Glitch delays star ratings preview data
A glitch in the star ratings system has caused the current provider preview period to be temporarily paused, the department has announced.
An issue with the government’s new aged care IT system has caused the current star ratings preview period to be temporarily paused, the department has announced.
Due to be published on the My Aged Care website on 31 July, the latest quarterly star ratings update has been postponed.
Consequently, the Department of Health and Aged Care has advised residential aged care providers not to take any action at this time.
The delay is due to “an issue” affecting some quality measures ratings available for preview in the Government Provider Management System.
GPMS is an IT system built specifically for aged care providers. Containing the star ratings data, the system is being extended to include 24/7 nurse reporting, provider operations reporting, and quality indicators.
Since its introduction in December 2022, the star ratings system has offered insight into the quality of care delivered by individual aged care homes.
Services are awarded an overall star rating based on four sub-categories:
- residents’ experience
- compliance
- staffing
- quality measures.
Under the star ratings system – which has been established to increase sector transparency and to help older people and their families make informed choices:
- 1 star indicates significant improvement needed
- 2 stars show improvement needed
- 3 stars equal an acceptable quality of care
- 4 stars suggest a good quality of care
- 5 stars highlight an excellent quality of care.
Aged care providers are able to preview their star ratings a fortnight before they become public on the My Aged Care website.
The preview period allows providers to:
- review their star ratings
- fix mistakes in the self-reported quality measures data
- report any technical problems
- communicate the star ratings with residents and staff.
In an email alert to providers, the department said it is working quickly to rectify the star ratings issue and re-establish the provider preview as soon as possible.
“We appreciate your understanding and patience as we work to address these issues and will let you know as soon as the star ratings preview has been restored and a new publication date has been identified,” said the department.
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