Quality of Health Care for Children in Australia, 2012-2013

Abstract

Relatively little is known about the quality of care provided across modern health systems. Knowledge of care quality is limited to targeted studies in some countries^1,2; small numbers of, or single, conditions³; or particular settings.⁴ Previous population-level studies of adults in the United States¹ and Australia² estimated a prevalence of adherence to clinical practice guidelines (CPGs) of 55% and 57%, respectively. In child health, a large US study of multiple conditions in children remains the benchmark.⁵ That study, published a decade ago, examined ambulatory care delivered between 1998 and 2000 for 11 conditions in 12 metropolitan settings, and estimated adherence of 47%.