AOQAN – Australian Otolaryngology Quality Assurance Network

The Australian Otolaryngology Quality Assurance Network

Introduction to AOQAN

Public Health is “the science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life and promoting human health through organized efforts and informed choices of society, public and private organizations, communities and individuals.”

Analysing the health of a population and the threats to its health is the basis for public health. Outcomes Research studies the end results of the structure and processes of the health care system on the health and well-being of patients and populations.

Over the last five years Presidents and the executive of The Australian Society of Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery Ltd (ASOHNS) have recognised the importance of establishing national databases and outcomes data for the benefit of our patients, our professional practice and our professional standing.

With an audit process as priority for members, ASOHNS engaged INNOFORCE, an innovative engineering company that specialises in the development of

ENT Medical Databases, to build and implement the Australian quality registry for Head and Neck therapies for use by ASOHNS members from 2018.

The Australian Otolaryngology (Head and Neck) Quality Assurance Network (AOQAN) is the realization of a national database facilitating the assessment of quality assurance and outcome satisfaction of otolaryngology and head and neck therapies.

AOQAN data is stored securely in an Australian based datacenter run by Microsoft. The Microsoft Azure Cloud Technology has been assessed by the Australian Government and certified by the Australian Signals Directorate (ASD).

Commonwealth Qualified Privilege covers AOQAN and the collection, storing and reporting of de-identified patient and surgical data for the purpose of the database.

"We need to review our outcomes"

"There have been enormous advances in the treatment and outcome of patients with cancer in all its forms. The greatest innovations have come from reflection of what we have done and what the outcomes have been.

To further progress the treatment outcomes of our patients with head and neck cancer, we need to continue to follow our treatments and review our outcomes. With the data gained from the AOQAN study we will be able to improve the quality and duration of our patients lives."

AOQAN benefits

Benefits for Member Surgeons and Clinics

A Surgeon/Clinic can analyse their own data for the purpose of:

improvements in treatment quality
improvement in patient satisfaction
increased awareness of the importance of structured documentation and quality assurance

This activity has been approved in the RACS CPD Program. Participation qualifies as a Category One activity – Surgical Audit and Peer Review.

The statistical data will provide for:

ensuring and optimising the quality of ENT therapies
evaluation and optimisation of processes and costs
benchmarking (comparison of own findings with national data)
the creation of an annual public report on a National Head and Neck Tumour Surgical Register.

Benefits for ASOHNS

Ensuring and optimising the quality of ENT therapies.
Accessing key statistical data that is needed for communication with various authorities and insurers.
The creation of an anonymous data set that can be used for research projects.
Support to continued structured documentation and quality assurance for all ASOHNS members.

The long-term aim of the registry is to use the data as a foundation for clinical development and to improve the quality of healthcare.

Register your AOQAN account

All ASOHNS members are invited to participate in AOQAN. Please complete the form below to get your personal AOQAN account.