June 2010 - Issue 30

ATTENTION – 2009-10 final year data

Under the National Disability Agreement, Queensland has agreed to provide full year service user data to the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare by August each year. As a result, you need to ensure that your data is transmitted as early as possible in July, so that we can meet this important reporting deadline.

We will be working with all service providers to try to get all submissions in by

Thursday 15 July 2010 .

Lock this date into your calendars now!

Need help submitting your data?

We recognise end of year can be a very busy time for service providers, and the Disability Services National Minimum Data Set (DS NMDS) Team appreciate the added pressure from NMDS reporting. So just a reminder of where you can get assistance with all aspects of the DS NMDS collection:

Regional Support Officers

Brisbane Region –
Vacant  
Please contact Karen Eborall (details below)

Central Queensland/South West Regions –
Juanita White  0403 209 434 M
juanita.white3@communities.qld.gov.au

North Coast/South East Regions -
Karen Eborall  0403 209 437 M
karen.eborall@communities.qld.gov.au

North Queensland/Far North Queensland –
Lindy O'Neill  0434 604 844 M
melinda.oneill@communities.qld.gov.au

Service User Demographics

Please ensure that service user details are kept up to date. A suggested practice by some Service Providers is to have a hard copy of the Service User form completed by staff once per year as an annual record check of all client details.

Outputs

Regional Support Officers are always willing to discuss queries concerning your DS NMDS reporting. However, if you have questions concerning the Outputs Funding process, please forward them to the following email address: POQ@communities.qld.gov.au or check the Departmental internet site.

Other systems

All commercial systems are reliant on other programs. Before updating software it is necessary to check that the new software is compatible with the commercial system you are using for DS NMDS reporting. If it is not compatible then you may not be able to submit data in the correct format.

Changes to the DS NMDS collection

In 2010-11 some changes to the collection will be implemented. These changes will affect all service providers and will be detailed in a special newsletter to be forwarded in July.

Duplicate service user profiles

Service Users should be represented by one profile only, regardless of the number of services a Service User receives from an organisation. It is important to note here that surnames and given names are spelt correctly and that 'nicknames' are not used when creating Service User profiles, for this will affect the accuracy of the Statistical Linkage Key.

Please contact your Regional Support Officer to assist you in consolidating duplicate profiles of any of your Service users. This will ensure that all relevant information regarding a Service User is in the one place.

Preventing duplicate service users in ODC

Before entering a new service user, search to make sure they are not an existing client within your agency.

When reporting please use the 'Search Service User' option to locate any records. It is recommended to only enter the first two or three letters of the surname, leave the first name blank and select 'search'. When searching for a service user please take care to enter the first two or three letters of the surname into the surname field. We have found several instances where surnames and first names have been transposed which has resulted in duplicate records being created. This process will ensure that you see all possible relevant records and greatly reduce the chances of creating a duplicate record. Also check for alternate spelling of names including the use of a middle name. Remember, search, search, search!

Having trouble entering data in ODC?

Only Data Entry and Authorising Officer roles can enter data into ODC - if you are logged in as System Administrator you will not have access. Please log in with the correct role or contact your Regional Support Officer if you forget your other log-in details.

How do I know when my data is finalised?

ODC users can view their Quarterly Reporting Checklist. The magic words you need to see are 'Nothing more to do'. When this appears your data is finalised.

For other systems, please contact your Regional Support Officer and they will seek confirmation for you.

Are your service provider contact details up to date?

A reminder to all service providers to update your contact details with the DS NMDS Team when moving premises or changing phone details and/or email address.  This will ensure Regional Support Officers are able to respond to your concerns quickly and efficiently, and also enable you to continue to receive updated information from the DS NMDS Team. Please contact your Regional Support Officer with any updates.

Change of DS NMDS Team's address*

Our new address is:

DS NMDS Team
Evidence, Reporting and Performance
Disability and Community Care Services
Department of Communities
Level 3A Neville Bonner Building
75 William Street
GPO Box 806
Brisbane QLD 4000

*There is no change to other contact details.

Disability Services NMDS help available

For any enquiries, please call the RSOs or email us using the details below.
DS NMDS help: cstdanmdshelp@disability.qld.gov.au
Outputs help: poq@communities.qld.gov.au
Disability Services NMDS online