EmailHospital Circular 15/2002
Date Issued: 21 June 2002
Publication: 15/2002
Distribution: Public Hospitals
Subject: AIMS Reporting
Purpose: To provide details of data collection changes for the Agency Information Management System (AIMS) commencing from July 2002.
This Circular provides details of changes to the Agency Information Management System (AIMS) data collection requirements for the reporting period commencing July 2002.
The Circular should be read in conjunction with other reporting guidelines released from the Department, including the Victorian-Public Hospitals and Mental Health Services Policy and Funding Guidelines 2002-2003, Rural and Regional Health and Aged Care Services Division Policy and Funding Plan 2002-2003: Rural Health, Aged Care, Public Health, Primary and Community Health, Dental Health, Drugs Policy and Services, the Guide to Primary and Community Health Data Collection and Reporting Requirements 2002-2003 and Quality Framework Business Rules 2002-2003.
Copies of the AIMS data collection returns for 2002/03 are located on the AIMS website. The Online Entry forms for 2002/03 and the 2001/02 Annual Return forms will be released late July and early August ready for the first collection period.
The electronic AIMS Public Hospital User Manual will be updated to include reporting changes for 2002/03 in the next few weeks. Agencies will be notified as new information is included on the AIMS websites.
This year, the Online Entry System will include the capacity to import data from local hospital systems and Excel spreadsheets. This feature will initially be introduced for reporting domiciliary postnatal services on the D1 return. Following introduction of the D1 return, the process will be investigated for other returns.
Data Collection Changes
A summary of the data collection changes is below.
- Introduction of web based reporting for the general clinical indicators collection.
- Expansion of the primary and community health data collection requirements as part of the Department of Human Services health promotion strategy and funding reform (Forms C1-C5).
- Revision of the mental health community service categories to reflect current ambulatory community service programs (Form S2_115).
- Expansion of the radiotherapy return (S8) to collect a summary of total treatment courses for each clinic site.
- Transfer of the palliative care program and the cognitive, dementia and memory service (CDAMS) outpatient clinics from the Aged and Home Care program to the Sub-Acute Services program.
- Update of the output groups for reporting operating fund revenue on the 2001/02 Annual Returns, and revisions to the Home and Community Care Annual Service Data Acquittal report (Form AR5C).
- Minor changes have been made to the Finance Return (Form F1).
General Clinical Indicators
The existing general clinical indicators currently submitted by email will be collected via the AIMS web based entry system commencing from the fourth quarter 2001/02 for the period April to June 2002. The data entry screen will resemble the existing proforma that is submitted by email.
For this first quarter, the web system will be limited to data submission with the report generating framework available for 2002/03 data. The clinical indicators will be expanded for 2002/03 as outlined in the Quality Framework Business Rules 2002-2003. The online entry system will be altered appropriately.
For queries about general clinical indicators, please contact Peter McNair on (03) 96168462 or by email clinical.indicators@dhs.vic.gov.au.
Primary and Community Health Programs
Primary Health Care Report
Additional data items have been introduced for 2002-2003 due to funding reform initiatives. The new data fields are: contact indirect service hours, contacts travel time, sessions indirect service time, sessions travel time, number of session attendees, and interpreting time.
Health Promotion Report
In order to support the Department of Human Services Health Promotion strategy, additional data items have been introduced for 2002-2003.
The major change introduced for 2002-2003 is the requirement to record Population Group and Priority Issue for clients accessing Health Promotion services.
To ensure consistent monitoring of performance for Primary Health Care Programs, the new data items introduced for Primary Health Care Report (listed above) are also required for the Health Promotion Report.
Workforce Development
The report has changed so that there is now only a requirement to report the number of staff and number of hours.
Full details of primary and community health data collection and reporting requirements can be obtained by viewing the Guide to Primary and Community Health Data Collection and Reporting Requirements, 2002-03 on the Primary Health Knowledge Base (PHKB) website.
Mental Health Community Services (Form 115/S2)
The Mental Health Community Services (S2) form has changed in a number of ways. The emphasis has shifted from location of services to service and program types. Collecting information along the lines of adult, aged, child and adolescent and general/specialist services and their program types provides consistency with other mental health data collections including the Client Management Interface/RAPID and the National Survey of Mental Health Services. It also reflects a more contemporary view of the service system.
Consultation and Liaison Services, Primary Mental Health Teams and Dual Disability Teams are a number of new programs that have been itemised on the data collection.
The new S2 form will also reflect the changes in the Mental Health Employment (E2) form. It will assist the matching of ambulatory community activity with effective full time (EFT) positions. It is hoped that this will assist both service providers and Mental Health Branch in monitoring and planning for service development.
Radiotherapy Return (Form S8)
Agencies that operate radiotherapy services will be required to submit a summary of total treatment courses for each site.
In order to assist with service planning, the AIMS Form 111/S8 has been revised to include some additional data collection in 2002-03. The data that will be collected includes-
- Number of courses commenced as an inpatient by patient type and by site; and
- Number of courses commenced as a non-admitted by patient type and by site.
Below is the data table that will require completion. Only operators of the radiotherapy services will be required to submit the data for each site on a monthly basis.
| Radiotherapy Courses | Commenced as Admitted Patient | Commenced as Non Admitted Patient | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Campus [Insert Names] | Public | DVA | Other Private | Public | DVA | Other Private |
| Campus 1 | ||||||
| Campus 2 | ||||||
| Campus 3 | ||||||
| Campus 4 | ||||||
| Total | ||||||
The change in data collection policy has been documented in the Victorian-Public Hospitals and Mental Health Services Policy and Funding Guidelines 2002-2003.
Palliative Care and CDAMS Programs
Administrative responsibility of the palliative care program and the Cognitive, Dementia and Memory Service (CDAMS) outpatient clinics has transferred from the Aged and Home Care program to Sub-Acute Services program. From July 2003, activity for these services are to be reported on the sub-acute returns shown below.
| Service | AIMS 2003 Forms | Form Description |
|---|---|---|
| Palliative care admitted services | S1_111 | Acute and Sub-Acute Admitted Patient Services |
| S4 | Sub-Acute Admitted Patients by Streams of Care | |
| Palliative care non-admitted services | S2_305 | Sub-Acute Non-Admitted Patient Services |
| CDAMS-outpatient clinic | S2_305 | Sub-Acute Non-Admitted Patient Services |
Annual Returns for 2001/02 (financial)
The electronic returns remain unchanged except for the following:
· Update of the output groups to reflect the Department's revised output structure. The output categories for reporting operating fund revenue should now be split into acute, mental health, aged and home care and other. Primary health and dental health are to be reported in the other category.
- On the Operating Fund Expenditure for Admitted Services return (Form 2A), the provision for hostels to enter operating fund expenditure has been blocked out as hostels do not receive state aged care funding.
- The Home and Community
Care Annual Service Data Acquittal report (Form AR5C) has some changes:
- number of hours of output attributed to HACC grant excluding fees;
- number of hours total output (including fees revenue, agency contribution and HACC grant);
- service system resourcing-number of senior citizens' centres;
- number of assessments and number of allocated CSO positions are no longer required.
Finance Return (Form F1)
Statement of Financial Performance
- New lines are included to collect information on nursing home State support and HACC.
Performance Indicators
- Two new indicators have been included for VACS weighted encounters and Allied Health occasions of service.
Supplementary Data on Expenses
- Item 2 is amended to read Agency Costs-Nursing. Under this item, only agency nursing costs are to be reported in this line. Other contracted services depending on their nature should be reported under 'Supplies and Consumables' or 'Other Expenses'.
Additional Data Collection Information
Agency Contact Details
Departmental mail and telephone lists for the hospitals, chief executive officers, chief finance officers and chairs of boards will be automatically generated from hospital contact information submitted through the AIMS system. Email addresses are also collected and will soon be set up to enable automatic distribution of emails.
Generic (role based) email addresses are recommended to reduce administrative difficulties resulting from staff changeovers. Agencies are encouraged to keep the hospital contact details up-to-date as changes occur. This will ensure the Department internal and web mailing lists remain correct.
Hospital Reports Web Site
The successful implementation of the AIMS Information Centre (including the AIMS Online Entry System) provides opportunities for hospitals to access its own data on line. Discreet agency profiles are now being established to provide a range of information including online entry, budgets and payments, and reporting facilities for viewing, querying, monitoring and downloading data. Hospitals will be contacted in due course regarding their specific requirements.
The new profile-based system will be available in early July. Further information on this site will be distributed to hospitals as the system is developed. Hospitals and regions are invited to email the AIMS (infocentre@aims.dhs.vic.gov.au) or phone the AIMS Help Desk (9616 8595) to discuss further.
|
Shane Solomon |
Dr C Brook Executive Director Rural Health & Aged Care Services |
