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Feedback to the network about the 2004-05 Annual Survey of Divisions

Feedback to Divisions

All Divisions were sent tailored feedback containing their responses to a selection of questions in the Annual Survey of Divisions (ASD) in January 2006, after extensive data cleaning. Divisions were able to compare their responses with those of all Divisions in Australia, those in the same state, same RRMA (Rural Remote Metro Area) and same population categories (including population in Division, per GP Fulltime Workload Equivalent, and proportion recorded as Indigenous). For the first time we provided a summary page for each Division which highlighted how their responses differed in comparison to those of other Divisions, having found a way of generating this automatically as the time taken to accomplish the task manually would have been excessive.

A few Divisions provided unsolicited comments to us about the feedback:

I thought the feedback you gave was excellent.

Thank you for the feedback on the Annual Survey of Divisions this is most comprehensive.a very good and helpful snapshot

SBO feedback

Each State Based Organisation (SBO) was sent (in January) a tailored report on relevant Division responses to questions about their satisfaction and use of their SBO. The report compared responses from Divisions in other states to their SBO. In addition, SBOs were provided with de-identified comments from their 'own' Divisions, comprised of positive and negative feedback and suggestions on how to improve their joint relationship. As responses could be identifiable in Tasmania and NT where there are few Divisions, PHC RIS sought permission from the five Divisions in these regions before providing the information to the relevant SBOs.

AGPN feedback

AGPN, the Australian General Practice Network (formerly Australian Divisions of General Practice, ADGP) was sent a report on Division perceptions of its role in February 2006. The report comprised feedback from Divisions across Australia indicating their level of satisfaction with, and use of AGPN, with a summary of Division comments.

Data analysis and reporting of 2004-05 ASD

The 2004-05 ASD data were analysed in the first quarter of 2006. Greater data accuracy resulted from using automated downloads from the Word document for the first time, and extensive manual and electronic data checks. The structure of the report of the 2004-05 ASD was changed so that chapters directly addressed the Australian Government's nine priority areas for Divisions (Governance, Prevention and early intervention, Access, Integration, Chronic disease, General Practice support, Quality support, Consumer focus and Workforce support).

Making the connections. Report of the 2004-2005 Annual Survey of Divisions of General Practice was published in July 2006. It reported on the broad spectrum of work undertaken by Divisions and how these relate to characteristics such as population, size and rurality. In focusing on connections as the unifying theme of the report, PHC RIS drew attention to the importance of the Network's role in developing strong, productive relationships to sustain and strengthen the capacity of general practice to deliver quality primary health care services.

Of note, the report identified that the recent introduction of the Aged Care Panels Initiative was related to a substantial increase in Divisional engagement with residential aged care facilities, and in activities supporting GP care of the aged. Divisions reported a high degree of involvement in collaborative activities, with almost all Divisions seeking to improve GP collaboration with hospitals, specialists and other primary care providers. Such relationships are central to continuity of patient care. In addition, the numerous connections between members of the Divisions Network and the wider health community help to ensure the sustainability of the health system in a time of workforce shortage.

New web 'tools' for information sharing 2004-05

As our stakeholders have very diverse interests, it is not possible to meet all their information needs in static reports. PHC RIS has therefore developed a 'self-serve' approach which is consistent with other data-rich repositories such as Medicare Australia which are developing ways for users to select what they want from an accessible display of data.

In 2006, PHC RIS developed a number of new web 'tools' that help to share information between and about the Divisions Network, using information provided for the 2004-05 ASD. The Divisions Benchmarking Tool (http://www.phcris.org.au/products/benchmarking.php) was designed to facilitate benchmarking, helping Divisions to identify other Divisions with the same demographic characteristics as themselves. Divisions can benchmark with the same categories reported in the Individual Feedback. The Divisions Mapping Tool (http://www.phcris.org.au/products/asd/mapping/) was designed to help identify Divisions conducting similar programs and activities. It provides a visual map of Australia showing which Divisions have reported programs or activities in specific areas of interest. These products will be further updated and promoted in 2007.

Integration and the Divisions Information Online System

Love the internet interface - heaps better than that olde Worde document.
- Division of General Practice, unsolicited feedback, 2006.

In 2006, PHC RIS continued working towards integration of the ASD and Planning and Reporting (P&R) pro forma in order to reduce duplication and the reporting burden for Divisions. Complete integration will see a single reporting 'instrument' which includes standardised questions typical of the ASD and completion of fields relating to objective/strategy/activity/performance indicator etc. at Division level, which are completed simultaneously. Complete integration was not feasible in 2006, with the NQPS reporting system under development. However, PHC RIS worked towards integrating the content of the two reporting tools, and commenced the process of moving both reporting tools to an on-line format in which complete integration will be feasible.

Review contents of 2004-05 ASD and Divisions report, and develop draft items for 2005-06 ASD

The initial step of this process involved a comprehensive review of the contents of the ASD and the National Quality and Performance System (NQPS) reporting requirements for Divisions to identify gaps and duplication. A continued need for standardised questions was apparent, as apart from the national performance indicators the structure of NQPS reports did not provide consistent information from all Divisions sufficient to meet the information needs of the Australian Government, the Divisions Network or other key stakeholders. However, some areas of duplication were identified, principally related to Division accreditation in the Governance priority area.

Based on the review, a first draft for the 2005-06 ASD was produced which identified questions targeted for removal (based on duplication or redundancy). The contents of the survey were significantly restructured to reflect NQPS performance indicators.

Consultation with key stakeholders

Consultation about the survey content took place between February and May 2006 with staff from program areas of the Department of Health and Ageing, members of the Divisions Network, academics who worked closely with the network Between February and May 2006.

Develop on-line collection method

A new, purpose-built web interface (Divisions Information Online System) was developed simultaneously with the consultation process that determined the content of the 2005-06 ASD. This on-line data entry method was designed to:

• make the process of completion and submission of the survey data easier
• improve the accuracy and consistency of the data
• facilitate multiple user access
• identify invalid responses with immediate feedback to users
• simplify the format and presentation of questions
• provide interactive links to related questions, help resources, acronyms and support
• employ dynamic indicators to show survey status
• further automate data download systems
• speed up the processing of survey data, the provision of feedback and report compilation.

The web interface was ready for beta testing in June 2006. Four Divisions agreed to pilot a 'live' version of the on-line survey. They were asked to raise any issues they had, but were directed to provide feedback specifically in the areas of logging on, simultaneous user access, data entry, navigation around the survey, the structure of the questions, or using the help functions. Minor issues were raised by these Divisions and were immediately addressed.

Data collection 2005-06 ASD

The 2005-06 ASD was administered using the new purpose built web interface, a component of the Divisions Information Online System.

Data preparation and checking commenced when all Divisions had completed their surveys. The download, preparation and checking of the data was considerably streamlined compared to previous years so that these processes were completed in three weeks. This compares favourably with the previous year, when one staff member worked full time over a three month period to check and prepare data for the 2004-05 ASD report.

Two major advances in 2006 contributed to the streamlining:

• the use of the on-line survey with inbuilt validity checks meant the survey could not be completed (or submitted) with unanswered questions or wildly inaccurate responses (as had occurred in previous years when a Word document had been used)
• preparations for automated data download, management and checking (scripts and syntax) were completed in advance.

The development of the on-line survey expended a considerable amount of PHC RIS staff time, but this investment resulted in anticipated time savings in data corrections and clarification. An important but 'invisible' aspect of this was a reduced burden for Divisions who no longer spent considerable time with PHC RIS checking their 2005-06 ASD responses once they had submitted their survey.