National Health Performance Authority, Hospital Performance: Total National Weighted Activity Unit (NWAU), 2016

Collection and usage attributes

NWAU are calculated for each acute admitted separation in accordance with the Independent Hospital Pricing Authority's National Efficient Price Determination 2015-16. Total NWAU is calculated by tallying NWAU for patients whose treatment was eligible for Activity Based Funding under the National Health Reform Agreement (NHRA) and who were admitted and discharged within the same financial year. 

For more information on computation methods for an NWAU see:  https://www.ihpa.gov.au/publications/national-pricing-model-technical-specifications-2015-16

Inclusion criteria:

• Care type (/content/index.phtml/itemId/270174):

  • 1.0 (Acute care)

  • 7.0 (Newborn care)
     

• Funding source (/content/index.phtml/itemId/472033):

  • 01 (Health service budget, not covered elsewhere)

  • 02 (Health service budget, due to eligibility for Reciprocal Health Care Agreement)

  • 08 Other hospital or public authority (contracted care) 

  • 09 (private health insurance)

  • 13 (Self-funded)

Exclusion criteria:

• Error Australian Refined-Diagnosis Related Group (AR-DRG)

• Admitted and discharged in different financial years (eg. Work-in-Progress)

• Patient records where there is no match between the National Hospitals Data Cost Collection and the Admitted Patient Care National Minimum Data Set

Sum of NWAU for acute admitted patients who were admitted and discharged within the same financial year.

Number of NWAU

Hospital

Peer Group

The NWAU is the national unit for counting hospital service activity, based on the complexity of patients and legitimate variations in costs. The 'average' hospital service is equivalent to one NWAU. More intensive and expensive activities are funded by multiples of NWAUs, and simpler and less expensive activities are funded by fractions of an NWAU.

In accordance with the funding arrangements between the Commonwealth and Local Hospital Networks patients whose services are not eligible Activity Based Funding under the NHRA are excluded from the calculation of total NWAU such as patients funded by the Department of Veterans' Affairs (DVA) or motor vehicle accident insurance.   For more information on eligible patients see: /content/index.phtml/itemId/339080

For the purpose of the Total NWAU measure, only the activity of acute admitted patients are counted.

Representational attributes

Indicator conceptual framework

Accountability attributes

National Health Performance Authority - Performance and Accountability Framework

Independent Hospital Pricing Authority

Source and reference attributes

Hospital Performance

Relational attributes