Several Australian health technology firms have joined forces to connect their systems in order to demonstrate coordinated treatment in residential care homes and home care facilities. Webstercare, Extensia, Foxo, Visionflex, MEDrefer, and Humanetix were among the six founding members of the Aged Care Technology Consortium.
These businesses include communications, workflows, and administration technology, as well as telehealth and remote access, referrals, prescription management, and health data exchange. They have also exhibited interoperability with elderly care providers’ existing IT systems.
Their partnership provides a solution to Australia’s disconnected elderly care system, which is characterised by a lack of knowledge transfer between institutions and even within organisations.
According to a press release, their contributions to the industry include:
- Reducing the number of unnecessary visits to hospital emergency rooms;
- Early detection of health requirements;
- Enhanced services in rural and outlying locations;
- Greater time for patient care on the part of the staff;
- A higher level of engagement with families; and
- Patient control over their data
Meanwhile, other technology suppliers in the healthcare, aged care, indigenous health, and disability care sectors are being invited to join the partnership. They are not looking to create a society that no one else can join, David Clarke, Hills Limited CEO, stated.
He continued that they want to demonstrate how industry takes the initiative, and they would rather invite additional entrepreneurs to join the consortia so that they can give the best assortment of technology to aged care providers and individuals who use their services. It will also allow for the integration of innovative concepts to keep the ecosystem current and evolving.
THE EXPANDING TREND
In its 2021 report, the Aged Care Royal Commission stated that subpar care and exploitation pervade the Australian aged care system. Besides being deeply analogue, the elderly care industry was found to be far behind other industries in regards to technology use and implementation, and to have no clear ICT strategy. According to the commission, this combination of variables has resulted in an elderly care industry behind research, innovation, and technical curves.
As a result, the Australian government agreed to adopt 126 of 148 proposals, with more than 30 of them relying on ICT and digital enablers.
ON RECORD
The aged care sector shouldn’t operate as an interconnected shell, says Gerard Stevens, Webstercare MD, particularly if older people depend on general practice, allied health, specialist, and support programmes in varied configurations. The Elderly Care Technology Consortium gives a unique and compelling chance to highlight how some of the current difficulties in aged care might be solved, he said.
Together, they can begin to solve challenges that are a result of fragmented and unconnected legacy applications that underserve the patients, physicians, and carers who utilise them, Luke Fletcher, Foxo CEO and co-founder, added. They will be able to accomplish more if they work together.
