This turned up last week:
Report the ‘first step’ towards nationwide primary care data asset
The massive data collection program should improve patient outcomes while potentially raising the profile and political leverage of general practice.
30 Aug 2019
According to the consultation report released by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) this week, raising patient awareness and acceptance of the National Primary Health Care Data Asset (Data Asset) will be a specific focus in the second half of 2019.
University of Melbourne academic and member of the RACGP Expert Committee – Research (REC-R), Dr Jo-Anne Manski-Nankervis, told newsGP the consultation represents the ‘first step’ in the Data Asset’s development.
‘Positively, the AIHW has engaged in wide representation of a broad group of stakeholders including general practice and there is acknowledgement that it is important the data collection process should be transparent, profession-led and general practice involved in the interpretation of data,’ she said.
‘The development of the governance structure and mechanisms of data flow are going to be important to consider moving forward, as well as the data that is eventually housed in the asset so that it is of value to shaping health policy, providing data back to general practice and informing the care that is provided in the community.’
Privacy concerns dominated the lead-up to the widespread adoption of My Health Record, while similar fears plagued the Practice incentive Program Quality Improvement (PIP QI) Incentive prior to its launch on 1 August.
So, while many believe the Data Asset will support a better understanding of what happens to patients in the health system – including their diagnoses, treatments, and outcomes – stakeholders have stressed the need to effectively communicate these benefits.
‘Reassuring the public that appropriate governance and security arrangements will be set up to protect any data collected will be integral to this process,’ the report states.
‘Improving patient outcomes and experiences was ranked [as] the highest priority use of the Data Asset by the majority of workshop and submission participants.’
Feedback for the report was gathered throughout the first half of 2019 via a series of consultation workshops and an associated online public submission process, which will be used to guide the process going forwards.
The consultations involved a wide variety of stakeholders in the mainstream primary healthcare sector, including researchers, consumers, governments, health service providers, commissioners of health services, and medical software industry partners.
These stakeholders ‘recognised the potential for the Data Asset to improve understanding of the nature, importance, and diversity of primary care in Australia’ and ‘strongly supported the need for primary healthcare data that can inform quality improvement, planning, and population health’.
Other potential ‘key opportunities’ stemming from the Data Asset include its ability to:
University of Melbourne academic and member of the RACGP Expert Committee – Research (REC-R), Dr Jo-Anne Manski-Nankervis, told newsGP the consultation represents the ‘first step’ in the Data Asset’s development.
‘Positively, the AIHW has engaged in wide representation of a broad group of stakeholders including general practice and there is acknowledgement that it is important the data collection process should be transparent, profession-led and general practice involved in the interpretation of data,’ she said.
‘The development of the governance structure and mechanisms of data flow are going to be important to consider moving forward, as well as the data that is eventually housed in the asset so that it is of value to shaping health policy, providing data back to general practice and informing the care that is provided in the community.’
Privacy concerns dominated the lead-up to the widespread adoption of My Health Record, while similar fears plagued the Practice incentive Program Quality Improvement (PIP QI) Incentive prior to its launch on 1 August.
So, while many believe the Data Asset will support a better understanding of what happens to patients in the health system – including their diagnoses, treatments, and outcomes – stakeholders have stressed the need to effectively communicate these benefits.
‘Reassuring the public that appropriate governance and security arrangements will be set up to protect any data collected will be integral to this process,’ the report states.
‘Improving patient outcomes and experiences was ranked [as] the highest priority use of the Data Asset by the majority of workshop and submission participants.’
Feedback for the report was gathered throughout the first half of 2019 via a series of consultation workshops and an associated online public submission process, which will be used to guide the process going forwards.
The consultations involved a wide variety of stakeholders in the mainstream primary healthcare sector, including researchers, consumers, governments, health service providers, commissioners of health services, and medical software industry partners.
These stakeholders ‘recognised the potential for the Data Asset to improve understanding of the nature, importance, and diversity of primary care in Australia’ and ‘strongly supported the need for primary healthcare data that can inform quality improvement, planning, and population health’.
Other potential ‘key opportunities’ stemming from the Data Asset include its ability to:
- Drive quality improvement
- Provide evidence for the efficacy of primary healthcare and, by extension, support evidence-based funding
- Enable better population health planning and direction of resources
- Improve the visibility of rural and remote primary care needs
However, before these benefits can be realised, a ‘roadmap’ showing the best method for securely and comprehensively collecting the appropriate data still needs to be formalised, which is the next step in the process.
For details of how it all might work keep reading here:
For details of how it all might work keep reading here:
This proposal certainly makes a giant data sucking sound – to say the least - and it will surely need to be both carefully planned and governed, and maintained with strong and agreed rules about secondary use etc. of all the data involved.
Unless this is all done and explained up-front we will surely see repeats of the myHR and QI debacles.
I look forward to watching this progress – although I do wonder what this will do over and above what we had with the now defunded Uni of Sydney BEACH program?
David.
1 comment:
Privacy was raised as an important issue.
So, out of 115 stakeholder organisations, how many privacy advocates were involved?
Zero.
The only privacy relevant organisation mentioned is the Information and Privacy Commission NSW.
Well, that bodes well for building trust.
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