite whenever safe and feasible. 
2. A hybrid assessment, where part of the assessment team is onsite and part is offsite.
3. Offsite virtual assessment, in exceptional circumstances only. Virtual assessment must be followed-up with an onsite assessment. 
4. Accreditation can be maintained and the accreditation expiry date revised by up to six months, where the assessment is scheduled before 31 July and there are COVID-19 related disruptions (such as public health orders and travel or border restrictions).

Read our fact sheets for health service organisations and general practices.

Support for general practices affected by flooding

In response to the flooding events in March in New South Wales and Queensland, the Commission is providing affected general practices extensions of accreditation for up to 12 months.

If a general practice’s accreditation is due to expire prior to March 2023 and has been affected by the recent flooding, their accrediting agency will be able to apply for an extension of behalf of the general practice.

Please email the Commission’s Advice Centre for more information.

Quick Bites

Pathology accreditation consultation is closing soon

We are undertaking our first consultation on the Pathology Accreditation standards. The National Pathology Accreditation (NPA) Scheme provides for the Australia-wide coordination of accreditation processes for pathology laboratories in Australia. Two standards are under review: Medical testing for human genetic variation standard (Third Edition) and Packaging and transport of pathology specimens and associated materials standard (Fifth Edition). Have your say before our consultation closes on 1 June. 

Updated infection prevention and control e-Learning modules

We are revising the suite of 10 infection prevention and control e-Learning modules to complement the 2021 Preventing and Controlling Infections Standard and the Australian Guidelines for the Prevention and Control of Infection in Healthcare. Access them for free at nhhi.southrock.com. Revised modules include: Basics of Infection Prevention and Control Orientation; Principles of infection prevention and control; Risk management of infectious agents and diseases; Basic microbiology and multidrug-resistant organisms; and Clean and safe healthcare environment.

Hand hygiene resources for patients, children, mental health workers

To promote hand hygiene across the healthcare community, the Commission has produced three new resources on hand hygiene to provide information on the importance of hand hygiene in delivering health care. Check out our new fact sheets for patients and their carers, children and their carers, and mental health workers. 

Careers at the Commission

Meet Dr Carolyn Hullick, Clinical Director

What is your role, in 25 words or less?

I am a Clinical Director working in the Chief Medical Officer’s team. I'm also an Emergency Physician and work half time in Belmont Hospital Emergency Department, Newcastle.

What did you do before the Commission?

As an Emergency Physician, I have been the ED director at both Belmont and John Hunter Hospitals. I also work with both the Australian College for Emergency Medicine and the International Federation for Emergency Medicine in their Geriatric Emergency Medicine sections.

What was your first job?

I worked for my dad in his factory. He ran a metallurgy consultancy business, providing advice and heat treating steel for a wide range of industries, mining, defence, as well as being the odd local inventor of strange things.

What is it like working at the Commission?

I'm really impressed with the team at the Commission. They are always striving to do an excellent job and make a difference in safety and quality in health care. I bring the clinician’s perspective on how the system works and also how the Commission is perceived in the healthcare system. 

What are the top three things on your to-do list?

1. At the Commission, I am currently working closely with our Aged Care Standards team, led by Program Manager Anne Cumming.
2. I'm also involved with the Clinical Care Standards team led by Director Alice Bhasale. We are currently preparing for the release of the Sepsis Clinical Care Standard.
3. In addition, I'm working on Transitions of Care with our Chief Operating Officer Chris Leahy and his team.

What are you looking forward to in 2022?

Since joining the Commission last year, I am really enjoying working with my colleagues. They have made me feel very welcome and valued as a new person. I'm looking forward to progressing the work we are doing. On a side note, I have a small task to complete – submitting my PhD. It's so close to being done, I will be pleased to celebrate when it is complete.