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released: 22 Apr 2009 author: AIHW

This evaluation found users of the national collections for Elective Surgery Waiting Times regarded the data as highly useful and highly important. It recommends collections continue, and coverage be improved to increase the proportion of public elective surgery episodes included in the collections.The report also recommends work to clarify what constitutes elective surgery and which types of surgery should be included.

ISBN 978 1 74024 921 8; Cat. no. HSE 70; 122pp.; Internet only

Full publication

Publication table of contents

  • Preliminary material
    • Title and verso pages
    • Contents
    • Acknowledgments
    • Abbreviations
    • Summary
      • General recommendations
      • Recommendations for data development
    • Recommendations
      • General recommendations
      • Recommendations relating to data elements
  • Body section
    1. Introduction
      • Purpose of the evaluation
      • Structure of this report
      • National Minimum Data Sets (NMDSs) for Elective Surgery Waiting Times (ESWT)
      • Issues
    2. Method
      • Evaluating utility
      • Evaluating compliance
      • Linked public hospital admitted patient and elective surgery waiting times data
      • Recommendations for data development
    3. Evaluation of utility
      • Survey respondents
      • Uses of the NMDS specifications and NMDS-based data
      • Utility of the NMDSs
      • Suggestions for data development
      • Issues raised by other correspondents
    4. Comments on data elements
      • Data elements common to the ESWT (census data) NMDS and the ESWT (removals data) NMDS
      • Data elements specific to the ESWT (removals data) NMDS
      • Data elements specific to the ESWT (census data) NMDS
      • Supporting elements and glossary items
    5. Compliance evaluation
      • National summary 2005-06
      • State and territory summary 2005-06
      • Assessment of individual data elements 2005-06
      • Compliance summary 2006-07
    6. Clinical urgency
      • Variation in clinical urgency categorisation
      • State and territory policies and procedures
    7. Future directions
      • Standardisation of clinical urgency categorisation
      • Routine provision of linked elective surgery and admitted patient data
      • Total time waited
      • Improving the coverage of the NMDSs
      • Alternative measures of access to elective surgery
  • End matter
    • Appendixes
      1. List of data elements in the ESWT NMDSs
      2. National Minimum Data Sets for Elective Surgery Waiting Times
      3. Survey documentation
        • Attachment 3.1: Explanatory notes
        • Attachment 3.2: Criteria used by the Health Data Standards Committee to assess inputs to the National health data dictionary
      4. Survey respondents
      5. Projects to standardise the assignment of clinical urgency category
    • References
    • List of tables
    • List of figures

Recommended citation

AIHW 2009. Report on the evaluation of the National Minimum Data Sets for Elective Surgery Waiting Times. Health services series no. 32. Cat. no. HSE 70. Canberra: AIHW. Viewed 13 June 2013 <http://www.aihw.gov.au/publication-detail/?id=6442468239>.