Standardised data sharing is vital to connected and coordinated care across the aged care sector, according to a new report from CSIRO's Australian e-Health Research Centre (AEHRC) and the Digital Health Cooperative Research Centre (DHCRC).
The Australian aged care data landscape: Gaps, opportunities and future directions report identifies key priorities for the sector including improving the interoperability of systems by promoting common data languages and developing a co-ordinated, national approach to support data access and use.
Data is being collected in a breadth of ways and formats to provide care for older adults living at home or in residential aged care facilities.
DHCRC CEO, Annette Schmied, said the Royal Commission into Aged Care (2021) 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.
AEHRC's CEO and Research Director, Dr David Hansen, said streamlining how this 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 notes that despite the aged care and health care sectors having similar data requirements, data exchange between them is 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 faces as it integrates 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.
Ongoing projects by CSIRO and DHCRC, such as the Aged Care FHIR Implementation Guide & Benchmarking minimal viable product (MVP) project, are already generating progress in this area as part of a wider push towards more integrated and interoperable digital health systems.
Download The Australian aged care data landscape: Gaps, opportunities and future directions report.
