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Division matters

Division Fast Facts webpage

Cecilia Moretti & Sara Howard, PHC RIS

PHC RIS is presently developing a Division Fast Facts webpage to facilitate broader access to information arising from the 2004-05 Annual Survey of Divisions (ASD). The ASD gathers a range of information from all Divisions of General Practice in order to inform policy and planning by describing Divisions' current activities, and comparing and contrasting current details with those collected in previous years. The following is a state 'snapshot' of Divisions with chronic disease focused programs in 2004-05. For a more detailed picture, see Figure 9.1 in the full ASD report.

Division programs with a chronic disease focus, 2004-05

All Divisions conducted at least one chronic disease focused program or activity in 2004-05. This was most common in mental health (98% of Divisions) and diabetes (96%). Table 1 shows the proportion of Divisions reporting specific chronic disease programs or activities by state. There are some notable variations among the states, perhaps indicating state or local priorities, such as:

• All SA and Queensland Divisions reported generic chronic disease management programs
• One quarter of WA Divisions reported cancer programs compared with half of the Divisions in the other states
• Half the Divisions in Victoria reported cardiovascular disease programs compared with over two-thirds of the other large states
• Half the Divisions in SA and Queensland reported arthritis programs.

For further information, contact:
Cecilia Moretti
Research Associate
Ph: 08 8204 5886
E: cecilia.moretti@flinders.edu.au

Web-based planning & reporting for Divisions & SBOs

Simon Patterson & Ann-Louise Hordacre, PHC RIS

The National Quality and Performance System (NQPS) includes a planning and reporting framework 1 which requires Divisions of General Practice and State Based Organisations (SBOs) to submit Agreement Plans, Annual Plans, 6 and 12 Month Reports to the Department of Health and Ageing.

To date, these plans and reports have been completed using a standard structure Microsoft Word document (the pro forma). A number of issues have been identified with this format, and so PHC RIS has negotiated with the Department to adapt the pro forma to a web-based format.

The first component will allow Divisions and SBOs to enter and submit their Annual Plans on-line. Further on-line components will be developed to allow future Reports to be submitted. The final stage in this development will produce interactive on-line viewing of the data by approved users. Consultation with the Department and the Divisions Network will determine exact specifications of the system.

This year Divisions have already used an on-line system, developed by PHC RIS, to complete and submit their Annual Survey of Divisions (ASD). This provides an excellent basis for Divisions and PHC RIS to experience, and learn from, such a system. Many of the points described in a previous PHC RIS infonet article 2 about moving from a Word to Web based system apply to the development of the on-line Plans and Reports, with an extension of the Divisions Information Online System to incorporate the additional requirements. This is part of the continual process to further integrate and streamline all planning and reporting requirements associated with the Divisions Program.

Features include:

• Divisions and SBOs will enter their NQPS Plans, 6 and 12 Month Reports on-line
• The submission and approval process between Divisions and the Department will be streamlined
• Different levels of access and feedback will be available to different stakeholders.

Benefits include:

• Making reporting an easier process by reducing the hassles and instability associated with long documents
• Increasing the ease and efficiency of updating indicators and technical details (as required by the Department)
• Reducing problems and confusion for users caused by different versions of plans and reports
• Reducing problems relating to inconsistency of information and difficulty in efficiently extracting consistent comparable data
• Benefiting all stakeholders by providing results faster, for accountability and quality improvement, without time consuming manual processing and data extraction.