Ambulance Patient Transfers
Identifying Attributes
Care Settings
Hospital Care
Country
Australia
Publishing Organisation
Victorian Agency for Health Information (VAHI): Victorian Health Services Performance
Type of Quality Indicator
Process
IOM Quality Dimension
Timeliness
Domain
Wait Times and System Planning / Access
Defining Attributes
Definition
The total time taken from when an ambulance arrives at an emergency department, to the time the patient is transferred to the hospital and handover is complete. This indicator reports on the median transfer time and the percentage of patient transfers within 40 minutes.
Numerator
This QI is calculated as both the median time taken from when an ambulance arrives at an emergency department, to the time the patient is transferred to the hospital and handover is complete, and the number of patient transfers within 40 minutes.
Denominator
Number of patients transferred from an ambulance to the emergency department.
Exclusions
Data excludes non-emergency patient transports.
Use of Risk Adjustment
No
Risk Adjustments
None
Stratifications
By hospital and time period (monthly or quarterly).
Collection and Reporting Attributes
Type of Data Collection
Administrative data
Data Collection Methods
Victorian Emergency Minimum Dataset (VEMD)
Frequency of Data Collection
Monthly
Frequency of Data Collection in Days
30
Reporting Methods
Reporting Frequency
Quarterly
Reporting Frequency in Days
91
Indicator Has Recommended Targets
No
Source and Reference Attributes
Technical Specifications
Link to Measurement Tools
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
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Date Modified 02 December 2025