June 2022
bi-monthly e-newsletter
Contents include:
Item 1: nKPI, OSR and HCP reporting 1 July to 15 August 2022
Item 2: Update to PI18 and PI19 (kidney function tests)
Item 3: Pilot for PI25: STI Tests to commence 1 July 2022
Item 4: Upgrade to the latest version of the Communicare, MedicalDirector or Best Practice reporting module
Item 5: Clinic site details in the OSR
Item 6: MyGovID and RAM required for Health Data Portal registration
Item 7: National nKPI health service results over time
Item 8: Aboriginal and Torres Strait islander Health Services Data Advisory Group (HS DAG)
Item 9: IAHP PHC Performance Report going online for 2021-22 reporting
Item 10: nKPI, OSR and HCP training for 1 July to 15 August 2022 reporting
Artwork: One’s Journey to Health by Luke Penrith, 2020
Item 1: nKPI, OSR and HCP reporting 1 July to 15 August 2022
The upcoming reporting round for your service's Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander National Key Performance Indicators (nKPI), Online Services Report (OSR), and the Health Care Provider (HCP) number reports commences on 1 July 2022 and will close on 15 August 2022.
Reporting is mandatory under your Indigenous Australians' Health Programme (IAHP) grant agreement.
If your CEO believes there is a compelling reason to request an exemption, please send an email outlining your reasons to indigenoushealth@health.gov.au.
Item 2: Update to PI18 and PI19 (kidney function tests)
Required updates have been made to PI18 (kidney function testing) and PI19 (kidney function test result).
PI19 will be reported for the 1 July 2022 reporting round. This indicator will no longer be reported in 2 parts, for eGFR and ACR test results. The single indicator will report 'both tests', 'one test', or 'neither test'.
For both PI18 and PI19, data was previously collected for regular clients aged 15 years and older. PI18 and PI19 data will now only be collected for regular clients aged 18 years and older.
More detailed information about PI18 and PI19 is available from page 37 in the updated Specifications for National Key Performance Indicators and Online Services Reporting on the NPS MedicineWise website.
Item 3: Pilot for PI25: STI Tests to commence 1 July 2022
A new nKPI has been developed to collect data about regular clients aged 15 to 34 years who were tested for chlamydia and/or gonorrhoea within the previous 12 months. The new indicator is PI25: STI Tests (Indigenous regular clients who tested for one or more sexually transmissible infections). It will be pilot tested for 2 reporting rounds, commencing 1 July 2022. Detailed information on this new indicator is available on page 44 in the updated Specifications for National Key Performance Indicators and Online Services Reporting.
Data from the pilot will not be publicly reported. It will be analysed to assess if adequate quality data can be collected with the current specification, or if the indicator definition needs refinement for collection of good quality data.
We want to reassure you that inclusion of this new indicator will not substantially increase reporting burden, as the information required is already collected in your clinical information system (CIS) and will be automatically extracted.
The pilot is on an opt-out basis for both the 1 July 2022 and the 1 January 2023 reporting rounds. If you wish to opt out, please send an email request to indigenousreporting@health.gov.au by COB 28 June 2022.
We have developed this new indicator because Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples continue to be disproportionately impacted by STIs and we want to have a way to reduce this health burden. In 2016-2018, chlamydia notifications for Indigenous Australians were almost 3 times the rate for other Australians, and notifications for gonorrhoea were almost 7 times the rate for other Australians (Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Performance Framework report 2020). STIs such as chlamydia and gonorrhoea can lead to serious acute and chronic health consequences including joint swelling and pain, infertility and pelvic inflammatory disease.
Item 4: Upgrade to the latest version of the Communicare, MedicalDirector or Best Practice reporting module
As a result of the indicator changes noted at Items 2 and 3, if you use either a Communicare, MedicalDirector or Best Practice CIS you will need to ensure the reporting module (Communicare's Government Reporting Tool (GRT), MedicalDirector's MD Insights or Best Practice's BP reporting tool) has been upgraded to the latest version for the correct data to flow to the Health Data Portal (HDP).
The upgrade to your CIS will ensure you receive minimal validation errors and make reporting relatively simple.
Please reach out to your CIS vendor or your IT area, depending on your service's process, to facilitate the upgrade.
Item 5: Clinic site details in the OSR
Health services funded under the IAHP deliver comprehensive primary health care services from either a single location or from a number of different sites.
You may have received an email from indigenousreporting@health.gov.au asking to confirm your service's delivery site name and address. This request does not include sites that are purely for administrative purposes. Thank you to those services who have responded.
To assist with the upcoming OSR reporting round, commencing 1 July 2022, the HDP team will document all known service delivery sites in the HDP.
In the forthcoming OSR there will be questions to answer for each site you operate: the type of service, days of opening and whether the site offers 24-hour emergency care. You will also be asked to estimate the split of your total Client Numbers across your service delivery sites. We note the split across sites may be an estimate only. The total MUST match the total client number on the Client Number's tab.
This information will support the funding calculations in the IAHP funding model, particularly where comprehensive primary health care service delivery sites are more remotely located than main sites, as this may attract a remoteness loading under the funding model.
Item 6: MyGovID and RAM required for Health Data Portal registration
All services funded under the IAHP will need to have at least one registered user in the HDP before reporting commences on 1 July 2022.
There are a number of steps required using the myGovID and RAM before you can register for the HDP. A quick reference guide called IAHP Requirements in preparation for reporting is available in the HDP to assist you with navigating these Australian Tax Office authentication requirements.
Our team gratefully acknowledges the help of AMSANT in compiling this resource.
Item 7: National nKPI health service results over time
A downloadable PowerPoint presentation is now available containing graphs of all your nKPI results over time. This is intended to complement the original downloadable PowerPoint showing your most recent results against national and other comparisons.
You are able to customise the design and content to suit your needs.
The many benefits of these two PowerPoint presentations include:
- sharing nKPI results and comparisons with clinical teams
- internal reporting and continuous quality improvement purposes
- briefing senior management and boards
There is a user guide in the HDP to assist you to access this report.
Item 8: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Services Data Advisory Group (HS DAG)
The Communique for the July 2021 meeting of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Services Data Advisory Group (HS DAG) is available on the Department's HS DAG Communique's website. The meeting Communiques provide information to the sector on the outcomes of HS DAG meetings.
The HS DAG welcomes contributions from all health services and stakeholders, including clinical information system software vendors, through a submission process. Information about the HS DAG and details about how to contribute through the submission process is available on the HS DAG website.
Item 9: Performance Report going online for 2021-22 reporting
Changes to the IAHP Primary Health Care (PHC) Activity Work Plan (AWP) and Performance Report templates in 2020 and 2021 considered information already collected through the OSR and other means. The aim was to complement information already collected and remove duplication to streamline and reduce the reporting burden on health services.
To further this aim, the IAHP PHC Performance Report will be reported online, in the HDP, for the October 2022 report. Health services already use the HDP to report nKPI, OSR and HCP reports. The online Performance Report report will contain similar content to the Word template used last year. The easy-to-complete online form will be submitted to, and reviewed by, Department of Social Services Funding Agreement Managers (FAMs) through the HDP.
The AWP and budgets for 2022-23, and financial acquittals for 2021-22 will be via the usual Word templates. The AWP and associated Risk Plan will be migrated to an online version in the HDP by June 2023.
There are significant benefits to migrating the Performance Report to the HDP. It will improve usability, functionality and access for analysis and evidence-based decision-making. In the future, data will be made available for viewing in the existing QLIK dashboard.
Training will be offered closer to the time. Please keep an eye out for an email in July and the August e-newsletter for training dates.
Item 10: nKPI, OSR and HCP training for 1 July to 15 August 2022 reporting
As always, we are offering training for both new and existing users. The new user training will run through nKPI, OSR and HCP reporting in the HDP, and the “What’s New/Different” session will show existing users what has changed since the last reporting round.
Following are the dates for the online training sessions. Please note that all times are Canberra times (AEST):
New User Sessions
- Monday June 20 (10am – 12.30pm)
- Wednesday June 22 (10am – 12.30pm)
- Tuesday June 28 (2pm – 4.30pm)
- Thursday June 30 (2pm – 4.30pm)
“What’s New/Different” Session
- Tuesday June 21 (10am – 12pm)
- Friday June 24 (2 – 4pm)
- Monday June 27 (10am – 12pm)
- Wednesday June 29 (10am – 12pm)
If you would like to attend a training session, please email us at indigenousreporting@health.gov.au with your preferred date, and an invitation will be sent out to you.
As always, a range of user resources (including a What’s New/Different for July 2022 reporting Quick Reference Guide) are available to support all users of the HDP. Simply go to User Support on the Data Portal homepage and navigate to the required resources.