The Clinical Support Systems Program concept: what is it and where did it come from?

Health services research: what is it and what does it offer?

“…In Australia and New Zealand, this type of research is being increasingly recognized as an important health discipline. For example: (i) an inaugural, international conference of health service researchers was convened in Sydney in 1999 and the first Asia‐Pacific Quality Improvement in Healthcare Forum was held in the same city in 2001, (ii) the Commonwealth has funded the Evidence‐Based Clinical Practice Research Initiative, 79 (iii) up to 15 research centres dedicated to improving clinical effectiveness have been commissioned in tertiary hospitals, (iv) training courses in health service research exist in various universities and (v) the Commonwealth has recently distributed funds to the States to undertake quality improvement projects, the design and conduct of which will require health service research expertise 81 . Importantly, The Royal Australasian College of Physicians has obtained Commonwealth funds to conduct the Clinical Support Systems Project.…”

“…Importantly, The Royal Australasian College of Physicians has obtained Commonwealth funds to conduct the Clinical Support Systems Project. This consists of clinician‐led projects in four different sites, aimed at devel‐ oping, applying and evaluating systematic methods for improving quality of care for patients with defined clinical conditions 81,82 …”

The Clinical Support Systems Program

“…‐ 3 The Quality in Australian Health Care Study , 4 published in 1995, served as a catalyst in Australia for promoting system‐based approaches to safety and quality improvement. The Clinical Support Systems Program (CSSP) 5 is a practical example of this.…”

Clinical Practice Guidelines: A Tool to Measure Variance

“…Patients, our medical colleagues,governments and others who fund our services are coming to expectthis. More recently and explicitly, they are expecting our professionto demonstrate the application of best available evidence in coreCollege functions such as the training and the examination process.This commitment to evidence‐based practice has been embraced byother specialist Colleges, with the Royal Australasian ­Collegeof Physicians Clinical Support System Project (CSSP) being a primeexample 9 . Projects such asthese, through clinical review and a continuous learning process,have resulted in improved clinical outcomes, clinician empowermentand more consumer confidence that the best service possible is beingprovided 10…”

“…Clinical practice improvement involves the applicationof the concepts and tools of quality management to the scientificand clinical framework within which clinical practice occurs. Asnoted in the RACP CSSP description document, ‘Best practiceCPI uses evidence and good practice protocols, combined with feedback,to eliminate inappropriate treatment variation for well‐definedgroups of comparable patients’ 9 . Toolssupporting CPI include clinical pathways, measurement and analysisof variations in practice, outcome and performance indicators, andinformation systems for data collection and decision support.…”