Aged care industry offers drive more software options for better-connected and continuous care for older Australians
Published 1 August 2024
Initiative: 1.1.03 - Assist software vendors to connect residential aged care facilities to My Health Record
Lead: Australian Digital Health Agency
Digital health supports the provision of safe, high-quality care and facilitates the transition between providers and settings. Health information should travel with people across their health and wellbeing journey, particularly those living in residential aged care.
Partnering with software vendors that develop clinical information systems (CIS) and electronic medication management systems (eMMS) for residential aged care ensures their products will become conformant with the My Health Record system and related functionality including the new Aged Care Transfer Summary (ACTS). This is being delivered through Aged Care Industry Offers for aged care CIS and eMMS vendors.
Registration support is also provided to residential aged care providers to help with their connection to My Health Record.
Our collective aim is to drive better continuity of care for Australians living in residential aged care by ensuring health and care information is effectively communicated in a timely way to family, authorised representatives, aged care staff and health professionals involved in their care. This is especially important during the transition of care between the residential aged care home and the hospital.
Progress so far
The first Aged Care Industry Offer (ACIO 1) ran from 2021 to 2023 and resulted in 13 software vendors with products that are My Health Record conformant and integrated with the Healthcare Identifiers Service.
Considerable progress has been made since the release of ACIO1, with Australians and residential aged care providers increasingly connected and viewing information. As of 30 June 2024, 37% of aged care facilities are registered for My Health Record and 8% are actively using it.
The second Aged Care Industry Offer (ACIO 2) is already underway. It targets similar conformance requirements and introduces the capability for software products to support the upload of the new ACTS documents into My Health Record. This functionality responds directly to recommendations 66 and 68 from the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety. By facilitating the digital capture of peoples' key health information, the ACTS will streamline the sharing of information when a person transfers to an acute care setting, such as a hospital.
Software vendors participating in ACIO 2 are expected to achieve conformance by mid-2025.
Browse the My Health Record Conformance Register to see which software products are conformant.
Read more about supporting connected care in residential aged care on our website.
Outcome 1: Digitally enabled
This initiative relates to Outcome 1: Digitally enabled of the National Digital Health Strategy which is focused on health and wellbeing services that are connected, safe and sustainable.
Strategy Delivery Roadmap
For more information, refer to Roadmap Initiative 1.1.03.