The Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care Agenda for Improvement and Implementation

Health care systems around the world have well documented concerns about their safety and quality. In Australia, concerns expressed have included lack of data on effectiveness of improvement interventions, inadequate measurement and reporting on quality and insufficient application of existing knowledge to influence and improve quality of care. The new Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care is intended to address these concerns by focussing national action to improve quality of care and safety. This paper reviews current national and international literature and outlines the Commission's planned work on collaboration, governance, agreed goals and more effective use of information, based on research and consultation with key players in the safety and quality arena. Its conclusion is that the Commission, as a national coordinating body, is potentially positioned to address necessary overall system improvement, but needs to carefully consider priority action areas. Monitoring and assessment of its activities will indicate the success of this systematic approach.