Making nursing matter - using actionable data to improve patient outcomes

This presentation will describe the development of the Australian Nursing Outcomes Collaborative (AUSNOC). AUSNOC is a data registry and implementation science centre that assists health care organisations to measure the quality and safety of nursing care with the aim of improving patient outcomes. The indicator set is founded upon a conceptual framework that explores nursing care using the following constructs: Care and Caring; Communication; Coordination & Collaboration; and Safety. Data collected includes administrative data, adverse events (falls, pressure injuries, medication errors, staphylococcus blood stream infections), observational studies of processes of care and the use of three periodic surveys that use validated tools (Nursing Work Index - Revised: Australian; Caring Assessment Tool; and one of a number of approved Patient Experience Surveys). Feasibility testing of the AUSNOC indicator set was undertaken in three hospitals in New South Wales, Australia in 2016. AUSNOC has now expanded into a collaborative research centre that assists a growing number of health care services in Australia to improve patient outcomes through recording, evaluating and benchmarking nursing care at the unit level. This presentation will present key findings from the feasibility study and highlight how organisations are using data from AUSNOC to improve patient outcomes and make nursing matter within their care environments. In addition, the presentation will explore the ongoing development of AUSNOC as a collaborative research centre and the potential for measuring both the quality and safety of nursing care at the unit level.