What data do we have?
Your practice collects and uses data every day. Every appointment that’s made, every update to a patients file, and every referral you open, you are either entering data or looking at data that has been entered by someone else. Most of the time we don’t realise how much data we have access to, and we miss the opportunity to use this data to improve our practice.
Improving your data
The aim is to get your data to a point where it is informing clinical and business improvement on a daily basis. However, you won't be able to sustain a data improvement activity on its own. The simplest way to improve your data is to start using it in different ways (i.e. not just at the point it's collected).
For example, make data a part of other processes and projects:
- Consider incorporating a review of the patient's data when a GP and nurse collaborate on a patient's health assessment. This will have the effect of making it easier to upload a Shared Health Summary as the data will already be in good shape.
- Design a recall and reminder system based on the data you have. A good system automates where possible and is proactive, answering questions such as:
- How many recalls were acted upon?
- How many are more than 6 months old?
- How many times did the GP have to think about the action vs how many were automatic? (When a GP is thinking about a recall then they are probably wasting their time. The process should be refined so that only clear and obvious information is marked for a recall or reminder.)
- Also look for situations where nothing has been flagged. For example: subsequent to a vasectomy, has sperm activation been checked? If not, it should be marked as a reminder for when the patient next comes in.
Every time you use your data, you will find things to clean up. This means the more times you use it, the cleaner it will get and the more valuable it will become. Just make sure each process and project allows an extra minute or two to do a bit of cleaning.
Data analysis tools such as POLAR GP, Pen CAT and Primary Sense open up a window into your practice's data. These systems grant the ability to maximise the value of your data, allowing you to identify areas for quality improvement, opportunities to increase revenue, and most of all, improve health outcomes for your patients. Take some time to play around with these systems as they will give you new ideas and should start interesting conversations amongst the team.
You will also quickly notice that the quality of the reports in POLAR, Pen CAT and Primary Sense depend on the quality of your data. Therefore, keeping your data clean will go a long way to supporting your practice.
Checklist for cleaning your data
Some of the key data elements to keep an eye on are:
Demographics
- Are the patients contact details up-to-date?
- Are the patients emergency contact details up-to-date?
- Have you entered the patients Aboriginal and/or Torres Straight Islander status?
Medication List
- Is the Current Meds list accurate?
- If the patient is not on any medications, ensure you tick No medications
Past History List
- Does it contain only significant conditions that a hospital or specialist would need to know?
- If the patient has no significant medical history, ensure you tick No significant past history (PMH) box
Allergies
- Has the patients allergies and adverse reactions been recorded?
- If the patient has no allergies or adverse reactions, ensure you tick No Known Allergies / Adverse Reactions
- Immunisations
- Have immunisations been recorded?
- Ensure you check this against the Australian Immunisation register (AIR)
Quality Improvement Measures (PIP QI)
The Department of Health, Disability and Ageing have 10 Quality Improvement Measures (QIMs). Some of the more simple QIMs are listed below.
- Has the patients smoking status been recorded?
- Has the patients height and weight been recorded?
- Has the patients alcohol consumption status been recorded?
- Has the patients Cervical Screening Test status been recorded?