Role
The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Services Data Advisory Group (HS DAG) formed in 2017. It was previously called the OCHREStreams Advisory Group. Its role is to advise us on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health data, specifically the:
- National Key Performance Indicators for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander primary health care (nKPIs)
- Online Services Report (OSR) for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health organisations.
HS DAG also contributes to the development and continuous improvement of the Health Data Portal, which collects the nKPI and OSR data.
These data collections create a strong evidence base that supports Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander:
- health policy
- program development
- service delivery improvements.
Terms of reference
The HS DAG terms of reference defines the group’s role and work remit.
Submissions
HS DAG welcomes contributions from all health services and stakeholders, including Clinical Information System (CIS) software vendors, through a submission process.
Send your submission to the HS DAG secretariat using the submission template. The co-chairs review all submissions for appropriateness, priority and conformity.
Members
| Member | Affiliation |
|---|---|
| Ms Chantal Jackson (Co-chair) | Assistant Secretary, First Nations Health Division, Department of Health and Aged Care |
| Dr Jason Agostino (Co-chair) | National Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation |
| Dr Maia Sauren | Kimberley Aboriginal Medical Services |
| Dr John Boffa | Central Australian Aboriginal Congress |
| Dr Paul Burgess | Northern Territory Government |
| Dr Ana Herceg | Winnunga Nimmityjah Aboriginal Health and Community Services |
| Dr Tim Senior | Royal Australian College of General Practitioners |
| Dr Fadwa Al-Yaman | Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) |
| Mr Timothy Saunders | National Indigenous Australians Agency (NIAA) |
| Dr Harleen Basrai | Director, First Nations Health Division, Department of Health, Disability and Ageing |
The Chair can also extend participation to individuals with relevant expertise to present, discuss or provide advice on particular issues.
Meetings
The HS DAG meets at least twice each year until June 2024. We will then review the group’s role, function, objectives and membership.
Communiques
After each meeting, HS DAG releases a communique to keep Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander primary health care services informed of outcomes related to nKPI and OSR data collections. It includes the date of the next meeting in each communique.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Services Data Advisory Group – Communiques
Newsletter
We also produce a periodic Health Data Portal newsletter to keep stakeholders informed about changes.
Subscribe to the Health Data Portal newsletter
Achievements
HS DAG aims to shape a strong evidence base that supports Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health policy, program development and improved service delivery. It has supported improvements to the national Key Performance Indicators (nKPIs) and Online Services Report (OSR) collections through its advisory role. HS DAG have achieved this by overseeing:
- ongoing Health Data Portal (HDP) improvements
- complex indicators
- framework development
- programs through consultation.
The role of the HS DAG also includes providing advice on:
- improving data validation
- the use and reporting of data by government
- independent stakeholders and services
- communication strategies for stakeholder engagement.
The group has:
- Reviewed and endorsed nKPI data changes to be in line with clinical best practice.
- Established capacity for health services to set and regulate indicator targets. This was based on older results, community needs and comparing with benchmark values.
- Advised on which conditions and sub-conditions can be included as part of nKPI Performance Indicator 25 results. This was following HS DAG’s review of the Logical Observer Identifier Names and Codes (LOINC) and health services reports.
- Recommended removing AUDIT-C as a universal measure of alcohol consumption risk because of a mis-match with best practice clinical guideline.
- Advised on the re-design and migration of OSR to the Health Data Portal which greatly reduced the workload of OSR reporting for health services.
- Corrected and improved the Health Data Portal’s Qlik dashboards.
- Helped to revise the nKPI and OSR governance models in 2020.
HS DAG's contributions have resulted in improvements in:
- communication strategies for engaging key stakeholders
- reducing reporting workloads for health services
- Indigenous data quality in primary health care data.
Expanding the scope of HS DAG
Since it began, HS DAG has expanded its scope of work. It now does more than oversee the nKPI and OSR data collections and primary health care reports. For example, HS DAG continues to monitor the external environment for future collaboration opportunities across wider areas. This includes:
- the health data systems environment
- research projects
- local initiatives.
The group also aims to determine high-quality primary healthcare data collections to migrate into the portal. This work will be an ongoing priority to reduce reporting workloads and duplication of reporting for First Nations health services.
Related committees or groups
The HS DAG Clinical and Technical Working Group reports to this committee. The working group advises HS DAG on changes needed to ensure the nKPIs:
- continue to be clinically relevant
- align with better practice guidelines
- can be used as a tool for continuous quality improvement.
The working group's terms of reference defines their role and work remit. It meets as required when a particular need arises and provides advice and recommendations to HS DAG within agreed timeframes.
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