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Aged Care Digital Strategy launches
The plan outlines how new technology will be used to improve patient care, manage future demand, and reduce GPs’ administrative burden.
The number of people aged over 65 is estimated to more than double by 2062.
The Federal Government has revealed its five-year plan to better integrate new data and technology into aged care, with the aim of making services more accessible and efficient.
The Aged Care Data and Digital Strategy 2024–29 was launched last week in response to recommendations from the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety.
Despite soaring aged care demand, the Strategy says up to one-third of time spent on administrative tasks can be saved by embedding digital technology, increasing digital capability of the workforce, and introducing new policies on data sharing.
The plan comes after extensive consultation undertaken between October 2022 and November 2023, which found a high level of willingness to use new technologies, but not the ‘know how’, especially for older people and their carers.
It also found appropriate, targeted education and training is needed to build digital literacy for older people, and that digital solutions should be user-friendly, simple, and fit for purpose.
In response, the new Strategy states that technology must be used to improve in-person services, while also allowing older patients to receive information in a format they prefer.
It also says that better use of aged care data has the potential to help manage current and future service demand, reduce administrative burden, and strengthen care between sectors to provide ‘a more seamless experience for older people’.
The strategy aims to create four outcomes:
- Older people can navigate and participate in their own care
- Health professionals are digitally empowered to provide quality and connected care
- Data is shared and reused securely
- A collaborative and standards-based care system
It is predicted that by 2062, the number of people aged over 65 will more than double, and the number of people over the age of 85 will more than triple.
To combat this, the Strategy will look to use digital tools and data to help older people understand their own ageing, know what help is available, age healthily, and make decisions about their own care.
It also aims to build digital skills within the healthcare workforce to lessen duplicative data entry, administration, communication, and information collection, as well as improve care coordination.
‘Its purpose is to create an integrated and connected care ecosystem, ensuring that relevant data can be shared securely and efficiently where needed,’ the Strategy states.
The plan also aims to bolster security and access of patient information and enhance data collection.
Federal Aged Care Minister Anika Wells said the Strategy will be updated regularly with progress reporting and any new data and digital improvement activities.
‘Designing the best aged care system for older people in Australia means embracing innovation and the technologies available so we can continue to restore dignity to aged care,’ she said.
‘We will also work with state and territory health departments and other agencies to create an innovative and well-connected aged care sector that uses the power of data and digital to improve care.’
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