KPIs for Australian Public Mental Health Services: PI 06 – Average treatment days per three-month community mental health care period, 2021– (Service level)
Indicator Attributes
Identifying and definitional attributes | |
Metadata item type: | Indicator |
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Indicator type: | Indicator |
Short name: | MHS PI 06: Average treatment days per three-month community mental health care period, 2021– (Service level) |
METEOR identifier: | 742469 |
Registration status: | Health, Standard 17/12/2021 |
Description: | The average number of community treatment days per three-month period of ambulatory care provided by the mental health service organisation’s community mental health services. NOTE: This indicator is related to Average treatment days per three-month community mental health care period (Jurisdictional level). There are no technical differences in the calculation methodologies between the Service level version and the Jurisdictional level version of this indicator. |
Rationale: | The purpose of this indicator is to better understand underlying factors which cause variation in community care costs. The number of treatment days is the community counterpart of admitted patient length of stay and it indicates the relative volume of care provided to people in ambulatory care. Frequency of servicing is the main driver of variation in community care costs and may reflect differences between health service organisation practices. Inclusion of this indicator promotes a fuller understanding of community care costs as well as providing a basis for utilisation review. For example, it allows the frequency of servicing of particular consumer groups in the community to be assessed against any clinical protocols developed for those groups. This indicator may also demonstrate degrees of accessibility to public sector community mental health services. |
Indicator set: |
Collection and usage attributes | |
Computation description: | Coverage/Scope: All public mental health service organisations' community mental health services. All activity (treatment days and statistical episodes) associated with non-uniquely identified consumers are excluded from community mental health services. Methodology:
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Computation: | Numerator ÷ Denominator |
Numerator: | Number of community mental health care treatment days provided by the mental health service organisation’s ambulatory services within the reference period. |
Denominator: | Number of mental health ambulatory care statistical episodes (three-month periods) treated by the mental health service organisation’s ambulatory services within the reference period. |
Denominator data elements: | |
Disaggregation: | Service variables: target population. Consumer attributes: age, Socio-Economic Indexes for Areas (SEIFA), remoteness, Indigenous status, involuntary status. |
Representational attributes | |
Representation class: | Mean (average) |
Data type: | Real |
Unit of measure: | Time (e.g. days, hours) |
Format: | N[NN].N |
Indicator conceptual framework | |
Framework and dimensions: | Efficiency and sustainability |
Accountability attributes | |
Benchmark: | Levels at which this indicator can be useful for benchmarking:
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Further data development / collection required: | Methodology to collect multifaceted levels of service usage, such as intensity and complexity issues and the impact on contact duration, is needed in order to improve cost modelling and efficiency measurement in general. Accurate reporting at levels above that of mental health service organisation requires unique state-wide patient identifiers that are not currently available in all jurisdictions. The indicator can be accurately constructed using the Community mental health care NMDS. |
Other issues caveats: | Casemix adjustment is needed to interpret variation between organisations to distinguish consumer and provider factors. Longer term a methodology for casemix adjustment is required. Further development of national funding models, including episode-based or casemix models, will enable more meaningful measurement than the arbitrary three-month period used in this indicator. |
Source and reference attributes | |
Submitting organisation: | Australian Institute of Health and Welfare on behalf of the National Mental Health Performance Subcommittee |
Reference documents: | National Mental Health Performance Subcommittee (NMHPSC) 2013. Key Performance Indicators for Australian Public Mental Health Services, 3rd edn. Canberra: NMHPSC. |
Relational attributes | |
Related metadata references: | Supersedes KPIs for Australian Public Mental Health Services: PI 06 – Average treatment days per three-month community mental health care period, 2020 (Service level) Health, Superseded 17/12/2021 See also Person—unique identifier used indicator, yes/no code N Community Services (retired), Standard 19/09/2013 Health, Standard 07/02/2013 |