Potentially preventable hospitalisations in Australia: variations by sociodemographic characteristics and geographic areas, with a focus on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, 2012/13 to 2014/15

Potentially preventable hospitalisations (PPHs) are admissions to hospital that could potentially have been prevented through the application of appropriate preventative health measures and early disease management. PPHs are used in Australia and internationally as a health system performance indicator. A PPH is identified based on the diagnosis recorded in hospitalisation data. Hospitalisation data from the National Hospital Morbidity Database were analysed by age, sex, primary diagnosis, geographical classifications and Aboriginal Australian identity.