New report offers roadmap to transform aged care through tech

Australia’s aged care and community care sector faces rising demand and regulatory reform pressures.

Recommendations from the nation’s Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety emphasised digital advancement’s pivotal role in navigating challenges.

In response, the Aged Care Industry Information Technology Council (ACIITC) undertook a digital maturity benchmarking project across residential and community providers titled “Digital Maturity in Aged and Community Care: The Current State and Resources Required.”

Leveraging national surveys and roundtable inputs, the resulting report evaluates the sector’s technology readiness. It also provides organisations with detailed roadmaps to drive strategic tech integration.

While identifying strengths in areas like cybersecurity and communication infrastructure, the findings reveal substantial innovation adoption gaps. Overall, the industry averaged only 58.4 out of 109 in standardised digital maturity scoring. Significant regional variations also emerged.

Key findings from the report included:

• Metropolitan: Leading the pack with a digital maturity indicating a robust embrace of digital technologies
• Rural: Making significant strides in their digital journey
• Non-Residential: On the path to enhanced digital maturity
• Remote: Navigating unique challenges, remote providers achieved a moderate level of digital maturity, reflecting their commitment to digital advancement
• Large Provider (>100 Places): Actively participating in the digital transformation journey
• Industry Average: The industry’s collective digital maturity score, a benchmark for growth and improvement
• Cybersecurity and effective communications were standout areas where the industry demonstrated strength.

“ACIITC is committed to driving innovation, digital maturity, and the overall transformation of the aged and community care sector,” ACIITC Chair Dr George Margelis said.

Tailored digital maturity toolkits allow individual providers to pinpoint priorities based on measurable benchmarks. According to Exec Lead Livingstone, it enables robust target-setting – be it incremental upgrades or long-range emerging tech integration.

Developed in partnership with Australia’s Digital Health Agency, the groundbreaking report aims to spur innovation as rising senior care needs meet calls for consumer-driven models. ACIITC sees ongoing collaboration as key to activating the resources’ immense value.

“The organisation eagerly anticipates ongoing opportunities to collaborate and achieve the desired outcomes outlined in this visionary project,” Executive Lead Livingstone said.

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