Australia’s first electronic screening and risk prediction tool for aged care residents has won Cooperative Research Australia's 'Award for Impact' in recognition of its positive impact on aged care health and safety.

The digital tool was developed by RMIT University and Telstra Health, in collaboration with the Digital Health Cooperative Research Centre, and is used to detect deterioration in the health of residents.

The technology introduces clinical decision support software to predict deterioration, a feature already used in hospitals, into the residential aged care setting.

It can also monitor both structured and free-text patient records for 36 indicators of deterioration, making it the most reliable tool of its kind.

The tool provides aged care staff with a frailty index for each resident, and can also identify the risk of falls, depression, and  even mortality.

Data scientist and RMIT project lead Dr Tabinda Sarwar said the project involved solutions for different aged care homes, each with their own expectations and procedures.

The tool has "the capacity to impact more than 60,000 elderly residents in Australian aged care homes,” she said.

Telstra Health’s Chief Health Officer, Dr Monica Trujillo, said the tool has the potential to substantially improve resident monitoring in residential aged care without putting an additional burden on staff.

Data from the tool will be integrated into Telstra Health’s Clinical and Care Management software.