New Agency to Monitor Hospital and Primary Care Performance

As part of Australia's National Health Reform Act 2011, the Ministry of Health has established a new national agency to monitor and report on the performance of hospitals and primary health care services across Australia. The Ministry recently announced the appointment of Diane Watson, M.D., as the inaugural chief executive officer of the agency, known as the National Health Performance Authority (NHPA), and released the Performance and Accountability Framework, which will guide the authority’s quarterly reporting. The goal of the NHPA is to provide Australians with information about local health service performance, thereby increasing accountability and promoting quality improvements in the delivery of health care services.

Sources:

• http://www.health.gov.au/internet/ministers/publishing.nsf/Content/61DFCED91DEA8801CA257A1500219811/$File/tp052.pdf
• http://www.health.gov.au/internet/budget/publishing.nsf/content/2012-13_Health_PBS_sup3/$File/4.14_NHPA.pdf