Australia is facing one shortage of at least 110,000 elderly care workers by 2030, according to a projection by the Economic Development Committee of Australia. The issue is expected to have a profound impact on the aged care sector as it is expected to compete with other nursing sectors to hire and retain staff. between 20,000 and 40,000 available employees in the next two years.
One of Australia’s longest-established residential aged care providers is tackling this urgent challenge with a modern, virtual solution.
The iAgeHealth service, developed by McLean Care, is positioned as a ‘global’ solution to barriers to accessing residential aged care clinical services in regional, rural and remote communities.
The service uses a virtual pool of specialized doctors who are not tied to location. It provides 24/7 access to a registered nurse and seven-day access to a multidisciplinary paramedical team led by a nurse specialist. However, it allocates time for consultation based on the urgency of the care needed, although “residents will often be seen within an hour of the initial request,” according to McLean Care.
Equipped with a range of integrated clinical IoT devices, iAgeHealth provides end-to-end diagnostic, treatment and care management services, such as wound care, diabetes management and chronic health management.
After two years of development and testing, McLean Care soft-launched the solution this month.
Sarah Dring, a clinical nurse consultant, shared with HealthcareIT news her experience with the new virtual service. She also explained how it provides 24-hour support to patients and what she believes is its value to healthcare professionals around the world.
How has your experience with iAgeHealth been so far? How has working for iAgeHealth changed the way you deliver care?
a: I was fortunate enough to join the team before the initial launch of iAgeHealth and that just happened was incredible in so many ways. Seeing care delivered to older people in metropolitan centers finally being delivered in regional, rural and remote areas of Australia shows that access to quality care is not just (a possibility) but a reality.
The IoT diagnostic tools now available through technological advancements allow us to deliver clinical care effectively and efficiently. Add to that the power of an experienced multi-disciplinary team working with iAgeHealth – all within a virtual environment – and it allows our overall healthcare practices to be delivered in a way I’ve never seen before.
Data shows that older people living in rural and remote areas of Australia have unequal access to healthcare, resulting in poorer health outcomes and lower life expectancy. We can demonstrate through multiple clinical care case studies that iAgeHealth is improving health outcomes for older people in rural and remote Australia and closing the inequality gap.
What is the workload distribution of the platform?
a: All doctors and paramedics are employed by iAgeHealth and are dedicated schedules that ensure there is always support for services that rely on iAgeHealth for clinical support. The platform enables work to be distributed across a range of paramedical disciplines and clinical specialties, such as wound care, diabetes management and dementia care, through a referral process. The referral process is built around the internationally recognized communication tool known as ISBAR (Information, Situation, Background, Assessment, Recommendation). There is a “Stop and Watch” built into the system. If the doctor believes the person requires emergency assistance, the agency will immediately instruct the employee to call the Australian Emergency Services number.
Because iAgeHealth is an ‘on-demand service’, registered nurses are available 24/7 and paramedics are available seven days a week. We are currently working on expanding our specialty offering. As we scale up, we can guarantee continuity of care. This means our facilities and locations can count on dedicated physicians who know and understand the resident – their story only needs to be told once.
How do you think iAgeHealth supports or complements your work as a doctor/caregiver?
a: iAgeHealth supports our clinical practice as it embraces and enhances new technologies the multidisciplinary team approach to healthcare. By leveraging existing McLean Care frameworks, we can adapt our practices to ensure they meet existing and emerging virtual healthcare requirements. We also have the opportunity to see first-hand the amazing difference this platform can bring to regional, rural and remote Australians, and follow their journey alongside them in real time.
Is it scalable?
Preliminary findings from studies in July showed that iAgeHealth “significantly reduced wait times to access services, improved clinical and health outcomes, enhanced holistic healthcare management through a multidisciplinary team model and delivered high levels of resident satisfaction,” according to McLean Care. .
“It is important to be clear that iAgeHealth will not replace the physical workforce, but can support them and provide a safe, viable alternative when registered nurses are not available on site,” emphasizes CEO Sue Thomson.
“Consider vacation and health coverage; finding a qualified nurse at the last minute or for a short period of time is not easy, and agency nurses and FIFO (first come, first in) models are costly and can be harmful are for the continuity of care for residents. The service can even provide peer support for locations with less experienced registered nurses, or where access to certain specializations such as wound care will result in improved clinical outcomes,” she further explained.
McLean Care is now preparing for a full national rollout of iAgeHealth next month, December. When asked whether the service can be scaled up sustainablyThomson said:
“Yes, iAgeHealth is not just a clinical workforce solution in Australia; it is a global solution. There are global shortages of registered nurses and allied healthcare in rural and remote locations around the world. We built iAgeHealth on the premise that this is not just a retirement home solution for healthcare workers, but a global solution for healthcare workers that can deliver virtual care, anytime, anywhere.”
“As we have gone through internal testing and external pilots and have now achieved full commercial release, we continue to scale and have now delivered thousands of hours of care, with the number of consultations increasing weekly. We work with strong partners in technology, research, and business to add a new layer of scrutiny to our growth forecasts. These are exciting times (ahead) for iAgeHealth.”