Timely Communication to Healthcare Practitioners

Identifying Attributes

Care Settings
Care Transitions
Country
Australia
Publishing Organisation
Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care (ACSQHC): Practice-Level Indicators of Safety and Quality for Primary Health Care
Type of Quality Indicator
Process
IOM Quality Dimension
Timeliness
Setting-Specific Domain
Communication

Defining Attributes

Definition

The percentage of clients where timely reporting of care assessments or outcomes was communicated to all relevant healthcare practitioners involved in the client's care. 'Timely reporting' should be locally agreed, as appropriate for the specific program and/or client group.

Numerator

Number of clients in the population or sample where timely reporting of care assessments or outcomes was communicated to all relevant healthcare practitioners involved in the client's care. Numerator criteria: Inclusions • Clients in the sample/population with more than one healthcare practitioner involved in their care, where timely reporting of care assessments or outcomes was communicated to all relevant healthcare practitioners involved in the client's care.

Denominator

Number of clients in the population or sample with more than one healthcare practitioner involved in their care.

Exclusions

All clients in the sample/population with more than one healthcare practitioner involved in their care

Use of Risk Adjustment
No
Risk Adjustments
Stratifications

Collection and Reporting Attributes

Type of Data Collection
Electronic/paper chart records
Data Collection Methods

This indicator may be calculated in relation to a reference period, or at a specific time point (e.g. an audit). Also, the indicator may be derived for the population of clients with more than one healthcare practitioner involved in their care, or for a sample of these

Frequency of Data Collection
Ad libitum
Frequency of Data Collection in Days
1
Reporting Methods

The national set of practice-level indicators of safety and quality is designed for voluntary inclusion in quality improvement strategies at the local practice or service level. It is intended that primary health care services will choose a 'local bundle' of indicators from the national indicator set as a tool to assess and monitor the service's improvement in different dimensions of quality, and particular aspects of care, pathways or conditions. The components of a local bundle of indicators may vary over time, depending on local circumstances, priorities for quality improvement, patient needs, and concurrent state and national reporting obligations applicable to the service.

Reporting Frequency
Ad libitum
Reporting Frequency in Days
1
Indicator Has Recommended Targets
No

Source and Reference Attributes

Evidence Source

Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care 2012, Practice-level indicators of safety and quality for primary health care specification, ACSQHC, Sydney. page 76 www.safetyandquality.gov.au/publications-and-resources/resource-library/practice-level-indicators-safety-and-quality-primary-health-care-specification-2012

Technical Specifications
Link to Measurement Tools
Domain
Not Assigned
Quality Indicator Confirmed to be Part of a Program Used to Monitor Quality and Safety of Care Among Older People at a Population-Level between 2012-2022
No
Assessed by the Australian Consortium for Aged Care Collaborators as Generally Containing Good Properties (Importance and Scientific Acceptability)
No
Australian Consortium for Aged Care Endorsed
No
Can the Quality Indicator be Readily Implemented at a Population Level in Australia Given its Current Data Landscape?
Implementation of this quality indicator was not assessed.
Identified by PHARMA-Care Project
No
Upload Date
23 July 2025