University of Queensland researchers have called for a unified national trauma registry to help improve injury management and outcomes for patients.
Performance improvement based on data collected by the numerous but separate trauma registries in Australia and New Zealand is ad hoc, and a unified system is required to have any impact on clinical practice or health policy pertaining to injury, according to experts from UQ’s Centre of National Research on Disability and Rehabilitation Medicine (CONROD).
In an article for the latest edition of the Medical Journal of Australia, senior medical experts have proposed a binational registry for trauma injury in Australia and New Zealand.
“Existing trauma registries in Australia and New Zealand play an important role in monitoring the management of injured patients,” says CONROD’s Ms Tamzyn Davey.
There are currently no Australasian benchmarks for optimal injury management, and monitoring and changes to clinical practices have so far occurred at an individual hospital level or state basis only, in the absence of a unified binational approach, says Ms Davey.
Currently in Australia there are state-based trauma registries, and hospital-based registries, but no registries in either of the Territories.
“A binational trauma registry is urgently needed to benchmark injury management in order to improve outcomes for injured patients,” says Ms Davey.
Ms Davey says a binational registry would provide a means of monitoring the changing patterns of injury in Australasia and determining the financial costs.
“Such a registry would also make available a large, comprehensive dataset on injury for research and comparison with international injury datasets.”
In addition Ms Davey suggests the relationships that would develop between institutions in the common pursuit of improving injury management would facilitate a unified and powerful approach to governments to develop new legislation regarding the prevention and management of injury.
“The capacity to audit and improve injury management is a fundamental component of any trauma system.
“Long-term funding for the development and maintenance of a binational trauma registry is urgently required.”
The Medical Journal of Australia is a publication of the Australian Medical Association.
The complete original journal article can be accessed at www.mja.com.au.
Media enquiries: Ms Tamzyn Davey (0407 149 160) or Kylie Walker, AMA Public Affairs (02 6270 5471 / 0405 229 152).
