Health Data Standards and Systems Unit (HDSS)

Manager : Andrew Brown

Our Role

The Health Data Standards and Systems Unit (HDSS) has responsibility for maintaining data standards, and optimising data quality and timeliness for five Victorian hospital data collections:

• Victorian Admitted Episodes Dataset (VAED)
• Victorian Emergency Minimum Dataset (VEMD)
• Elective Surgery Information System (ESIS).
• Victorian Integrated Non Admitted Health Minimum Dataset (VINAH).

The unit also provides data specification and data standards advice for other collections, including, but not limited to:

• Agency Information Management System (AIMS) collections
• Client Management Interface (CMI)(for Mental Health clients)

These data collections are used to provide clinical, demographic, resource utilisation and financial information essential for the casemix-based funding of public hospitals, service planning and coordination, epidemiology and other research, and to meet Victoria’s national reporting obligations.

The Unit seeks to continually improve the usefulness of the information to the Department and external users by developing and enhancing data standards, maximising coverage, completeness and timeliness of data submission, and by monitoring and providing feedback to hospitals on data quality.

In addition, the Unit provides authoritative technical advice to the Department on health information management standards and systems, including the International Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems, 10th Revision, Australian Modification (ICD-10-AM) and the Australian Refined Diagnosis Related Groups (AR-DRGs) classification systems. The Unit represents Victoria on relevant State and National data standards committees.