Media Release
June 29 2011
Funding to prevent hospitalisations
UniSA
researchers have been awarded funding to develop national clinical
indicators of potentially preventable hospitalisations, which are
estimated to cost the Australian healthcare system $300 million each
year.
In Australia each year 90,000 hospitalisations are considered to be
potentially preventable, including hospitalisations related to diabetes,
asthma, cardiovascular disease and mental health issues.
Dr Gillian Caughey and
Dr Lisa Kalisch, both Research Fellows at UniSA’s
School of Pharmacy and Medical
Sciences, have been awarded more than $200,000 of funding over two
years by the
BUPA
Health Foundation.
Dr Caughey said that indicators of this nature have been developed
internationally, but many aren’t applicable to the Australian setting.
“Medication use varies between countries, as do treatment guidelines and
monitoring, so we would like to develop indicators that are specific to
the Australian context,” said Dr Caughey.
“The indicators will be based on the international ones where
appropriate, and
Australia’s National Health Priority Areas such as arthritis, asthma
and diabetes. Once developed, they will be validated by clinical experts
and their prevalence examined in Australian data.
“These indicators will provide a valuable tool for monitoring health
system performance and will identify patients at highest risk of
unnecessary hospitalisations. Interventions can then be developed and
aimed towards these patients.”
The funding was announced at a launch event at Sydney Opera House on
earlier this month.
Dr Caughey said she was thrilled to receive the funding.
“This is a fantastic opportunity to conduct research that will have a
real impact on the health of Australians,” she said.
Contact for interview
- Dr Gillian Caughey office (08) 8302 1749 email gillian.caughey@unisa.edu.au
Media contact
- Rachel Broadley office (08) 8302 0096 mobile 0434 078 819 email rachel.broadley@unisa.edu.au