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Revisions to AIMS collections for 1 July 2008

Executive summary

Each year the Department of Human Services (DHS) reviews the data elements and format of the Agency Information Management System (AIMS).  This review seeks to ensure the data collection supports the department’s state and national reporting obligations, assists DHS planning and policy development and incorporates appropriate feedback from data providers on improvements.

In summary, AIMS revisions for 2008-09 include one new form and modifications to seven forms. These changes are:

• Introduction of a new waste management form to the existing Energy and Environmental return.
• New item for collecting number of neonatal cots on the public hospital beds Form A3
• VACS funded hospitals to commence reporting MBS-billed specialist clinics on Form S9_111.
• New items for collecting centre-based and home-based activity for Victorian Paediatric Rehabilitation Services on the Palliative Community Care, Sub-Acute Ambulatory Care, HARP and Post Acute Care form (Form S2_305). 
• New section for the Post Acute Care (PAC) program on Form S2_305.
• An additional item on annual return Form 2 HSA Expenditure for reporting transitional care.
• An additional six lines have been added to annual return Form 4B Residential and Community Based Aged Care Services Revenue and Statistical Return to capture the Aged Care Funding Instrument (ACFI), Accommodation Supplement, Accommodation Charge Top Supplement, Transitional Accommodation Supplement and Residential Respite Incentive.
• Remove Rural Small High Care Supplement section on Generic Residential Aged Care Services Form S5_129.
• Enhancements to validations on Public Sector Aged Care Residential Services forms (Forms S5_115, S5_129 and quality indictors).
• Further revisions to energy validation ranges on the Energy Consumption form to improve data quality.

The reasons for these changes are:

• Meeting Victorian government and departmental sustainability policies.
• Revisions in reporting requirements for the Commonwealth Government or Expenditure Review Committee of the State Cabinet.
• Aligning collections to be consistent with current business practice.
• Removing items no longer required.
• Relaxing or enhancing validations to assist data entry and reduce input errors.

Where significant changes have been made, these have been approved by the Department’s Data Management Advisory Committee that has responsibility for overseeing the review of health and aged care data collections and reporting requirements and to develop a strategy for reducing the reporting burden upon funded organisations.

New form

Waste Management form

Introduction of a waste management return for quantifying the environmental impacts and assisting with waste minimisation.  It is anticipated the collection will assist the development of waste minimisation initiatives in meeting with government sustainability policies and will assist improved waste management practices and cost savings related to improved segregation practices.

The Department of Human Services Capital Management Branch has developed the waste form following agency feedback and advice from the Waste Minimisation Advisory Committee and in conjunction with development of the Waste Minimisation Kit.

Revisions to existing forms

Form A3 Public Hospital Beds

Cots for unqualified newborns are being added to the collection in order to better align available beds and admitted patients (unqualified newborns are admitted patients). This addition is required to meet the Department's commitments to the Public Accounts and Estimates Committee and is made in anticipation of a similar change to national bed definitions.

Include neonatal cots predominantly used to accommodate unqualified newborns. They may also accommodate qualified newborns who do not need to be accommodated in an NICU or SCN, for example, healthy second twin.  Exclude cots in neonatal intensive care units and special care nurseries as they are counted as overnight-stay beds.

Figures should be collected monthly on the last Wednesday of each month, e.g. at 11.59 p.m. on the last Wednesday.

Revised A3Publics form with changes highlighted (Word file 39KB)

Form S9_111 Acute non-admitted patient services for VACS funded hospitals

In 2007, the department developed a resource kit to guide the provision of MBS-billed specialist clinics in public hospitals.  The resource kit was developed following extensive consultation with health services to:

• Address recommendations by the Auditor General regarding the provision of MBS-billed clinics by health services.
• Respond to a request by health service CEOs for a clearer policy direction.
• Support the ongoing growth in levels of MBS funded outpatient activity.

The kit outlines the scope of MBS-billed specialist clinics, obligations of health services under the Australian Health Care Agreement, potential models of remuneration, responsibilities of medical practitioners and health services relating to MBS billing arrangements, relevant medical indemnity issues, and the use of MBS items in community health.

The AIMS dataset is currently being updated to collect aggregate VACS-related MBS activity.  Collection of non-VACS related MBS activity will be negotiated with individual health services. In future the Victorian Integrated Non-Admitted Health (VINAH) Minimum Dataset will be used to collect all VACS and other MBS-related activity.

MBS-related activity will be defined in terms of ‘MBS Encounters’, in which ‘the specialist/physician bills the MBS for the visit, regardless of any other ancillary services provided to the patient. As with VACS encounters, MBS encounters should be assigned to the relevant clinic type and must have a one-on-one encounter with a doctor (specialist/physician) at each visit. A single MBS encounter is recorded for any clinic regardless of the number of doctors (specialists/physicians) seen by an individual patient, or the number of MBS items billed for an individual patient.’  Include MBS bulk billed clinics only.  Do not report MBS-billed services which involve a co-payment. Include MBS-billed allied health occasions of service in allied health section.As with VACS, separate reporting of occasions of service are required for ancillary services associated with MBS-billed specialist clinics, e.g. pathology, radiology and pharmacy.

Further information on MBS-billed specialist clinics will soon be available on the Outpatient improvement and innovation strategy Website.

Revised S9_111 form with changes highlighted (Excel file 54KB)

Form S2_305: Palliative Community Care, Sub-acute Ambulatory Care, HARP and Post Acute Care

Sub-acute Ambulatory Care

Victorian Paediatric Rehabilitation Service
The Victorian Paediatric Rehabilitation Service (VPRS) is a separately funded service and needs to be differentiated from general rehabilitation for accountability purposes.

New items to be collected are:

Sub-acute Ambulatory Care Centre-based Rehabilitation
Victorian Paediatric Rehabilitation Service, client service events (public)
Victorian Paediatric Rehabilitation Service, individuals (public)

Sub-acute Ambulatory Care Home-based Rehabilitation
Victorian Paediatric Rehabilitation Service, client service events (public)
Victorian Paediatric Rehabilitation Service, individuals (public)

Post Acute Care

Three Post Acute Care (PAC) items are required for assessing programs are meeting targets across the state of Victoria and to align reporting of data in a consistent reporting framework to the HARP and SACS program areas.

PAC programs are currently submitting items to the senior project officer responsible for PAC at DHS and the aggregate level of reporting is required on AIMS during transition to patient-level reporting on the Victorian Integrated Non-Admitted Health Minimum Dataset (VINAH MDS).  Health services must report to AIMS until it can be demonstrated that data is coming into VINAH MDS on an accurate and reliable basis and can be successfully extracted.

PAC items to be reported on AIMS:

Completed post acute care episodes, excluding DVA episodes
Total DVA days within the reporting period
Unplanned re-admissions during the PAC episode

Definitions:
(a) Completed Post Acute Care Episodes
Refers to the number of clients that have completed a post acute care service during the period under review. The completed episode is not dependant on the period of time that a client has remained on the program nor the days. The aggregate level data is reported on a monthly basis.

(b) DVA Number of Days
Refers to the total DVA client days for each month of the PAC episode. To work out the days to be reported each month, when a DVA client is accepted to PAC from a public hospital, the DVA number of days are calculated from two days prior to the date of discharge from hospital. This is to account for PAC assessment and care coordination completed while the client is still an admitted patient. Alternatively, if PAC accepts a DVA client post discharge, the DVA number of days are calculated from the day the client is accepted into the PAC program. Count days within the reporting period until the client ceases to be a PAC client.   

(c) Unplanned readmissions during the planned PAC period
Refers to the aggregate number of clients that are readmitted to hospital while they are actively receiving a service from a Post Acute Care Program. This is an aggregate of the number of clients readmitted, reported on a monthly basis. Clients that are readmitted to hospital as a planned readmission are not included in the aggregate nor are clients readmitted to hospital post discharge from PAC within a 28 day time frame.

Revised S2_305 form with changes highlighted (Word file 75KB)

Annual Returns (finance)

Form 2 HSA Expenditure

Includes an additional item for reporting transitional care and has label changes in parts 2i and 2ii. 

Form 4B Residential and Community Based Aged Care Services Revenue and Statistical form

An additional six lines have been added to capture the ACFI, Accommodation Supplement, Accommodation Charge Top Supplement, Transitional Accommodation Supplement and Residential Respite Incentive.

Labels for RCS1–RCS8 have been changed to S1–S8 to reflect the information on Medicare Australia’s monthly payment statement.

Revised AR2 form with changes highlighted (Word file 70KB)

Revised AR4B form with changes highlighted (Word file 151KB)

Public Sector Aged Care Residential Services returns

Generic Residential Aged Care Services (Form S5_129)

Remove Rural Small High Care Supplements section, add new validations for resident demographic data to improve data quality and relax date and percentage validation rules to assist data entry. 

Revised S5_129 form with changes highlighted (Word file 188KB)

Aged Persons Mental Health Residential Aged Care Services (Form S5_115)

Relax date and percentage validation rules to assist data entry.

Residential Services Quality Indicators (PSRACS QI)

Add new validations to indicators 4 and 5 to assist data entry and reduce input errors.