RMIT-Cisco’s Health Transformation Lab launches report: Transforming aged care – towards a future in which digitisation drives respect and connection, in response to the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety.
Technology and digitisation have a critical to role to play in transforming an aged care system that can be scaled to meet the needs of the 1.2 million Australians who currently use the system, and to provide the respectful, compassionate and quality care every older Australian deserves – a new report by the has found.
Transforming Aged Care: Towards a future in which digitisation clasps hands with respect, and connection drives improvement responds directly to the recommendations made by the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety and contends that the deep and systemic adoption of technology presents a profound opportunity to transform Australia’s aged care system into a respectful, responsive and high-quality one.
The report emphasises how using technology to automate and streamline non-care duties will vastly improve the quality of care by freeing up carers’ time, an enormous amount of which is spent on non-care tasks. It will also streamline the achievement of the Royal Commission’s recommended 200 minutes of staff time per resident, per day and enhance overall staff satisfaction.
Importantly, the report also details how technology can be used to drive the increased connectedness of older Australians – to each other, to their families, to their carers and to the broader community. This will improve the wellbeing of older Australians, the quality of their care, and the satisfaction of those who work in our system.
New technologies that can balance monitoring, privacy and provide risk management solutions will also make a meaningful difference in fostering increased choice and dignity for older Australians, including for the 68.1% of aged care residents who have moderate to severe cognitive impairment. Reimagining the use of existing technologies also has a key role to play in managing risk while also enabling residents to lead lives of autonomy, dignity and respect.
L-R: Reg Johnson, Alec Cameron, Nithya Solomon, Ben Dawson, Professor Vishaal Kishore. Source: RMIT
