Australia’s aged care sector is being urged to adopt common data and interoperability standards as national digital health reforms and new data foundations are rolled out.
The Digital Health Cooperative Research Centre (DHCRC) has released an industry-backed communique calling for greater collaboration between aged care providers, consumers, clinicians, software vendors, researchers, government agencies and standards organisations.
The communique follows an aged care industry event co-hosted by DHCRC and the Sparked Program, led by CSIRO’s Australian e-Health Research Centre.
It brought together 76 representatives to consider how interoperability and digital health standards could support more connected aged care.
The communique said national digital health reforms, new interoperability standards and common data foundations were now being developed and implemented, making industry participation increasingly important.
It outlines a model in which information is captured once and reused where appropriate, reducing the need for older Australians to repeatedly provide the same information to different services.
Authorised providers would be able to access relevant information when required, while functional assessments, care plans and clinical information could be reused across services and care settings.
The communique also calls for consistent implementation of standards across the sector and for interoperability to support care outcomes rather than simply meeting compliance requirements.
Older Australians should understand how, when and where their information is being shared, while retaining access to both digital and non-digital pathways, it said.
Better information sharing could also support safer and more coordinated transitions between care settings.
“The opportunity is immediate, the foundations are being established now, and active participation from across the sector will be critical to achieving a connected, person-centred aged care system that improves care quality, safety and outcomes for older Australians,” the communique said.
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