This Evidence Check examines the effect of comprehensive care in acute settings on patient outcomes. The evidence shows that initiating a comprehensive care program has the potential to lead to increased patient satisfaction, increased involvement of patients in shared decision making and reduced length of stay, cost of care and hospital readmission rates. While no...

Discharge against medical advice (DAMA), also referred to as self-discharge, occurs when an in-patient leaves a hospital or healthcare setting before discharge is advised by the treating provider. DAMA causes interruption of treatment therapies and is strongly associated with post-operative complications, increased morbidity and mortality, readmission, and increased healthcare expenditure. It is widely known that...

Summary How much admitted patient care was provided? In 2014-15, there were about 10.2 million separations (episodes of care) in Australia's public and private hospitals. About 59% of separations (6.0 million) occurred in public hospitals. Between 2010-11 and 2014-15, the number of separations increased by 3.5% on average each year, by 3.2% for public hospitals...

Ineffective management of heart disease, asthma, diabetes and other chronic diseases costs the Australian health system more than $320 million each year in avoidable hospital admissions. At best, the Australian primary care system provides only half the recommended care for many chronic conditions. Only a quarter of the nearly one million Australians diagnosed with type...

Summary In recent times the options available to women for antenatal care and birth have expanded. This includes the provision of more midwifery-led care models. This diversification creates a need for common terminology in describing and comparing these models and the outcomes for women and their babies. Hence, the Maternity Care Classification System (MaCCS) was...