Perinatal mortality audit: learning from a baby's death to improve care
This pilot project aimed to encouraging peer audit of perinatal mortality, through retrospective record audit and discussion with key stakeholders in a range of rural and regional hospitals providing maternity services.
Objective of the project were to:
A written information package was also provided to capture information from the previous two objectives into a toolkit that facilitators could use on site and an audit tool to capture information during the audit process.
As a result six visits were carried out to different regions in Victoria, South Australia and northern Tasmania. Over 50 perinatal deaths were reviewed involving discussions with 36 hospital staff from different professional groups. Project outcomes included the development of methodology for audit training and audit visits; improved audit skills of specialists and improved quality of some systems issues in sites visited. All of this provided a more transparent and credible basis for accounting for perinatal deaths in regional hospitals.
Target audience:
For more information, contact Lyn Johnson
Improving Clinical Practice in Northern Australia
The Royal Australasian College of Physicians (RACP) found that clinicians, in partnership with administrators and consumers, can improve the quality of care by managing clinical practice in a continuous improvement cycle and applying the best available evidence.
The Northern Australia Clinical Practice Improvement project was a joint initiative with RACP and the Australasian College of Emergency Medicine (ACEM). The aim of the project was to enable rural specialists to undertake a Clinical Practice Improvement Project (CPI) as part of their continuous professional development (CPD) program. The key steps involved conducting an audit of a common condition; benchmark audit data against published and evidence-based guidelines on optimal care; review and adjust care processes accordingly; design interventions to address any identified gaps between evidence and practice.
Target audience:
For more information, contact The Royal Australasian College of Physicians
STROKE: Effective Clinical Decision Support
The Rural Organisation of Acute Stroke Teams (ROAST) project aims to improve patient care by fostering the development of well educated teams of health professionals capable of becoming the backbone of rural stroke units.
ROAST supports the development of units by offering involvement in a multi-centred collaborative project. Direct contact with other rural participants, use of a paper decision support tool to collect and collate data, and a combination of on sites visits, email, the ROAST website and telephone calls all contribute to the networking and exchange of ideas regarding the care of stroke and the formation of successful stroke units.
The ROAST stroke project is regarded as a model of Quality Assurance, its function to stimulate Continuous Professional Development which then reflects Best Practice.
Target audience:
For more information, contact The Royal Australasian College of Physicians
NSW Rural Physicians and Paediatricians Network: Rural Forum 2004
The NSW Rural Physicians and Paediatricians Network: Rural Forum 2004 will be recorded digitally and copied onto CD Rom / DVD. This resource will be supplied to interested people in each state, focusing on rural based Fellows and Trainees interested in a non-metropolitan career. The recipients of this resource will be invited to pose questions to the speakers which will be answered through a teleconference and posted on the SSRS website This aims of this project are to: 1. Maximise the audience and the impact of the forum 2. Ensure that rural based physicians and paediatricians are provided with the opportunity of CPD without leaving their office 3. Raise the interest of trainee physicians and paediatricians for practice and training in a non-metropolitan area.
Target audience:
For more information, contact The Royal Australasian College of Physicians
Current Issues in Oncology for Medical Specialists
Communication is a core competency in the delivery of health care and improving on specialists delivery methods will fast track the consent process. The program assisted medical administrators, obstetricians and gynaecologists and anaesthetists to:
- Learn how to identify difficult patients and develop management skills.
- Understand the difference between the patient specialist relationship that anaesthetists and obstetricians have.
- Receive a patient information package
- Participate in Video-conferencing workshops
Target audience:
For more information, contact Pamela Taylor
National remote area videoconferencing of meeting of the Interventional Radiologists Society of Aust
Continuing from 2003, this projects allowed radiologists, through video conferencing to participate in the Alfred Hospitals Radiology Department monthly Case Review Meeting where unusual and complex cases were discussed. This program encouraged a sense of camaraderie through sharing information and joint problem solving as well as strong educational benefits.
Target audience:
For more information, contact Pamela Taylor
