Clinical Care Standards
Frequently asked questions (FAQs) for health professionals
- Why are Clinical Care Standards needed?
Australian governments have asked the Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care (the Commission) to formulate and monitor safety and quality standards and to work with health professionals to identify best practice in clinical care. This request by Australian governments recognises that while most health care provided within Australia is of a high standard, the consistent delivery of high-quality appropriate care can be improved.
Appropriate variations in care do occur due to a person’s particular illness or choices, but unwarranted variation in care can occur when there is:
- underuse of care (where the benefits of a treatment or procedure clearly outweigh any potential harm from its use, but it is not used)
- overuse of care (when a treatment or procedure is widely used, but the evidence of its benefits is limited or missing)
- misuse of care (when the care provided to a person is not based on their values and preferences, and the risks and benefits of alternative treatments have not been fully explained to them).
The goal of the Clinical Care Standards is to help reduce unwarranted variation in care, to aid shared decision making between health professionals and consumers, and to improve the delivery of appropriate clinical care by health services for everyone.
- What is a Clinical Care Standard?
A Clinical Care Standard is an agreed national statement on what care should be provided to consumers for a specific clinical condition. It encourages health professionals and health services to look at the way they deliver care and make improvements if required. In this way, a Clinical Care Standard can be used to improve the gap between what we know works in terms of treatments, procedures, and processes and what care is actually delivered to a patient.
- What’s in a Clinical Care Standard?
Each Standard contains:
- a scope that defines the extent of care covered by the Clinical Care Standard
- a goal that defines what the Clinical Care Standard aims to accomplish
- a number of quality statements that describe the clinical care a person should receive;each quality statement has a purpose, which describes the intended outcome of each quality statement
- a set of indicatorsthat local health servicescan use to monitor how they implement the care described in the quality statements and make improvements if needed.
Accompanying each Clinical Care Standard will be suggested ways in which the standard can be used and practical assistance to help consumers and clinicians make decisions together about appropriate care choices.
- What do the Clinical Care Standards mean for health professionals?
The Clinical Care Standards provide guidance on appropriate care and can be used to facilitate discussions about treatment options with consumers. Evidence contained in clinical guidelines and data on current practice are utilised to provide a simple, clear statement of what care should be provided to consumers in line with best practice. Health professionals can therefore use the quality statements as markers of high quality, appropriate, patient centred care for a specific clinical condition or defined clinical pathway. They can also be used in partnership with local health services to improve the delivery of care.
- What do the Clinical Care Standards mean for health services?
The Clinical Care Standards set out the components of care that health services need to provide and support improvements if required. Whilst health services already collect a wide range of information and data to monitor the care the care they provide to consumers, the Clinical Care Standards offer additional indicators that health services can use if needed.
- What is the role of the Commission in supporting the development of the Clinical Care Standards?
The Commission is responsible for:
- advising Australian Health Ministers on the topics to be selected for Clinical Care Standards
- developing and maintaining the Clinical Care Standards
- developing resources on how to use the Clinical Care Standards.
- How are the Clinical Care Standards developed?
The development of each Clinical Care Standard is based on broad consultation and collaboration witha wide range of stakeholders, including consumers, health professionals, researchers, technical experts and healthorganisations.
When selecting topics for clinical improvement, the Commission is guided by national data on current clinical practiceand consideration of:
- the potential to reduce unwarranted variation in care (whether it is overuse, misuse or underuse)
- the availability of high-quality, up-to-date guidelines, standards or evidence in a clinical practice area
- opportunities to take action to reduce the risk of harm and improve clinical outcomes for consumers
- the potential to measure improvements to clinical outcomes.
Each Clinical Care Standard is developed by a Topic Working Group of consumers, experts and researchersusing the most up-to-date clinical guidelines and standards, considered clinical judgement, and issues that are important to consumers.
The Topic Working Groups aresupported by a Clinical Care Standards Advisory Committee that provides advice on the development and implementation of the Clinical Care Standards Program.
Each draft Clinical Care Standard goes through a public consultation process and the feedback from this process is used to further refine the Standards. This process also contributes to the development of tools and resources that aim to assist with the implementation of the Clinical Care Standards.
- What are the Clinical Care Standards currently being developed by the Commission?
Acute coronary syndrome. Despite well-developed guidelines for managing acute coronary syndrome, recent research has found that not all patients receive appropriate treatment, particularly for invasive management of this condition.
The Clinical Care Standard for Acute Coronary Syndrome focuses on the management of a person with acute coronary syndrome, including recognition, rapid assessment, early management and early initiation of a tailored rehabilitation plan.
Antimicrobial stewardship. Antimicrobial stewardship is a systematic approach to optimising the use of antimicrobials. The Clinical Care Standard for Antimicrobial Stewardship aims to ensure that a person with a bacterial infection receives optimal treatment with antibiotics. ‘Optimal treatment’ means aperson receives the right antibiotic to treat their condition, the right dose, by the right route, at the right time and for the right duration based on accurate assessment and timely review.
Stroke. In Australia, stroke is the second leading cause of death and a major cause of disability. Receiving the right care at the right time can significantly improve an individual’s chance of surviving a stroke and recovering to a full and independent life.
The Clinical Care Standard for Stroke focuses on the recognition, rapid assessment, early management and early initiation of an individualised rehabilitation plan for a patient with stroke.
- How do the Clinical Care Standards and the National Safety and Quality Health Service Standards operate together to improve patient care?
The Clinical Care Standards provide guidance on appropriate, high quality care (e.g. a treatment, process or procedure) that should be provided to a patient for a specific condition.
The National Safety and Quality Health Service(NSQHS) Standards set out the minimum performance expectations, processes and structures that should be in place for a health service to provide safe care.
Used together, both sets of Standards aim to ensure people will receive safe, high-quality and appropriate care.
- How does a health service know if the care they provide is of high quality and appropriate?
Health services already collect a wide range of information and data to monitor the care that is provided to their consumers. This information is gathered through a range of sources such as patient experience surveys, audits, information contained in medical records, data registries,and government reporting requirements.If additional indicators are required to monitor the implementation of the quality statements and respond to consumer expectations, then the indicators in each Clinical Care Standard may be helpful.
The indicators are not a new set of targets or mandatory data for performance management. They are suggestions only and local health services can choose whichindicators may be most useful to them when monitoring variations in the care they provide. The indicators can also be used to respond to consumer expectations and better understand their experiences of health care.
- How to get involved.
As part of the development process, the Clinical Care Standards will undergo a process of public consultation. This process will be open to consumers, health professionals, healthservice organisationsand the wider public during December 2013 to March 2014.
Contact us
If you have any further questions, please contact the Clinical Care Standard teamvia email at
Further information is available from:
The Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care
Level 7, 1 Oxford Street, Darlinghurst, NSW 2010
GPO Box 5480, Sydney NSW 2001
Tel: (02) 9126 3600 Website:
November 20131