Health Data Standards Committee (HDSC)

Cartoon

Chair and Membership | Secretariat contact details | Sub-committees | Terms of reference  | Templates | Business rules |

Change to health information committees under the Australian Health Ministers Advisory Council in 2008

The functions of the Health Data Standards Committee were assumed by a new National Health Information Standards and Statistics Committee (NHISSC) on 1 July 2008.

This was a June 2008 decision of AHMAC. The new Committee will also assume the functions of the Statistical Information Management Committee (SIMC) and the National Health Performance Committee (NHPC). AHMAC appointed Dr David Filby, Executive Director, Health System Improvement and Reform, Department of Health (South Australia) as the Chair of the new NHISSC.

This change follows from change to the functions of the National E-Health Information Principal Committee (NEHIPC, formerly NHIMPC) that were approved by AHMAC in January 2008. NEHIPC now has a broader responsibility for national e-health in addition to its existing focus on information management.

From 1 July 2008, necessary ongoing work of the Health Data Standards Committee will be undertaken by the National Health Information Standards and Statistics Committee and will be managed as a transitional arrangement between the Chair of NHISSC (Dr David Filby) and the former Chair of the HDSC (Ms Julie Roediger). Please contact the NHISSC Secretariat for further information. As at July 2008, this is based at the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) - 02 6244 1000.

About HDSC:

The Health Data Standards Committee (HDSC) is a standing committee of the National Health Information Management Principal Committee (NHIMPC) - a body established under the Australian Health Ministers Advisory Council to oversee development of health data standards.

The HDSC is responsible for:

All data element definitions to be included in the NHDD require approval by the HDSC and endorsement by the NHIMPC. The HDSC makes recommendations to the SIMC to endorse new NMDSs or modifications to an existing NMDS (Important note: see HDSC Business Rules for special requirements).

The HDSC's major role is to:

HDSC Chair:

   Ms Julie Roediger, Deputy Director, Australian Institute of Health and Welfare

HDSC Membership:

The HDSC includes representatives from:

HDSC Sub-committee:

Templates relevant to HDSC:

HDSC Secretariat contact details:
Phone: 02 6244 1194 or 02 6244 1000
Fax: 02 6244 1111
Postal address: GPO Box 570
Canberra ACT 2617

HDSC terms of reference:

HDSC's terms of reference (below) were endorsed by the National Health Information Management Principal Committee (NHIMPC) on 4 July 2007.

The Health Data Standards Committee (HDSC) is responsible for supporting the aims and objectives of the National Health Information Agreement (NHIA) by co-ordinating the development and endorsement of national data standards used for administrative reporting and research in the health sector. It will work closely with the National E-Health Transition Authority (NEHTA) on those data standards that are used both for the provision of care to clients and for statistical reporting and research. The Committee will also work closely with other bodies under the Australian Health Ministers' Advisory Council (AHMAC) umbrella when work programs and responsibilities are either explicitly or implicitly related to national health data standards.

The HDSC is responsible for:

  1. Maintaining the National Health Data Dictionary (NHDD);
  2. Reviewing proposals for National Minimum Data Set (NMDS) items and other items for inclusion in the NHDD and making recommendations, with appropriate consultation with the Statistical Information Management Committee (SIMC), for endorsement by the National Health Information Management Principal Committee (NHIMPC);
  3. Working with NEHTA to ensure the alignment of statistical and research data standards for the NHDD and clinical data standards (developed by NEHTA) for clinical use;
  4. Developing, maintaining and promoting appropriate metadata standards for the NHDD and promoting their use in the broader Australian health information arena;
  5. Promoting and facilitating the sharing of information about developments in national health data standards;
  6. Taking a pro-active role in health information development related to statistical and research data sets that is consistent with priorities identified by the NHIMPC and where appropriate, liaising and cooperating with other groups developing data standards;
  7. Advising the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) on the presentation of the NHDD in the national data standards register (AIHW METeOR) and on dissemination strategies in electronic and print form;
  8. Liaising and cooperating with other relevant national and international standards setting bodies such as Standards Australia, NEHTA, the World Health Organization (WHO), and the International Organization for Standardisation (ISO);
  9. Promoting the integration of national data standards across all sectors, paying particular attention to core socio-demographic and economic data standards;
  10. Developing and managing a work program reflecting the priorities that have been identified in consultation with relevant groups or agencies and agreed by the NHIMPC.
  11. Monitoring and seeking opportunities to improve the identification of Indigenous status with reference to the Australian Indigenous population and the recognition of Indigenous health issues in the development of national data standards that underpin administrative reporting and research in the health sector.

HDSC business rules (revised February 2008)

The document linked above (and updated in February 2008) sets out the general business rules of the HDSC including: