A Data Strategy in Aged Care

The aged care industry is in a highly changing state. Growth is being achieved by those organisations who aren’t just delivering clinical care but a more comprehensive suite of services that provide holistic care, considering mental and social health.

An ageing population also contributes to organic growth. Funding models, that previously provided predictable revenue streams, are changing and organisations must differentiate in a more open market that demands greater focus on customer value and retention. To set themselves apart they need to find new and innovative ways of delivering better services to their customers, whether in purpose-built facilities or their own home. Audit and compliance represent significant challenges, self- and industry body-initiated investigations, including royal commissions, mean governance is a critical consideration that organisations must provide significant resources for.

The introduction of e-health records and other government-initiated innovations creates a fertile environment for bi-directional data exchange or shared core-systems in the future.

IT systems represent a significant investment for the organisation. Automation, integration, and self-service reporting projects help reduce back-end costs which can be redeployed to front-end care. Carers, who spend a significant amount of time on admin tasks and accessing information about the customer, can be enabled with access to centralised, standardised reporting and information, on a mobile device, delivering a better quality of service and creating a more compelling, customer-driven, product.

Customers who do not feel empowered with their own care and families, who often rely on slower communication channels, can, with consent, be enabled with smart devices, cameras and GPS devices, or access to chat and other instant communication technologies that provide greater visibility and immediate status feedback. Aged care carries inherent risk to customers due to their physical impairments. To prevent incidents and reduce customer risk, predictive analysis and correlating of incident events, can highlight processes with increased risk and drive front-end care policy change.