The RMIT-Cisco Health Transformation Lab recently released a report on Transforming Aged Care through the use of technology. The report discusses the current problems that are holding the sector back from productive digital transformation and suggests four ways to improve the use of technology in aged care homes.

The Problems

The Transforming Aged Care report (the Report) identified four features of Australia’s aged care system that have hampered digital transformation:

1. Government spending on aged care has been limited in the past, being $19.6 billion in 2019-20. However, the more recent 2021-22 Australian budget included an additional $17.7 billion funding over five years to support aged care sector reform.
2. Aged care providers operate for limited profit in a highly competitive market. Profit margins are 2.3 per cent on average. The 10 largest providers have just over a quarter of market share, with the remaining 74.3 per cent of the market shared among 1,766 providers. Additional economic pressures include greater consumer expectations, changing compliance processes resulting from the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety (Royal Commission) and the COVID-19 pandemic.
3. There are significant challenges for older Australians in advocating for themselves in aged care settings. As noted by the Royal Commission, 68.1 per cent of aged care residents have moderate to severe cognitive impairment.
4. While more than 61 per cent of people over 65 are regular internet users and more than 74 per cent of people aged 65-74 use the internet daily, up to 42 per cent of aged care providers do not have a digital strategic plan.

The Solutions

The Report made four key recommendations regarding how technology can be used to improve aged care outcomes, with an emphasis on the benefits of a deeper, system-wide adoption of technology:

1. Technology should be used to improve connection – between aged care users and their community, carers, and aged care spaces. Video-calling tools, telehealth services, digital record keeping and digital workforce management solutions (such as online staff learning systems and the Aged Care Workforce Industry Council’s Workforce Planning Tool) are some key ways of doing this.
2. Technology should be explored as an option when making any new investment decisions – doing so can greatly enhance operational efficiency in the long term. This can include the automation of manual tasks, such as data collection and safety monitoring using smart devices or other tools.
3. Technology should be secure – this is important to maintain trust in digital systems. Providers should carefully consider how they manage their cyber security, with more members of their community and the industry itself shifting towards a greater use of technology.
4. Technology should be innovative – remaining open-minded and bringing together people with different perspectives can help to generate better ways of working. This may be supported through industry innovation programs such as those from the Aged Care Centre for Growth and Translational Research.

These recommendations align significantly with a number of recommendations made by the Royal Commission, which highlight the need to prioritise the use of technology in aged care homes, including that all aged care providers should use digital care management systems (recommendation 68).

Increased funding opportunities in recent times, as well as the Department of Health and Aged Care’s ongoing digital transformation agenda for the aged care sector are further indications of an industry-wide shift towards considering how new technologies can improve aged care outcomes.