General practices collect a range of data such as patient diagnoses, medications prescribed, results of pathology tests ordered and even administrative data. Practices are increasingly using clinical information systems and data extraction tools to help tell a story and hopefully identify possible quality improvement activities.
LUMOS in particular is a unique reporting and data-linkage tool for GPs in NSW. The Lumos program links de-identified patient records from general practices with NSW Health records, to map patient journeys across the NSW health system. We speak with Dr Walid Jamal about how he uses data for continuous quality improvement practices, with a specific look at Lumos. We explore how his team benefits from linking his patient data set with the "system" to reveal new insights in how to be better at care delivery.