PRESS RELEASE: Three Australian health services honoured in the Value-Based Health Care Awards

Dental Health Services Victoria (DHSV), Sydney Local Health District and Concord Repatriation General Hospital are the three winners honoured in today’s Value-Based Health Care Awards.
The awards were presented at the inaugural Value-Based Health Care Conference in Perth, co-hosted by the Australian Healthcare and Hospitals Association’s Australian Centre for Value-Based Healthcare and the Continuous Improvement in Care Cancer Project.
‘Australian health services are leading the way in value-based health care through innovative, inspiring and collaborative projects that are improving patient outcomes and reducing costs,’ said Australian Healthcare and Hospitals Association (AHHA) Chief Executive Adj Prof Alison Verhoeven.
DHSV’s Smile Squad School Dental Program won the Innovation Award sponsored by Queensland Health. Smile Squad School Dental Program is a Victorian Government program led by DHSV and the Victorian Government Department of Health with the support of the Department of Education and Training (DET), that provides free dental care to all Victorian public primary and secondary school students. The program aims to reduce the burden of oral health and minimise its impact on the lives of young people and families across the state.
Sydney Local Health District’s Leading Better Value Care (VBVC) Bronchiolitis program won the Inspiration Award sponsored by NSW Health. The LBVC Bronchiolitis program is an innovative district-wide initiative focused on enhancing care for infants with Bronchiolitis. The initiative aims to align practice with best evidence, reduce unwarranted variation and enhance patient and family experience. To date, patient and family reported experience measures have demonstrated high levels of satisfaction and results have shown reductions in unnecessary investigations and treatments, with corresponding cost-savings.
Concord Repatriation General Hospital’s Osteoarthritis Chronic Care Program won the Collaboration Award sponsored by St John of God Subiaco Hospital. The program aims to improve health outcomes, patient experiences, provider experiences, and efficiency of care in the non-surgical management of knee and hip osteoarthritis. Over 450 patients have enrolled in the multi-disciplinary program and many have reported enhanced confidence, ability to start exercising and those proceeding to surgery report rapid recovery.
‘These awards shine a light on the high-quality value-based health care activities underway in our backyard and I would like to congratulate each of the winners for the outstanding results they are achieving,’ said Adj Prof Verhoeven.