Data model and data standards
A lack of nationally agreed and implemented standards is a significant barrier to the availability of comprehensive quality data from Australia’s primary health care sector.
To avoid duplication, it is crucial that data collected at the point of care for clinical use can be reused for other purposes, such as population health monitoring. In building a national collection, standards for a National Primary Health Care Data Collection (NPHCDC) will build on and align with other initiatives underway in primary health care. This includes work underway by CSIRO on the standardised set of data elements at the point of care (the Sparked program to develop the Australian Clinical Data for Interoperability, or AUCDI). These standards will not only support person-centred care but could create a potential foundation for a nationally consistent primary health care data collection.
The following data model provides a high-level overview of the proposed NPHCDC. It summarises primary health care data that are important for population health monitoring, research, policy and planning. The NPHCDC will align with existing standards where possible to ensure comparability and interoperability with other datasets.
Based on this principle, an extensive environmental scan and engagement with key stakeholders was conducted before developing the data model. This allowed for identification of existing metadata standards that could be re-used, including from METEOR – AIHW’s online registry for Australian metadata standards for statistics and information. The data model will be updated as required to align with Sparked and other external initiatives.
The AIHW is currently developing a dictionary describing the data elements within this data model. If you would like to be added to the circulation list for consultation on the data dictionary, contact [email protected].
