Audit Reveals Opportunities to Improve CALD Data Across Victorian Cancer Services
The Western and Central Melbourne Integrated Cancer Service (WCMICS) is leading a statewide audit examining how culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) patient information is recorded across Victorian cancer services.
The audit is reviewing patient medical records from 20 hospitals across Victoria to assess the completeness, accuracy and consistency of CALD-related data, including country of birth, preferred language, interpreter requirements and other demographic indicators. The project also explores barriers to consistent data capture and alignment with Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) standards and national health datasets.
Early findings suggest that while key demographic fields are often recorded, inconsistencies exist across systems. For example, country of birth differed between administrative datasets (VAED) and electronic medical records in around 4% of cases, with some records defaulting to “Australia”. Around half of CALD patients recorded a preferred language other than English, and approximately 5% had discrepancies in preferred language between datasets.
The audit also highlighted opportunities to strengthen documentation of communication needs. Around 27% of CALD patients were recorded as requiring an interpreter, though this may be under-reported, and one in three patients requiring an interpreter relied on a family member to interpret.
This work forms part of WCMICS’ broader equity program focused on improving understanding of the experiences and outcomes of CALD people affected by cancer, helping inform more equitable cancer care and service planning across Victoria.
