Better Cardiac Care measures for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people: eighth national report 2023

This infographic highlights the key findings of the report by each priority area.

For priority area 1: early cardiovascular risk assessment and management, the proportion of First Nations people who received a Medicare Benefits Schedule health assessment rose from 4% in 2006–07 to 24% in 2021–22.

For priority area 2: timely diagnosis of heart disease and heart failure, the proportion of First Nations people with suspected or confirmed cardiac disease who were reviewed by a cardiologist was 25% in 2021-22.

For priority area 3: guideline-based therapy for acute coronary syndrome, the age-standardised proportion of First Nations people hospitalised for severe heart attack who received percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) rose from 28% in 2006–07 to 70% in 2020–21. In 2020-21, First Nations people were about 14% less likely than non-Indigenous Australians to receive PCI.

For priority area 4: optimisation of health status and provision of ongoing preventive care, the proportion of First Nations people who received chronic disease management follow-up services within 12 months after discharge from hospital with a cardiac condition rose from 42% in 2010-11 to 64% in 2018-19.

For priority area 5: diagnosis, notification and follow-up of rheumatic heart disease, in 2021, about 4,800 First Nations people were prescribed benzathine benzylpenicillin G every 21 or 28 days, of whom 31% received 80% or more of their required doses.

For the summary measures: hospitalisation and mortality, the age-standardised mortality rate due to cardiac conditions for First Nations people fell by 35% from 205 per 100,000 population in 2006 to 134 per 100,000 population in 2021, but in 2021, the age-standardised mortality rate for First Nations people was 1.5 times the rate of non-Indigenous Australians.

Summary

• Key findings 

1. Introduction

• Better Cardiac Care project
• Reporting on the Better Cardiac Care measures
• Data development plan

2. Results

• Priority area 1: Early cardiovascular risk assessment and management
  • Measure 1.1: Annual health assessments
  • Measure 1.2: Cardiovascular disease risk assessment
  • Measure 1.3: Primary care practitioner follow-up
• Priority area 2: Timely diagnosis of heart disease and heart failure
  • Measure 2.1: Cardiac-related diagnostic services
  • Measure 2.3: Suspected or confirmed cardiac disease case reviewed by a cardiologist
• Priority area 3: Guideline-based therapy for acute coronary syndrome
  • Measure 3.1: ST-segment-elevation myocardial infarction events treated by percutaneous coronary intervention
  • Measure 3.3: Acute coronary syndrome events that included diagnostic angiography or definitive revascularisation
  • Measure 3.4: ACS patients discharged from hospital on appropriate secondary prevention medicines
  • Measure 3.5: Acute myocardial infarction in-hospital mortality rates
• Priority area 4: Optimisation of health status and provision of ongoing preventive care
  • Measure 4.1: Review by a primary health-care professional after discharge from hospital with a cardiac condition
  • Measure 4.2: Chronic Disease Management services after discharge from hospital with a cardiac condition
  • Measure 4.3: Specialist physician review after discharge from hospital with a cardiac condition
  • Measure 4.4: Patients with coronary heart disease discharged on secondary prevention medications
• Priority area 5: Strengthening the diagnosis, notification and follow-up of rheumatic heart disease
  • Measure 5.1: Annual incidence of acute rheumatic fever and rheumatic heart disease
  • Measure 5.2: Recurrent acute rheumatic fever
  • Measure 5.3: Preventive treatment with benzathine benzylpenicillin G
• Summary measures: Hospitalisation and mortality
  • Measure 6.1: Hospitalisations for cardiac conditions
  • Measure 6.2: Deaths due to cardiac conditions

Appendixes

• Appendix A: Data sources
  • ABS 2018–19 National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Survey
    • Proxy measures for primary care practitioner follow-up
  • Medicare Benefits Schedule data
    • Coverage of Medicare Benefits Schedule data
    • Demographic information
    • Indigenous identification
    • Health assessments for First Nations and non-Indigenous Australians
    • Estimate of people with a cardiac condition from Medicare Benefits Schedule data
  • National Hospital Morbidity Database
    • Indigenous identification
    • Estimation of hospitalised episodes for Priority area 3 measures
    • State and territory comparisons for Priority area 3 measures
  • National Integrated Health Services Information (NIHSI)
    • Admitted Patient Care (APC) data
    • Medicare Benefits Schedule (MBS) data and the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS)/Repatriation Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (RPBS) data
    • National Death Index (NDI) data
    • Patient Demography data
  • National Key Performance Indicators data collection
  • National Mortality Database
    • Indigenous identification
  • National Rheumatic Heart Disease data collection
    • Calculations of ARF recurrences per 100 patient-years
  • Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population
• Appendix B: Technical specifications
• Appendix C: Summary results, by measure

End matter: Acknowledgements; Abbreviations; Symbols; Glossary; References; List of tables; List of figures