The Importance of The New Quality Standards in Aged Care
With the new Aged Care Act reforms, the strengthened Quality Standards place increased responsibility on aged care providers to demonstrate they are delivering safe, person-centred care. The updates to Quality Standard 3: Care and Services and Quality Standard 5: Clinical Care emphasise the need for aged care providers to ensure the individual needs, preferences, and goals of the people receiving care are at the forefront of all care decisions.
How Providers Can Demonstrate Conformance to the Strengthened Standards
To conform with strengthened Quality Standard 5: Clinical Care, providers must ensure that their services are underpinned by documented systems and processes that can be regularly reviewed and improved. Specifically, this means:
- Monitoring Tools
- Clinical Safety and Documentation.
- Feedback and Continuous Improvement
For Quality Standard 3: Care and Services, providers must focus on creating person-centred care plans. These plans should involve people receiving care in their creation and review, ensuring they reflect the individual’s needs, preferences, and cultural values. LenexaCARE® supports this process by providing data that helps staff better understand and respond to individual care needs.
In this new landscape, LenexaCARE® offers significant support to aged care providers in meeting these strengthened Quality Standards. Here’s how:
- Real-Time Clinical Monitoring: LenexaCARE® provides caregivers with the data they need to deliver personalised and proactive care, particularly in preventing pressure injuries. This system is an example of how data-driven, risk-based care management can improve both the efficiency and quality of care, reducing hospital admissions and improving outcomes.
- Supporting Person-Centred Care: LenexaCARE®’s ability to monitor an individual’s needs and respond to changes in their health status aligns with the emphasis on person-centred care. The customisable system allows providers to tailor care plans and respond quickly to changing needs.
- Feedback and Continuous Improvement: The data provided by LenexaCARE® can be used to analyse care outcomes and identify areas for education and training, helping providers demonstrate their commitment to ongoing improvement as required by the strengthened Quality Standards.
The Future of Aged Care: An Integrated Approach
As Australia faces the challenge of an ageing population, the integration of cutting-edge technology like LenexaCARE® into everyday care practices will be pivotal. LenexaCARE® helps meet the growing demand for efficient, effective, and compassionate care at home and in residential settings.
The government’s reforms are a historic step forward, ensuring that older Australians can age with the dignity, independence, and quality of care they deserve. By embracing technological solutions like LenexaCARE®, aged care providers can further enhance the care they offer, reducing costs, improving outcomes, and transforming lives.
At Lenexa Medical, we’re proud to contribute to the future of aged care by providing proactive and personalised solutions that align with the government’s vision for a sustainable and equitable system.
Learn more about how LenexaCARE® can help enhance aged care reform and improve patient outcomes by reaching out to our friendly team.
Reference
Strengthened Quality Standards | Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission. (2021). Agedcarequality.gov.au.
https://www.agedcarequality.gov.au/providers/quality-standards/strengthened-quality-standards
Standard 5: Clinical care | Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission. (2024, April 22). Agedcarequality.gov.au.
https://www.agedcarequality.gov.au/resource-library/standard-5-clinical-care
Standard 3: Care and services | Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission. (2024, April 22). Agedcarequality.gov.au.
https://www.agedcarequality.gov.au/resource-library/standard-3-care-and-services
Health. (2024, September 12). Once in a generation aged care reforms. Australian Government Department of Health and Aged Care.
Health. (2024, September 20). About the Aged Care Bill 2024 plain language fact sheet. Australian Government Department of Health and Aged Care.
