Potential new National Key Performance Indicators for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander primary health care (nKPIs)

Overview

The National Key Performance Indicators for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander primary health care (nKPIs) collects information from organisations that are funded under the Indigenous Australians’ Health Programme to provide primary health care services to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. These organisations report in June and December each year on a set of 24 indicators, endorsed by the Australian Health Minister’s Advisory Council in 2011 and collected since 2012, focusing on maternal and child health, preventative health and chronic disease management.

In May 2018, the Department commissioned the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) to undertake a comprehensive review of the nKPIs collection (the Review). The final report was endorsed by the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Services Data Advisory Group (HS DAG) in December 2019 and published in February 2020. The Review, conducted with a range of participants from health services, NACCHO and affiliates, Commonwealth departments, RACGP, and clinical information system (CIS) vendors, contained recommendations relating to:

• minor modifications to the existing nKPIs to ensure alignment with current clinical best practice guidelines
• changes to the governance structure for the nKPIs  
• consideration of up to 4 potential new nKPIs on eye health, sexual health, ear health, and mental health.

In order to implement the recommendations from the Review, the Department commissioned KPMG to develop an Implementation Roadmap and set up a Clinical and Technical Working Group for the HS DAG. This Working Group met 9 times in 2020 to review the existing nKPIs and was reconvened in April 2021 to discuss the four potential new nKPIs. NPS MedicineWise was engaged by the Department to develop briefing papers for each potential new nKPI drawing together all the available evidence and propose options for the Working Group to consider.

New Indicators

After 4 meetings in April and May 2021, the Working Group has recommended development of 3 new indicators. A new eye health nKPI was not supported by the HS DAG Working Group.

Sexual Health/STI

The number and proportion of Indigenous regular clients aged 15 to 35 years who had a chlamydia and/or gonorrhoea test result recorded.

Mental Health

The number and proportion of Indigenous regular clients with an active mental health condition who had a GP Mental Health Treatment Plan claimed.

Note that the Working Group requested further information on the acceptability and use of GP Mental Health Treatment Plans in Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Services to help inform the final recommendation to HS DAG regarding a mental health nKPI.

Ear Health

The number and proportion of Indigenous regular clients aged 0 to 14 years who received at least one ear health check in the previous 12 months.

It should also be noted that the ear health nKPI was initially developed by the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Hearing Health Advisory Panel and endorsed in 2020 by the then National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Standing Committee, under the then Australian Health Ministers’ Advisory Council.

Details of the proposed indicators are available through the downloadable documents below.

Criteria for new indicators

When reviewing the proposed new nKPIs it is important to remember that the nKPIs are collected from primary health care services and as such any new nKPI must:

• relate to conditions that are routinely screened/checked for in primary healthcare
• be routinely recorded in clinical information systems
• be easily extractable from clinical information systems
• align with current clinical best practice guidelines
• not create additional reporting burden for health services.

Why your views matter

The purpose of this consultation is to seek stakeholder and community feedback on the 3 proposed new nKPIs. The diverse perspectives, experience and knowledge of all stakeholders and interested members of the community are valued and will contribute to the final recommendations regarding the new nKPIs.

The Clinical and Technical Working Group also requested that the proposed new indicators be made available for public consultation to ensure implementation will be beneficial and feasible for health services.

Feedback from the public consultation will be provided to the HS DAG who will provide final endorsement (or not) of the indicators. It is planned that any new nKPIs that receive HS DAG approval will first be piloted with selected health services prior to full rollout to all health services and public data reporting.