Industry’s ‘ICT vision’ unveiled on Monday

Government and policy makers will be presented with a comprehensive strategic plan for the adoption of information and communications technology (ICT) in aged care at a major event at Parliament House next week.

Aged care leaders and peak bodies will join politicians and bureaucrats for the launch of aged care’s first-ever ICT Vision, which details a “big picture” view of how government can provide assistance to ensure ICT is fully developed and implemented across aged care services.

The vision was developed by the Aged Care Industry IT Council (ACIITC), a joint initiative of Aged & Community Services Australia (ACSA) and Leading Age Services Australia (LASA), in conjunction with Accenture, a global management consulting, technology services and outsourcing company.

ACIITC said the adoption of ICT was “a critical and cost effective step” in ensuring that age service providers were able to meet the care demands of an increasing population of older Australians.

The enormous potential of ICT in healthcare had already been demonstrated. Telehealth, for example, was enabling home-based consultations and monitoring, providing enhanced healthcare to older Australians, particularly those in rural and remote areas, the council said.

Health professionals including GPs and pharmacists had benefited from government support to improve their ICT services, and ACIITC said that the benefits of ICT in aged care were considerable.

The ICT Vision will be launched by Minister for Social Services Kevin Andrew at Parliament House on Monday.

Follow Australian Ageing Agenda on Twitter for updates from the event. AAA will carry coverage of the event online next week, while full analysis and reaction to the ICT Vision will be published in the upcoming AAA Technology Review Issue 6.