Use of Health Services in Previous Month

Identifying Attributes

Care Settings
Care Transitions
Country
Australia
Publishing Organisation
New South Wales Bureau of Health Information (BHI): Rural Hospital Emergency Care Patient Survey
Type of Quality Indicator
Outcome
IOM Quality Dimension
Person-Centredness
Domain
Hospitalisation

Defining Attributes

Definition

Percentage of responses to: In the month before visiting the ED, did you…? (multiple choice): Visit a general practitioner or local doctor; Get admitted as an inpatient to hospital; Visit an outpatient clinic; Make an earlier visit to the ED; None of these.

Numerator

Number of responses to each option (inferred).

Denominator

Number of respondents (inferred).

Exclusions

Response: Don't know/can't remember

Use of Risk Adjustment
Yes
Risk Adjustments

Responses were weighted to match the population by stay type (same day or overnight) and age group within each hospital.

Stratifications

By facility

Collection and Reporting Attributes

Type of Data Collection
Surveys
Data Collection Methods

Monthly sample sizes calculated at the facility level based on data extracted from the HIE for the previous 12 month period. Where patients had multiple visits within the sampling month, their most recent ED visit was retained for sampling. Christmas and New Year period deemed to be an non-typical period of emergency care service provision and therefore excluded.

Frequency of Data Collection
Survey conducted in 2015-16, 2019 and 2022-23
Frequency of Data Collection in Days
1096
Reporting Methods

Not reported on Bureau of Health Information website

Reporting Frequency
Reporting Frequency in Days
Indicator Has Recommended Targets
No

Source and Reference Attributes

Technical Specifications

Bureau of Health Information. Technical Supplement – Rural Hosptial Emergency Care Patient Survey 2019. Sydney (NSW): BHI; 2020. www.bhi.nsw.gov.au/__data/assets/pdffile/0004/595597/BHIRuralEC2019_TECHSUPP.pdf

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
Yes
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
Identified by PHARMA-Care Project
No
Upload Date
02 December 2025