Several new data items will be collected from health services and a range of other changes will come into effect from 1 July 2023 as the Department of Health’s annual changes for data collections are implemented.
The annual change process is a yearly review to ensure health data collected in Victoria assists planning and policy development, reflects changes in hospital funding and service provision arrangements, supports reporting obligations and incorporates feedback on improvements from data providers.
Changes for 2023-24 include a new Hospital Admission Risk Program (HARP) Geriatric evaluation and management stream, the collection of National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) participant identifiers, and the inclusion of gastroscopy and colonoscopy into the ESIS data collection.
The annual change process is managed by VAHI’s Health Services Data team, and covers collections including the Victorian Admitted Episodes Dataset (VAED), Victorian Emergency Minimum Dataset (VEMD), Victorian Integrated Non-Admitted Health Minimum Data Set (VINAH MDS), Elective Surgery Information System (ESIS) and Agency Information Management System (AIMS).
A similar but separate process is also in place for the Victorian Perinatal Data Collection (VPDC).
The process begins with a call for proposals, which may be related to adding or deleting data elements; changing an existing code set; amending business rules or validations; or updating reporting guides. Proposals can be submitted by health services, software vendors, Safer Care Victoria, and VAHI along with other divisions within the department.
Following a period of stakeholder consultation, the department’s Annual Changes Governance Committee (ACGC) assesses each proposal against a set of criteria, taking into consideration feedback received from health services and software vendors.
The ACGC is made up of representatives from Safer Care Victoria, VAHI, and other divisions within the Department of Health, including Mental Health and Wellbeing, Commissioning and System Improvement, Reform and Medical Research, and Corporate Services.
It is the role of the ACGC to classify proposals and consider their merits against evaluation criteria, advise on the logistics of implementing proposals and finally to make recommendations on which proposals proceed as an annual change.
Following approval of the recommendations by the department’s data custodian, specifications are developed for the accepted changes and are published at least six months ahead of the changes becoming active. This allows health services and software vendors to prepare for their implementation.
While changes will be implemented soon for 2023-24, watch for the call for proposals for 2024-25, to be released in July.
All specifications for revisions for VAED, VEMD, ESIS, VINAH and AIMS are available at https://www.health.vic.gov.au/data-reporting/annual-changes.
Specifications for revisions to the VPDC are available at https://www.health.vic.gov.au/quality-safety-service/victorian-perinatal-data-collection
For more information on the annual change process, including full timelines and change proposal submission templates, visit health.vic.gov.au/data-reporting/annual-changes