Timely Transmission of Discharge Summaries
Identifying Attributes
Care Settings
Country
Publishing Organisation
Type of Quality Indicator
IOM Quality Dimension
Domain
Defining Attributes
Definition
Proportion of hospital patients with discharge summaries transmitted to the patient's General Practitioner within recommended time-frames after discharge
Numerator
Separations for patients for whom a discharge summary is transmitted to the patient's General Practitioner within recommended time-frames after discharge
Denominator
All separations
Exclusions
Separations for repeat treatments such as chemotherapy and renal dialysis
Use of Risk Adjustment
Risk Adjustments
Stratifications
National: Indigenous status, Remoteness of facility, Public Hospital Peer Group, Public/private hospital sector, State/Territory State/Territory: Indigenous status, Remoteness of facility, Public Hospital Peer Group, Public/private hospital sector, Health service region, Facility/organisation
Data Attributes
Type of Data Collection
Data Collection Methods
Data development required The National Hospital Morbidity Database (NHMD) could potentially be modified to include a data item on whether a discharge summary had been transmitted to the patient's general practitioner, and/or at what time after discharge.
Frequency of Data Collection
Frequency of Data Collection in Days
Reporting Methods
Data currently not available
Reporting Frequency
Reporting Frequency in Days
Indicator Has Recommended Targets
Source and Reference Attributes
Evidence Source
Australian Institute of Health and Welfare 2009. Towards national indicators of safety and quality in health care. Cat. no. HSE 75. Canberra: AIHW. www.aihw.gov.au/getmedia/e352f4fc-3a24-43e9-8a92-adfada971227/hse-75-10792.pdf.aspx?inline=true