Centre for Health Systems and Safety Research
Information exchange is the core of a safe, efficient and effective health system. The Centre for Health Systems and Safety Research (CHSSR) conducts innovative research aimed at understanding and improving the way in which health care delivery and patient outcomes are enhanced through the effective use and exchange of information.
Health systems internationally are coming under increasing pressures driven by demographic, social and technological change. Existing models of health care delivery will not be sustainable in future decades. Information and communication technologies have a significant role to play in creating opportunities for new models of care delivery. Examples range from telemedicine applications supporting care delivery in the community to sophisticated clinical decision support systems accessible to clinicians at the point of care.
Such interventions are designed to improve the efficiency, effectiveness and safety of the health system. Health systems around the world are making vast investments in such technologies often with limited evidence regarding the extent to which these systems will deliver desired benefits.
Our research centres are designing rigorous and innovative approaches to evaluate these health informatics interventions and to apply these methods to provide evidence of effectiveness, efficiency and safety. A unique aspect of the Centre’s work is the application of rigorous evaluation approaches which bring together highly quantitative methods grounded in epidemiological techniques married with the use of qualitative approaches including techniques such as video observational studies and social network analyses. We focus upon investigating and measuring both expected outcomes, for example reduced medication error rates following introduction of electronic prescribing systems, as well as unexpected outcomes in care delivery such as changes in the nature and amount of face-to-face communication between health care providers.
The Centre is internationally recognised for this work and constitutes the largest health informatics evaluation research team in Australia. Our work is highly competitive with other international research teams in this area and our research program is characterised by strong engagement with national and international academics from a broad range of disciplines, health practitioners, government bureaucrats, policy-makers and information system industry leaders. We aim to make significant scientific contributions to the disciplines of health informatics, health information management, evaluation methodologies and safety and quality in health care. Further we seek to promote the translation of our research findings into health care policy, implementation and evaluation approaches within the health care sector.
Centre mission
Vision
Our vision is to lead in the design and execution of innovative health systems research.
Mission
Our mission is to lead in the design and execution of innovative health systems research focused on patient safety and the evaluation of information and communication technologies in the health sector to produce a world-class evidence-base which informs policy and practice.
Aims
The Centre's research is underpinned by a systems perspective, exploiting multi-methods. Our research team is characterised by their talent and enthusiasm for working within and across discipline areas and sectors. The Centre has a focus on translational research, aimed at turning research evidence into policy and practice.
The Centre's research program has four central aims:
- Produce research evidence of the impact of information and communication technologies (ICT) on health care delivery (efficiency and effectiveness), health professionals'; work and patient outcomes;
- Develop and test rigorous and innovative tools and approaches for health informatics evaluation;
- Design and apply innovative approaches to understand the complex nature of health care delivery systems and make assessments of health care safety; and
- Disseminate evidence to inform policy, system design, practice change and the integration and safe and effective use of ICT in health care.
Functions and goals
The functions of the Centre are to:
- Build capacity and research capability in health systems research, patient safety and health informatics
- Deliver research output in the form of grants, publications and presentations
- Participate in the development and sharing of infrastructure and research expertise for research across the Centres of the AIHI
- Encourage and support collaboration across the Centres
- Forge relationships between the Institute Centres and other entities within and external to the University
- Continue to build and consolidate an international reputation in health systems and safety research
This will be achieved through:
- Strong collaborative research programs supported by continued peer-reviewed grants and commissioned research
- Extensive linkages with industry, practitioners and policy makers at local, state and national levels to improve the relevance and impact of research
- Increased numbers of skilled researchers undertaking research and evaluation activities in the area of health systems and safety research
- Increased numbers of post graduate research students
- Exercising influence via dissemination and transfer of research findings through publications, presentations and forums with a focus on academic, industry, practitioner and policy maker audiences.
Research areas
Diagnostic informatics
Diagnostic testing (laboratory medicine, anatomic pathology and medical imaging) underpin much of our health care system, generating information that is crucial to the prevention, diagnosis, prognosis, stratification of risk and treatment of disease. Whilst diagnostic testing may account for a small (less than 5%) proportion of most hospital budgets, it is considered to have a huge influence on medical decision-making. Diagnostic informatics relates to the gathering, integrating, interpreting and communicating of data and information, an integral part of the diagnostic process and crucial to the quality and safety of patient care. The diagnostic informatics research team is involved in major areas of research across the diagnostic analytical process. This ranges from research about the clinical choice of diagnostic request, the quality and efficiency of the analytical process, right through to the interpretation and follow-up of test results and their impact on patient care outcomes. Read more
Medication safety and electronic decision support
Medication error and inappropriate medication therapy are two of the oldest, most costly and least tractable safety problems which health systems face. Information technology has the potential to make medication management safer and more effective. With that expectation, health systems worldwide are making vast investments in information technology. Our research is investigating the ways in which information technology can reduce medication errors and support improved medication therapy decisions and outcomes in hospital and residential aged care facilities. Read more
Healthcare engagement and equity research
Understanding the way clinical care is delivered from both a clinician and consumer perspective is central to supporting effective and safe care delivery models, including to inform the design of new service models. Our research investigates the impacts of human performance and behaviour on the safety of care. Read more
Aged Care Evaluation and Research (ACER)
Delivering care and services to ageing populations is a significant challenge internationally. Communities and health systems are seeking effective ways to plan and manage the health and support services required to enable citizens to actively engage in society and maintain a high quality of life. Information and communication technologies (ICT) can help meet these challenges by offering direct assistance (e.g. telehealth) which promote individuals’ engagement and social connection and, through large-scale electronic health record systems, which can enhance the integration and coordination of care across health care sectors. As aged care organisations embrace technology and electronic health record systems, our research is focusing on unlocking these valuable data and linking across health datasets in order to answer important questions about care trajectories and outcomes. Further, our work is focussed on how information technology in this sector can be used to monitor social participation and quality of life as important outcome indicators of community and aged care services, and to be able to assist in monitoring major policy initiatives such as consumer-directed care. Read more
Health analytics and patient safety
Information and communication technologies play a significant role in improving the efficiency, effectiveness and safety of the health system. As such, technologies continue to make inroads into health care at all levels, generating huge volumes of dynamic data from electronic health record systems. Health data analytics provides insights into these rich data. Read more
Our people
Our people have expertise in health informatics, health services evaluation, digital health, medicine, epidemiology, human factors, patient safety, biostatistics, pharmacy, public health, aged care, psychology and health economics.
Director, Centre for Health Systems and Safety Research
Professor Johanna Westbrook
Professor Westbrook is Director of the Centre for Health Systems and Safety Research (CHSSR), Australian Institute of Health Innovation (AIHI). Her research expertise centres on the design and execution of complex multi-method evaluations in the health sector with a particular focus on the effective use of information and communication technologies.
Academic staff
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Professor Andrew Georgiou
Professor -
Professor Reema Harrison
Professor -
Associate Professor Ling Li
Associate Professor -
Associate Professor Magdalena Raban
Associate Professor -
Dr Virginia Mumford
Senior Research Fellow -
Dr Mirela Prgomet
Senior Research Fellow -
Dr Md Bayzidur Rahman
Senior Research Fellow -
Dr Nasir Wabe
Senior Research Fellow -
Dr Nanda Aryal
Research Fellow -
Dr Tim Badgery-Parker
Research Fellow -
Dr Bronwyn Newman
Research Fellow -
Dr Amy Nguyen
Research Fellow -
Dr Karla Seaman
Research Fellow -
Dr Sandun Malpriya Silva
Research Fellow -
Dr Maryam Sina
Research Fellow -
Dr Andrea Timothy
Research Fellow -
Dr Judith Thomas
Research Fellow -
Dr Rachel Urwin
Research Fellow -
Dr Lalit Yadav
Research Fellow -
Dr Ying Xu
Research Fellow -
Dr Beth Catlett
Postdoctoral Research Fellow -
Dr Ashfaq Chauhan
Postdoctoral Research Fellow -
Dr Rajendra Gyawali
Postdoctoral Research Fellow -
Dr Guogui Huang
Postdoctoral Research Fellow -
Dr Getiye Kibret
Postdoctoral Research Fellow -
Dr Ryan McMullan
Postdoctoral Research Fellow -
Dr Prince Peprah
Postdoctoral Research Fellow -
Dr Gorkem Sezgin
Postdoctoral Research Fellow -
Dr Ramya Walsan
Postdoctoral Research Fellow -
Isabelle Meulenbroeks
Postdoctoral Research Fellow
Professional staff
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Ash Mathai
Research Centre Manager -
Kelly Smith
Administrative Assistant -
Corey Adams
Clinical Research Officer -
Dr Upma Chitkara
Clinical Research Officer and MPhil Candidate -
Erin Fitzpatrick
Research Officer -
Mary Li
Clinical Research Officer -
Alison Merchant
Research Officer -
Marea O'Donnell
Research Officer -
Khalia Ackermann
Research Assistant and PhD Candidate -
Joanna Clive
Research Assistant -
Desiree Chantelle Firempong
Research Assistant -
Sarah Gamboa
Research Assistant -
Rachel Jenkins
Research Assistant -
Yu Jia Julie Li
Research Assistant and PhD Candidate -
Isabelle Lynch
Research Assistant -
Sangita Neupane
Research Assistant -
Maeve Ryan
Research Assistant -
Kathleen Rolfe
Research Assistant
Visiting appointments
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Professor Heiko Gewald
Honorary Professor -
Professor Rita Horvath
Honorary Professor -
Professor Erwin Loh
Honorary Professor -
Professor Jill Maben OBE
Honorary Professor -
Associate Professor Joanne Callen
Honorary Associate Professor -
Dr Gillian Janes
Honorary Associate Professor -
Dr Chris Pearce
Honorary Associate Professor -
Dr Valentina Lichtner
Honorary Senior Research Fellow -
Dr Lacey Colligan
Honorary Senior Research Fellow -
Dr Maria (Mary) Dahm
Honorary Research Fellow -
Dr Zhaoli (Joy) Dai-Keller
Honorary Research Fellow -
Dr Maha Pervaz Iqbal
Honorary Research Fellow -
Dr Kim Lind
Honorary Research Fellow -
Dr Scott Walter
Honorary Research Fellow -
Dr Joyce Siette
Honorary Research Fellow -
Dr Neroli Sunderland
Honorary Research Fellow -
Dr Jannah Baker
Honorary Postdoctoral Fellow -
Laurel Mimmo
Honorary Postdoctoral Fellow -
Dr Ramesh Walpola
Honorary Research Fellow -
Associate Professor Robert Lindeman
Visiting Fellow -
Professor Roger Wilson
Visiting Fellow -
Professor Tony Badrick
Adjunct Fellow -
Mr Neville Board
Adjunct Fellow -
Adj. A/Prof Cheryl McCullagh
Adjunct Fellow -
Dr Shane Brown
Adjunct Fellow -
Jessica Kolic
Adjunct Fellow -
Dr Mikaela Jorgensen
Adjunct Fellow -
Professor Michael Legg
Adjunct Fellow -
Crisostomo Mercado
Adjunct Fellow -
Dr Amith Shetty
Adjunct Fellow -
Dr Kristiana Ludlow
Honorary Postdoctoral Research Fellow
Higher degree research students
PhD and MRes | ||
Khalia Ackermann | PhD | |
Narelle Arblaster | PhD | |
Narjis Batool | PhD | |
Kim Elkovich | PhD | |
Yu Jia Julie Li | PhD | |
Aastha Srivastava | PhD | |
Dr Upma Chitkara | MPhil |
Our projects
Our projects focus on the impact of information and communication technologies (ICT) on health care delivery, health professionals’ work and patient outcomes. We design and test innovative tools and apply rigorous approaches to understand the complex nature of health care delivery systems and disseminate evidence to inform policy, system design and practice change.
Key projects
Other Centre projects |
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Creating safe, effective systems of care: The translational challenge |
Our resources
CHSSR has developed a suite of resources relevant to researchers, clinicians, medical practitioners, healthcare and government policy makers, healthcare administrators, students, and industry.
Our resources
Resources for consumer co-researchers
Safety and Health Informatics in Practice Series (SHIPS)
- ICT and impacts on work practice in the ICU - work in progress - Site 3
- Improving the effectiveness and efficiency of coagulation testing
- Interruptions and medication administration errors
- Impact of information technology on quality of care in Emergency Departments
- Impact of PACS on ICU nursing work practices
- Can technology change the work of nurses? Evaluation of an electronic drug monitoring system used in an ambulatory rheumatology setting
- ICT and impacts on work practice in the ICU - work in progress - Site 1
- Intravenous (IV) medication administration errors in hospitals
Evidence briefings on interventions to improve medication safety
Content owner: Australian Institute of Health Innovation Last updated: 02 Sep 2024 2:11pm