Patient Experiences in Australia: Summary of Findings methodology

After hours means before 8am or after 1pm on a Saturday, any time on a Sunday or Public Holiday, or before 8am or after 8pm on any other day.

To be placed in this category, respondents must have stated that cost was one of the reasons they delayed going or did not go to see a health professional when needed.

To be placed in this category, respondents must have stated that the main reason they delayed going or did not go to see a health professional when needed, included:

• Dislike or fear of the service
• Waiting time was too long
• Service was not available when required
• Had an upcoming appointment
• Was too busy, or
• Other reason (besides cost)
   

Coordination of health care has been defined as the deliberate organisation of patient care activities between two or more participants involved in a patient’s care to facilitate the appropriate delivery of health care services.

Includes dentists, dental hygienists and dental specialists such as periodontists, orthodontists, and oral and maxillofacial surgeons.

Full-time work is 35 hours or more per week. The number of hours can be calculated based on the number usually worked or the number actually worked during the week before interview.

GPs are doctors who have completed a basic medical degree and internship, then do additional medical training in general practice. This qualifies them to provide continuing care for everyone from babies to the elderly. They have broad knowledge and skills and are usually the first point of contact for health issues and referrals to specialists or other health professionals.

The formal acceptance by a hospital or other in-patient health care facility of a patient who is to be provided with a room and continuous nursing service. This includes respondents who have been to a hospital emergency department and have also been admitted to hospital.

Any time a person went to an emergency department for their own health, whether it was within normal GP practising hours or after hours.

Imaging tests or diagnostic imaging include all tests that produce images or pictures of the inside of the body in order to diagnose diseases. Tests involve the use of radiant energy, including x-rays, sound waves, radio waves, and radioactive waves and particles that are recorded by photographic films or other types of detectors.

This is one of four Socio-Economic Indexes for Areas (SEIFAs) compiled by the ABS following each Census of Population and Housing. This index summarises attributes such as low income, low educational attainment, unemployment, jobs in relatively unskilled occupations and dwellings without motor vehicles. The first or lowest quintile refers to the most disadvantaged areas, while the fifth or highest quintile refers to the least disadvantaged areas.

A condition that has lasted or is likely to last six months or more. Respondents were specifically asked whether they had any of the following conditions:

• arthritis or osteoporosis
• asthma
• cancer
• diabetes
• a heart or circulatory condition
• a mental health condition, including depression or anxiety
• a long term injury
• any other long term health condition.
   

If respondents sought clarification, interviewers were instructed to include:

• conditions currently controlled by medication
• cancer where the respondent reports having cancer without any explanation
• cancer where the respondent was undergoing treatment such as chemotherapy or radiotherapy
• cancer in partial remission
• mental illness where the respondent was not currently experiencing an episode.
   

and to exclude pregnancy, and cancer where the respondent received a false positive test result.

Medical specialists play a crucial role in the management and treatment of health conditions where they have specialist knowledge and skills. If respondents sought clarification on the definition of medical specialist, interviewers were instructed to advise that medical specialists provide services which are covered, at least in part, by Medicare (e.g. dermatologists, cardiologists, neurologists and gynaecologists).

In the data presented in this publication, populations are sometimes based on those who needed to use a service. In most cases, this population is a combination of those who used the service and those who didn't but said they needed to use the service. The definition of need was left to the respondents interpretation for this survey.

Some people may receive health care from health professionals other than their General Practitioner (GP), dental professional or medical specialist for their physical and/or emotional or psychological health. Examples of selected other health professionals include:

• Audiologist or Audiometrist
• Chemist or Pharmacist for advice only
• Chiropractor
• Diabetes Educator
• Dietician or Nutritionist
• Occupational therapist
• Naturopath or Acupuncturist
• Osteopath
• Podiatrist or Chiropodist
• Physiotherapist or Hydrotherapist
• Psychologist or Accredited counsellor
• Radiographer or Sonographer
• Social worker or Welfare officer
• Speech therapist or Speech pathologist
• Other
   

Part-time work is less than 35 hours per week. The number of hours can be calculated based on the amount usually worked or the number actually worked during the week before interview.

A laboratory test that includes analysis of specimens such as urine and blood in order to diagnose disease.

Relates to gross income.

Refers to voluntary coverage through a private insurer (e.g. Medibank Private, HCF and Bupa). Depending on the type of cover purchased, private health insurance provides cover against all or part of hospital theatre and accommodation costs in either a public or private hospital, medical costs in hospital and costs associated with a range of services not covered under Medicare, including ambulance services, private dental services, optical, chiropractic and physiotherapy.

Any public dental service that is partly or fully funded by the government, including public dental services provided at a private dental clinic.

The Australian Statistical Geography Standard (ASGS) is used by the ABS for the collection and dissemination of geographically classified statistics. Remoteness Areas divide Australia into five classes of remoteness on the basis of a measure of relative access to services.

A person's impression of their own health against a five point scale from excellent through to poor.

Differences between population estimates are said to be statistically significant when it can be stated with 95% confidence that there is a real difference between the populations (see the Significance Testing section of the Technical Note for more information).

For information on the institutional environment of the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), including the legislative obligations of the ABS, financing and governance arrangements, and mechanisms for scrutiny of ABS operations, please see the ABS Institutional Environment.

This publication presents information from the 2018–19 Patient Experience Survey, which is the tenth in the series. It includes data from people aged 15 years and over that accessed health services in the last 12 months, as well as from those who did not, and enables analysis of health service information in relation to particular population groups. The type of information collected included their interactions with general practitioners, dental professionals, medical specialists, hospitals and other health professionals, as well as their use of pathology and imaging tests. For detailed information about the data items collected refer to the Data item list in the Data downloads section.

Data on patient experience is of value to both users of health services and those aiming to improve the health system. The data will assist in developing and improving policies on the provision of health care in Australia and measuring specific COAG requirements.

High quality health care leads to better health outcomes, and barriers to accessing health services may impede the best possible outcome. The availability of GPs, impact of varying levels of service and the coordination of health care are all important factors in ensuring an accessible, high quality health care system for all Australians.

The Patient Experience topic is collected as part of the Multipurpose Household Survey (MPHS). The MPHS is a supplement to the monthly Labour Force Survey (LFS) and is designed to collect annual statistics on a small number of self-contained topics. The scope of the LFS is restricted to persons aged 15 years and over and excludes members of the permanent defence forces; certain diplomatic personnel of overseas governments usually excluded from Census and estimated resident populations; overseas residents in Australia; and members of non-Australian defence forces (and their dependants). Refer to Labour Force, Australia (cat. no. 6202.0) for further information regarding the LFS. In addition, the 2018–19 MPHS excluded persons living in Indigenous communities and persons living in non-private dwellings such as hotels, university residences, students at boarding schools, patients in hospitals, inmates of prisons and residents of other institutions (e.g. retirement homes, homes for persons with disabilities).

The MPHS is conducted annually with enumeration undertaken over the financial year. The Patient Experience topic has been collected each year as part of the MPHS since 2009. Generally, data are released approximately five months after the end of MPHS enumeration.

The LFS, and consequently the MPHS, is primarily designed to provide estimates for the whole of Australia and, secondly, for each state and territory.

Two types of error are possible in an estimate based on a sample survey: non-sampling error and sampling error. Non-sampling error arises from inaccuracies in collecting, recording and processing the data. Every effort is made to minimise reporting error by the careful design of questionnaires, intensive training and supervision of interviewers, and efficient data processing procedures. Non-sampling error also arises because information cannot be obtained from all persons selected in the survey.

Sampling error occurs because a sample, rather than the entire population, is surveyed. One measure of the likely difference resulting from not including all dwellings in the survey is given by the standard error (SE). There are about two chances in three that a sample estimate will differ by less than one SE from the figure that would have been obtained if all dwellings had been included in the survey, and about 19 chances in 20 that the difference will be less than two SEs. Measures of the relative standard errors (RSE) of the estimates for this survey are included with this release.

Only estimates with RSEs less than 25% are considered sufficiently reliable for most purposes. Estimates with RSEs between 25% and 50% have been included and are annotated to indicate they are subject to high sample variability and should be used with caution. In addition, estimates with RSEs greater than 50% have also been included and annotated to indicate they are considered too unreliable for general use.

Another measure is the Margin of Error (MOE), which describes the distance from the population value of the estimate at a given confidence level, and is specified at a given level of confidence. Confidence levels typically used are 90%, 95% and 99%. For example, at the 95% confidence level the MOE indicates that there are about 19 chances in 20 that the estimate will differ by less than the specified MOE from the population value (the figure obtained if all dwellings had been enumerated). The MOEs in this publication are calculated at the 95% confidence level, and estimates of proportions with an MOE more than 10% are annotated to indicate they are subject to high sample variability. In addition, estimates with a corresponding standard 95% confidence interval that includes 0% or 100% are annotated to indicate they are usually considered unreliable for most purposes. For further information, please refer to the Technical Note.

The ABS seeks to maximise consistency and comparability over time by minimising changes to the survey. However, sound survey practice requires ongoing development to maintain and improve the integrity of the data. Due to changes in the questionnaire, certain data items from each iteration of the Patient Experience Survey are not comparable year to year. For changes between iterations of the survey please refer to the Data Comparability section of the Explanatory Notes. All data items shown in time series tables are comparable between the survey cycles presented.

Due to differences in collection methods and question wording, health data collected in the Patient Experience Survey may not be comparable with data from other ABS health surveys, such as the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Survey, National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Survey, Australian Health Survey, National Health Survey, General Social Survey and the Survey of Disability, Ageing and Carers.

This publication contains tables and a summary of findings to assist with the interpretation of the results of the survey. Detailed Methodology, a Technical Note on Reliability of Estimates and a Glossary are also included, providing information on the terminology, classifications and other technical aspects associated with these statistics.

All tables and associated RSEs and MOEs are available in Excel spreadsheets, which can be accessed from the Data downloads section.

Additional tables may also be available on request. The Data downloads section also includes a document containing a complete list of the data items available. Note that detailed data can be subject to high RSEs and MOEs, which may be subject to confidentiality and sampling variability constraints.

Microdata from this survey will also be accessible in the DataLab environment, subject to the approval of the Australian Statistician. This will enable registered users to view and analyse unit record information using a wider range of statistical software to undertake complex analysis or modelling. For further details, refer to the Microdata Entry Page on the ABS website.

For further information about these and related statistics, contact the National Information and Referral Service on 1300 135 070, or email client.services@abs.gov.au. The ABS Privacy Policy outlines how the ABS will handle any personal information that you provide to us.