How can technology providers be better partners for the Aged Care sector?

This month, leaders from across the Aged Care sector in Australia gathered virtually for the Aged Care Reform Conference^[1].

This year, perhaps more than any other, the urgency of change has been even more apparent for the entire sector. With a wide range of macro and micro issues impacting the safe, consistent and quality delivery of care to those needing it, the conference looked at what the future looks like as well as how the short-term situation is making it harder for many of the providers attending to visualise then implement a long-term vision.

With 64% of all care homes and 58% of all home care providers reporting annual losses in 2019^[2], the sustainability of the sector has been in the news for a number of years. As we get closer to the Royal Commission final report, we looked at where we think the focus should lie for providers, specifically around getting value from their technology partners.

Push for your solution, not ‘a’ solution

Clearly, all care providers have differing challenges, structures and influences from a public service perspective, so making sweeping statements can prove counter-productive. There are a number of areas we see from a technological perspective that could help to solve practical service delivery issues, but it is important to recognise the point around each provider being unique – one size does not fit all. Technology can make positive impacts across the entire resident and employee experience, both of which mean reducing the costs of care, whether that’s in residential care, home care or through the Commonwealth Home Support Program. The solutions that are right for you need less out-of-the-box solutions and more work around partnering with your vendor.

As a provider of this technology, we know the benefits that planning and implementing a technology roadmap can provide. But in Aged Care specifically, a proactive stance from your tech partners is imperative.

This is where solutions providers need to step in more. Understanding how people, information and inefficient processes travel around a provider’s physical and digital infrastructure is the fundamental starting point for addressing where we can make a difference. It’s interesting to look at the implementation of the new eight Aged Care Quality Standards, as a result from the Royal Commission; the truths behind these standards reveal critical care challenges that, if addressed, can translate into better business outcomes too. Co-creation covers a wide range of scenarios, but the concept of what it means – identifying, detailing and solving business problems with demonstrable improvements for the end-user – the patient – lie at the heart of getting value from your technology partners.

Tech has to work for the whole workforce

Co-creation also enables something as important as the technology itself – the ability to get the most out of it by the entire workforce. From the clinical care professionals through to the unlicensed care professionals (who are projected to be the portion of the workforce increasing the most in the coming years) working with patients, the ability of tech to integrate seamlessly into all of their days is the fast track to more productive, integrated institutions delivering better care and reducing stress for employees.

Make compliance the cart, not the horse

With this type of solution in place, providers can then really start addressing the compliance side of their business. All this data, when integrated, improves care, reduces cost and centralises disparate data sources to ensure detailed patient records are all in the same place.

How far down this path are most providers already thinking, and how much importance is being attached to it by the business leaders in these organisations? Viewing the opportunity provided by the Royal Commission could mean making tangible improvements led by tech for the entire industry. Initiatives such as the 2017 Technology Roadmap from the Aged Care Industry Information Technology Council^[3] are reflected in many of the conversations we are having with clients in the industry, who know that advisory plans such as these can finally be put to work at scale across the board.

FUJIFILM Business Innovation Australiais a leading provider of technology and solutions in the Healthcare sector, working with a wide range of providers to deliver transformative data solutions with our partners. To learn more about our solutions and services, visit www.fujifilm.com/fbau or call us on 13 14 12.