New report provides snapshot of digital health in aged care

The Australian Aged Care Data Landscape: Gaps, Opportunities and Future Directions report, released today, identifies opportunities to improve outcomes for older Australians by facilitating data sharing.

Our researchers interviewed older Australians, their caregivers, clinicians, and allied health professionals as well as representatives from aged care service providers, public hospitals, and federal bodies to assess the current data landscape of the aged care sector.

Data is collected in many different ways and formats to provide care for older Australians, but a lack of communication between systems means that much of the data is not used optimally.

Streamlining how information is collected, stored and accessed can reduce the burden on care recipients and providers – for example, care recipients may only need to share details of their care once rather than repeatedly.

AEHRC’s CEO and Research Director, Dr David Hansen, says the work builds on ongoing efforts at the AEHRC to enhance interoperability in digital health.

“In the report we look to lessons learned in the health care sector. The knowledge can be applied to data exchange both within the aged care sector and between the two sectors,” Dr Hansen said. 

The report ultimately identifies key priorities for the aged care sector including promoting common data languages and developing a co-ordinated, national approach to support data access and use.

The report (below) is a must-read for anyone involved in the provision of aged care.