Digital transformation is real, achievable and very much necessary

When COVID-19 first crossed the seas and started sharing Australia’s boundless plains, service providers were stuck scrambling between responding quickly, decisively and safely on the frontline, and also having to account for the heightened operational and financial demands that emerged in the back office as a result.

The following over-12-month-long period for service providers, was, mildly put, an unpleasant experience.

Forget long-term strategy. How can one consider immediate commercial viability and also ensure the highest quality level of care when unprecedented – and expensive – challenges were presenting themselves daily?

“It’s these future-proofed organisations that will emerge as industry leaders in the transition to the new normal prescribed by the royal commission and responding federal budget.” – Ian Gilmour

For many service providers, the answer laid in solutions worthy of MacGyver, which while effective in the short-term are neither efficient nor sustainable.

Although service providers who had existing automated and integrated operational systems and processes were by no means resting on their laurels, having this technological infrastructure allowed for a flexible and agile business as usual.

This, in turn, enabled an element of stability and the ability to strategically plan, while simultaneously implementing rapid care and operational changes.

It’s these future-proofed organisations that will emerge as industry leaders in the transition to the new normal prescribed by the royal commission and responding federal budget.

Regardless of some clashing opinions between Commissioners Lynelle Briggs and Tony Pagone, the message regarding the future of the aged care sector in their report was consistent and clear:

“[It] will need to operate in a technology-enabled environment for efficient clinical, business and operational systems.

“These [systems] need to be designed to identify older people’s needs and preferences and to provide care tailored most effectively to their needs.” – Commissioners Lynelle Briggs and Tony Pagone

This is not a case of easier said than done. In fact, as the population of ageing Australians grows along with their care needs in an industry already overwhelmed, it’s easier done than just said.

Key technology recommendations include the establishment of a grant-funded assistive technology and home modifications category from mid-2022, as well as a commitment to improving aged care through data, research and technology.

It’s the wider push towards digitisation (Recommendation 68), however, that will facilitate an efficient, effective and cohesive move towards the desired rights- and needs-based system emphasising care at home, with improved governance and workforce conditions and capabilities.

Like the move from quill to pen to stylus, the scope and necessity of this transition, while seemingly overwhelming at first, is achievable in a smooth, phased and cost-effective manner.

From a finance and operations perspective, implementing centralised rostering management systems will be integral to meeting the minimum residential staff stipulations required by mid-2022 and again in mid-2024 within budget.

Removing manual and labour-intensive scheduling processes ensures minimal gaps and errors in rosters, which means facilities can save money normally spent on overtime or last-minute agency staff.

Integrated and automated budget, planning and forecasting systems will also allow for more efficient and effective strategic planning when it comes to managing staff requirements.

Similarly, enterprise workforce management systems will be integral when it comes to consistent staff training, education, development and best practice across facilities and departments, which will be particularly necessary when meeting the increased demand for home care.

From a customer perspective, integrated Customer Relationship Management (CRM) systems will ensure minimal points of entry for staff and customers.

Workers will be able to access the information they need wherever and whenever they need it, and customers and their families will be able to access and update information easily.

CRMs will also be essential to implementing the new funding tool between now and 2022, and for the adoption of the My Health Record, as well as bridging any silo between aged care, allied health and disability services, which will be necessary by 2023 for home care and 2024 for residential.

This article, written by Rohling’s Chief Operating Officer Ian Gilmour, originally appeared in the March 2021 edition of Australian Ageing Agenda.