Interoperability remains one of the biggest challenges, but it will be worth the effort, say experts.
A new national report drives home the need for standardised data sharing to enable connected and coordinated care across the aged care sector.
The report identifies key priorities for the sector including improving the interoperability of systems by promoting common data languages and developing a coordinated, national approach to support data access and use.
It also highlighted the difficulty integrating aged care data with national healthcare system data, and challenges around the capture, access, exchange and collection of quality data.
The Australian Aged Care Data Landscape Report is a collaboration involving the CSIRO’s Australian e-Health Research Centre (AEHRC) and the Digital Health Cooperative Research Centre (DHCRC).
“There has been significant reform to the sector and the research findings within this report demonstrate that the reform has not explicitly followed a logical path in terms of the digital journey,” the report’s authors wrote.
“This Digital Health CRC and CSIRO report demonstrates that there is an opportunity to take stock, examine the aged care data landscape and ensure a clear and logical roadmap.”
AEHRC’s CEO and research director, Dr David Hansen, said the work furthered 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,” he said.
The report puts a microscope over the findings of the aged care sector’s digital health capabilities four years on from the 2021 Aged Care Royal Commission which highlighted gaps in the collection, use and exchange of data.
“Since the Commission delivered its findings in 2021, much has been done sector wide to harness data, technology and artificial intelligence to optimise care provision,” Dr Hansen and DHCRC CEO Annette Schmiede jointly wrote in the report’s foreword.
“This has occurred at all levels of the aged care system and across all care points. Four years on from the Commission, the time has come to assess progress made and the benefits that have followed.
“Without this reconciliation, and a careful assessment of what remains to be done, there is a risk that already limited resources for an ever-expanding demand may be used sub-optimally.”
The report’s authors were particularly interested in four key questions in their assessment of how things have changed since the Royal Commission.
They spoke with representatives from across the aged care industry, including clinicians, managers, c-suite professionals, researchers, federal departmental representatives, and technology vendors to understand what was working well, where the challenges were, and what were the priorities for change.
“It is clear from the research interviews that the aged care workforce is eager to make things better for individuals, families, themselves and their colleagues,” wrote Dr Hansen and Ms Schmiede.
“What was also clear is that all parties have been working diligently to find solutions to address the problems identified by the Commission. However, it appears this has resulted in siloed solutions that have, in some instances, created increased workloads or unanticipated complexities.
“Some groups are still facing issues such as limited access to shared data, platforms that do not communicate with each other, difficulty accessing and sharing quality care information, and challenges in collecting quality indicator information.”
The CSIRO considered the key priorities for advancing data usage in aged care prioritised interoperability, they wrote.
One of the ways the organisation was working towards this was through the Sparked FHIR Accelerator, which together with the CSIRO’s partners HL7 Australia, the Department of Health and Aged Care and the Australian Digital Health Agency, was working with the community to create data standards for Australia.
“The recent release of the AU Core Implementation Guide is a huge step toward making sure systems can exchange vital patient information to streamline services and eradicate the data silos,” they wrote.
“In addition to addressing the lack of standards used in aged care, the DHCRC considers that the lack of standardised, evidence-based functional assessments in Australia contributes to many of the inefficiencies, increased cost and sub-optimal use of data highlighted by the Commission in its report four years ago.”
They said there was “much work to be done to ensure that the aged care sector is brought up to speed in the data realm to ensure improving levels of care, workforce support, and appropriate data is accessible to achieve world class leadership by Australia in aged care research and policy development”.
Ms Schmiede said the Royal Commission had concluded that collection, use, and consideration of data, was not being optimised to benefit those accessing, providing, and delivering aged care services.
“Four years later, substantial advances in digital health technologies have impacted the aged care landscape and it is critical we understand these changes to better improve outcomes for both healthcare workers and patients,” Ms Schmiede said.
Dr Hansen said streamlining how information is stored and shared between settings may reduce the burden on aged care recipients and providers.
“In discussions with care recipients and care givers, we found that care recipients needed to share details of their care repeatedly because data exchange between their service providers is limited,” Dr Hansen said.
Difficulties accessing data was also a problem for GPs and allied health professionals when providing care, according to interviews conducted by the researchers.
“If everyone involved in providing and receiving care has access to the same, up-to-date data, everyone is on the same page and older Australians can receive high-quality care,” Dr Hansen said.
The report noted that despite the aged care and health care sectors having similar data requirements, data exchange between them was limited by the lack of system interoperability.
Dr Hansen said the healthcare industry has faced, and begun to solve, many of the same problems that the aged care sector now faced as it integrated new digital technologies.
“In the report we look to lessons learned in the healthcare 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’s findings align with the federal government’s Aged Care Data and Digital Strategy, which aims to establish a collaborative, standards-based care system where data collection and use is optimised.