It means these providers are likely missing out on valuable and critical clinical data insights that could support decision making, reduce risk and enable a more efficient and effective delivery of care and services to residents.
It also means that residential aged care employees, who are already time poor, are spending extra time doing administrative tasks, such as finding information instead of providing care, says Annette Hili, General Manager of AlayaCare Australia and New Zealand.
That’s why AlayaCare’s cloud-based residential aged care management solution was designed – it will empower providers to utilise their clinical data and achieve better outcomes.
A part of the problem is that providers are struggling to find time to analyse clinical data in depth because many are still operating with either part or full paper-based systems.
To help organisations make use of critical data insights and provide more efficient and effective services to aged care residents, AlayaCare has developed a cloud-based, end-to-end, customisable and scalable platform. AlayaCare Residential offers a holistic view of residents’ information to help staff provide more personalised care.
Designed by the industry, for the industry
The AlayaCare Residential software has been developed from the ground up with input from clients and industry experts. It features a clinical care module to support staff to document in real-time and a residential management module designed to support day-to-day operations.
It also has in-built integration with aged care systems Painchek, Pixalere and Medi-Map software to seamlessly support pain, wound and medication management respectively.
Hili says the dashboard provides easy access to real-time data insights such as the number and type of clinical care actions and lifestyle activities that are scheduled, due and overdue for today and tomorrow, as well as any incomplete documentation which can save staff and managers’ time and reduce clinical risks by early identification and action.
A tailored software solution
Workflows and events are other key features of the system. The platform can trigger automated care follow-up, track required actions, outcomes, appointments and documentation, and support audit and reporting requirements.
The solution is designed for providers of all sizes and individual organisations looking to add a personal touch and customise their own platform. There is an out-of-box solution for those smaller clients that don’t have resources available to manage the system and update the system as they go. Other providers and especially larger clients want to customise a solution around their organisational values and language. This customisation also allows providers to build their own documents or care plans from scratch if they prefer.
Meeting the Royal Commission’s requirements
AlayaCare Residential can help aged care providers meet the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety recommendations, including Number 68, which calls on providers to implement a digital care management system. Many of the major aged care reforms require robust and detailed data collection.
Aged care providers are also required to report on an increasing number of Aged Care Quality Indicators under the mandatory program, which Hili says is an additional layer of reporting that AlayaCare Residential can help with.
As part of any digital transformation, providers should also aim for platforms that are interoperable with government systems so they can seamlessly talk to each other, Hili says.
“We need to be moving more and more to B2G [business-to-government] transmission of data so that it can give staff time back. The focus should be all about giving them time back to actually spend with the residents.”
To find out more about AlayaCare and how they can help empower care organisations to achieve better health outcomes, visit their site and request a demo by clicking here.
Money spent on technology would be better spent on staffing. Making a bad system go faster is like hooking a horse and buggy up to a motor car. It may go faster but it is still out of date. Aged Care needs a complete redesign so that it meets the needs of an ageing population. Dumping people into silos and calling it care just does not work. People need to be supported at home and if this is no longer possible they need to be supported in their local community. If you look at hospitals which have implemented these systems (at massive cost) what you see is no downtime to talk to patients and staff working flat out every shift. Aged Care is not a race. The race is finished. It should be about quality and unfortunately that requires good staff and a properly designed system of care. No-one wants to work or be cared for in a sweatshop run by technology and algorithms.
Hi Gian, thanks very much for your comment. We agree with you that Australia needs an aged care system that can support our ageing population. And the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety released a range of recommendations to ensure access to affordable, high-quality services centred around the needs of this population.
We understand that improving aged care is not solely a question of technology. But it is a crucial ingredient, and that’s why it was highlighted throughout the Commission’s report. In particular, Recommendation 68 called for the universal adoption of digital technology and the integration of My Health Records across the aged care sector. This highlights a real opportunity to connect all those involved in someone’s care, enabling them to collectively care for every client as well as possible, while preventing clients from having to repeat their history and needs to every new person engaged in their care.
A focus on technology isn’t about making work for staff more complicated or reliant on algorithms – it’s about making their operations more streamlined and effective. Having a streamlined, digital platform in place enables teams to skip the paper and the charts, access client forms from anywhere, and share information with everyone who needs it. Ultimately, this gives staff more time back in the day to focus on delivering high quality, continuity of care.
At AlayaCare, we recognise that improving aged care in Australia is complex and that there are many, diverse factors that need to be addressed. The Commission went a long way in highlighting these different factors, including the importance of technology, and we are excited to be able to help the sector’s adoption of software that better supports their staff and clients.