Are you an aged care provider losing sleep over allied health? Bec can help!

AAC Health Group’s Better Elder Care – Bec – model is an industry first, quality, and compliant solution for allied health staffing and funding issues. Bec has aged care reform compliant forms, systems, and care minute tracking for both allied health professionals (AHP) and RNs time working with them, exercise programs and much more to assist meeting Department of Health and Aged Care and Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission and others’ expectations.

Bec as you will see in this example below, also significantly decreases allied health spend (1/3 on average for RACF, as low as $2.50 a resident per a day, $10 for a 4 day, and $12.50 for a five-day week to have a visiting allied health professional). Bec works in community too.

What allied health was being provided under ACFI and for how long?

At this 48-bed rural facility in the Mackay region of Queensland, AAC has been there since 2021, and we have been in the region since 2016. In the whole region, finding and keeping allied health had always been a huge problem.

They have now had reliable ongoing allied health from AAC since 2021, and 2016 in the wider region, by our physios and OTs, one of them affectionately known by the residents and staff as “Rambo”! The care AAC alone provides the facility equated to just under 7 minutes a resident a day from our company alone, so with other AHP they were regularly meeting the department’s expectations of 8 minutes a resident per a day of AHP.

In this Q & A following, the facility manager shares the impact Bec has had.

What was the spend on allied health previously?

$140,400 per year for onsite Physio/OT.

How much does this facility pay now for Bec?

The same rate if they do not pass on in any form. But in the Bec model below, they can now spend one-third of previous allied health on mandatory items, and a package offset if eligible by private health, NDIS, Medicare and family. We have a safety net for pensioners too. This is a saving of $92,664 per year, or $1782 a week.

What type of allied health Bec treatments can this facility or others have?

Anything that the facility and its residents want each week! It can be specific exercise classes like the pelvic floor rehabilitation class being planned to help residents (and care staff) management of incontinence, or a Parkinson’s disease specific program for these residents intensively over 6 weeks for example. We can take residents out to the local heated aquatic centre, do specific rehabilitation using parallel bars and falls prevention equipment. Manual handling, pain management, equipment prescription etc

Can the Bec treatments be changed and how long does that take? What is the cost to do that?

Yes Bec is super flexible, so all these services can be changed easily each week, and even within sessions, and at no increased cost! And everyone gets access to exercise, group and individual regardless of funding.

Can you sign off on allied health assistants doing massages or exercises instead that a facility wants to provide rather than AHPs at a lower cost?

Yes, but with some conditions. We can and DT/AO/lifestyle and others in roles involving areas traditionally done by allied health professionals are important to cover us for insurance and to lower overall allied health costs. However, we cannot risk you, us, your residents and our reputations by doing anything other than a quality model of care, as we and our therapists would be liable under insurance, claims and AHPRA if we did.

How is that facility communicating BEC and allied health after 1 October with their staff and residents?

Open meetings with residents and families. They are clear on what is being paid for and what is not i.e., falls assessments, reviews, are mandatory facility spend, and there are optional extras a resident can pay for or use if eligible private health, NDIS, DVA, Medicare care plans.

No need to wait

Some aged care homes might be thinking: “I would rather wait until the industry and government is clearer on how they will fund physio and allied health.”

Well, that is of course a facility’s choice. This facility in the example above did not choose to wait, nor did the 14 others who have Bec contracts right now, and dozens more considering it. They know allied health is a valuable service, well thought of by residents, can help falling occupancy levels, and reduce load on the RNs that are so hard to find and keep. They want better star ratings, less falls, time managing meds, behaviours, pain, and side effects of medications, prescribing equipment without allied health there. They also want to be able to sleep easily at night not worried about compliance, complaints, and penalties.

Australia has a $1 trillion dollar debt, and we have seen no signs the political landscape will change to fund allied health after 2 years of intensive lobbying to do so. The risk of waiting is that allied health is not easy to find anyway, they have lots of higher paid options in community/NDIS space. If you need them, don’t delay, and get in touch to see how Bec can work at your facility or community organisation. An allied health bird in the hand, is worth two in the bush (and the risk started 1 October).

Want to learn more about Bec and how this could work in for you and your residents? Contact privatepractice@aachealthgroup.com.au or call 1300 574 462, and read about more at www.aachealthgroup.com.au/bec-menu.