The national home care provider, in partnership with the National Ageing Research Institute (NARI), has launched a first-of-its-kind national framework to help home care providers achieve greater uptake of technology-based services.
The 'Framework for Enabling Technology Supported Aged Care at Home' (FETCH) was launched by the Assistant Minister for Health and Aged Care, the Hon Ged Kearney MP in Melbourne on Wednesday .
The evidence-based framework provides a step-by-step guide to help home care providers implement digital technologies in their service delivery.
It was developed following a series of research projects facilitated by the NARI-led Melbourne Ageing Research Collaboration and made possible through funding from the Aged Care Research and Industry Innovation Australia grants program.
NARI Director of Clinical Gerontology, Associate Professor Frances Batchelor (pictured), said home care providers are still in the early stages of adopting new technologies.
"We’ve heard from in-home aged care providers that there are substantial barriers to introducing technology in the home environment, such as difficulties in encouraging uptake and embedding technology into service delivery processes.
"We joined with Silverchain to develop specific guidance for implementing digital tools in an effective, efficient and person-centred way," she said.
Assistant Minister Kearney said, "Your work on best practice implementation of health-related technology in home care settings perfectly aligns to our strategy and is representative of the kind of sector leadership that represents the best possible future for aged care."
