Issue 4
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In our last issue we shared some recommendations from the National Health and Hospital Reform Commission regarding eHealth and what this means for the aged care industry. You may have
been overwhelmed by the recommendations if you are yet to implement a software solution and wondering where to begin.
One of the best things you can do to understand what an eHealth system means to your organisation is to do a cost/benefit study that will allow you to uncover the total cost of implementing a system.
The analysis will identify the benefits that will be achieved and ultimately your return on investment.
A cost/benefit study is a great way to share with your Board and key stakeholders what an eHealth system means for your organisation.
Chris Gray - Managing Director, iCare
Are you a smaller aged care provider with the belief that you will not recognise the full benefits of implementing an electronic system as a larger provider would?
This is a common myth. Smaller providers are implementing software and enjoying the same benefits larger organisations experience. The key to their success is scalability of the software solution they are
choosing and a well executed implementation process to ensure sustainability.
Cedar Place Aged Care Facility is a prime example of this. Cedar Place implemented iCare’s Clinical and Care Solution in
their 66 bed facility in regional Australia. By providing contemporary tools to care staff to improve their work practices and assist them in providing the best care possible, Cedar
Place have experienced improved funding, improvements in the quality of documentation and increased staff retention.
Cedar Place also recently won the Implementation of the Year category at the ITAC 2009 awards. The award recognises Aged and Community Care Providers and their implementation partners that
have effectively used ICT to improve business outcomes in the Australian Aged and Community Care environment.
Case Study - To read the complete case study on Cedar Place Aged Care Facility and how they implemented iCare’s Clinical and Care Solution
click here.
Your View -
Cedar Place Aged Care Facility - Mary Henry, Facility Manager
eHealth to me means that eventually all health matters will be accessible by electronic means connecting allied health, medical practitioners, hospitals, aged care facilities, pharmacy,
pathology and in some cases, maybe even families.
At this stage eHealth is making information a lot more accessible regarding a resident's health matters that have been documented in our system by allied health and
medical practitioners. When a resident’s family call to see how they are I can now bring the information up on my laptop and immediately share it with them. This is much more professional and effcient than having to call back or leaving my office to go and find notes in other parts of the building.
I would hope that in the not too distant future we here at Cedar Place will have our system connected to allied health, medical practitioners, hospitals and pharmacy to create smooth
processes for supply of scripts, medication, transfers, discharge from hospitals and test results. This will allow the registered nurses and carers to do more caring and thus a better result for residents.
 Pdf version for print.
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