​​Nadège Messier​

​​Grand-App AI Oceania​ 

​​​Nowadays, new technologies are being integrated into the aged care sector. These systems are becoming part of the 'Age-Tech' and offer numerous benefits for older people, caregivers and families in their day-to-day lives.

​New technologies provide real-time monitoring of vital signs, activity levels, and behavioural or environmental conditions, allowing caregivers and family members to respond promptly to emergencies such as falls, health crises, or accidents. These same remote care systems are now considered critical in improving an older person's safety whilst reassuring their caregivers and families.

​Prevention of risks within the home setting can now be calculated using a range of sensors and an Artificial Intelligence (AI) algorithm. Families who live away from their older relatives or older people who prefer to age in place rather than moving to assisted living facilities or move closer to their family which would take them away from their preferred environment, especially benefit from remote sensor technologies.

Many monitoring technologies include features to support communication between older persons, carers, healthcare providers and even families. These functions can facilitate collaboration, coordination of care, and timely communication of important information.

​By using monitoring technologies, seniors can maintain a greater level of independence and be healthy for longer while still receiving support and assistance as needed and according to the changes in their fitness levels.

​As children, nieces, nephews, and siblings, we all want our loved ones, our older people, to age well and be happy. We can acknowledge that changes in health conditions are a natural part of aging. Continuous monitoring enables the early detection of health issues or behavioural changes, allows timely intervention and treatment and can improve general health outcomes and support wellbeing.

​Additionally, these systems collect valuable data, which can be used to create customised care plans tailored to each older person's needs. An individualised plan ensures that each person receives the right care and support, optimising their overall health and quality of life. The data collected by these monitoring technologies can provide valuable insights into the seniors' health trends and patterns over time. This information can also guide data-driven decision-making regarding their care, lifestyle modifications, and treatment plans.

​Financially automated monitoring systems can streamline caregiving tasks, saving the effort of carers, seniors and families, increasing efficiencies and saving time for everyone involved. More than anything, it allows carers to focus on providing quality care and spending meaningful time with their older clients and residents. In addition, by helping prevent emergencies and hospitalisations, monitoring technologies can reduce healthcare costs for individuals and their families. Although it can appear expensive to set up initially, these can still potentially represent long-term savings for the older person and the health system.
 
Overall, new monitoring technologies empower seniors to age in place safely and comfortably while providing invaluable support to caregivers and peace of mind to families.​

*The views and opinions expressed in Knowledge Blogs are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of ARIIA, Flinders University and/or the Australian Government Department of Health and Aged Care.

Phillip De Bondi

South Australian Virtual Care Service (SAVCS) - SA Health

Background

The South Australian Virtual Care Service (SAVCS) was established in December 2021, offering the South Australian Ambulance Service (SAAS) direct access to Emergency Department (ED) trained clinicians via a virtual consult. The intent was to avoid inappropriate transfers to the state's emergency department by effectively bringing the senior clinical staff to the patient via video conferencing.

SAVCS data demonstrated that approximately 16% of all referrals to the service from SAAS came from Residential Aged Care Facilities (RACF). It was observed that this cohort often had significant delays with waiting for transport to the hospital, waiting at the hospital, and waiting to be transported back home. Evidence from the 2019 Royal Commission into Aged Care noted that residents do not always achieve good outcomes by attending a hospital and that thousands of inappropriate ‘000’ calls come from RACF.

SAVCS saw an opportunity to provide direct access to the SA Virtual Care Service senior clinicians for residents residing in aged care to improve the timeliness of care delivery and reduce the need for residents to move to access care and to better support RACF staff. The virtual consult allows people who know the resident best to discuss the scenario with SAVCS’s urgent care staff directly. Virtual consults allow staff, family, and friends to be included on the call regardless of their geographical location.

Service Development Timeline

• June 2022: A co-design workshop was held with key stakeholders, including SAAS, Primary Health Networks, Aged Care providers, and SAVCS, to develop the pathway.

• July 2022: Engaged with a Pilot Provider to roll out the pathway to their sites.

• August 2022: Engaged with Early Adopter Providers to ensure the initial success of the pathway was not unique to the Pilot Provider.

• October 2022: Opened the SAVCS pathway to all RACF across SA.

Outcomes

At the time of writing, SAVCS has had 1,318 virtual consults with RACF residents across South Australia. 84% of RACF residents will have their care managed with alternate pathways to a traditional emergency department, including offering care in place (66%) of residence without needing to be transported at all. The consulting time for a SAVCS consult is 43 minutes (median) and is far less than the traditional pathway of involving SAAS, transport to ED and time to access, and assessment of bricks-and-mortar ED while avoiding the risk of hospital-acquired complications. SAVCS is safe, with no significant incidents since inception.

Future

We are progressing with the expansion of the pathway to get more RACF to utilise the service. Whilst over 80% of aged care providers have registered to use SAVCS, 40% remain to utilise the service. SAVCS plans to improve this with continued engagement and co-design with our RACF partners. SAVCS is working with partners on opportunities to understand and further support upskilling of RACF nurses in gaining experience in acute assessment. The direct interaction between onsite referring clinicians and SAVCS specialist clinicians is a unique offering to SAVCS.

For more information, please contact: Phillip De Bondi at Phillip.debondi2@sa.gov.au

*The views and opinions expressed in Knowledge Blogs are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of ARIIA, Flinders University and/or the Australian Government Department of Health and Aged Care.