New ideas in the aged care sector have helped many people. In the last few years, you have seen many new solutions for old problems. This is a good thing. It shows that people are working hard to help older Australians live better lives. But as you look at these new tools, you must ask a big question: is there a plan behind the change?
Aged care innovation is about more than just buying the latest gadget. It is about making sure that every change you make has a clear goal. If you change things just for the sake of change, you might lose what makes care special. You need to be purposeful. You need to know what you want the future of your service to look like.
The Current State of Aged Care Innovation
Right now, the sector is full of new projects. Many of these projects focus on physical health. For example, Aged Care Research and Industry Innovation Australia (ARIIA) has funded work to help with:
- Improving sleep quality for older adults.
- Better oral health care.
- Helping staff stay in their jobs longer.
- Finding medical emergencies like delirium faster.
These are all great goals. They help the people you support stay healthy and safe. But health is only one part of a good life. A person also needs to feel connected to others. They need to feel respected. As you look at aged care innovation, you must think about the whole person. You must think about their spirit and their social life, not just their body.
Avoiding a Piecemeal Approach to Change
The Royal Commission spoke about the dangers of a "piecemeal approach." This means fixing small parts of a system one by one without looking at the big picture. When you do this, the system becomes hard to use. It becomes a mess of rules and tools that do not work well together.
Lachie Green, a researcher in the field, warns that we might be doing this with new technology. He says that if we just stitch together new tools, we might create a "Frankenstein's sector." This is a sector made of many parts that do not belong together.
To avoid this, you need a unifying vision. You need to know the "end state" you want to reach. Before you add a new piece of technology, ask yourself:
- Does this fit with our other tools?
- Does this make life simpler for our staff?
- Does this help the resident feel more at home?
If you do not have a plan, you are just making "piecemeal adjustments." As the Royal Commission said: "Piecemeal adjustments and improvements have not achieved, and will not achieve, the change that is required."
The Risk of a Tech-Only Future
Some people worry that technology will replace humans in care. Robert Sparrow wrote a famous paper in 2016 called Robots in aged care: a dystopian future?. He talked about a future where:
- Digital screens replace windows.
- There are no humans in the home, only robots.
- Family only visits through a video screen.
- All care is handled by a call center far away.
In this story, the residents might look happy. They have everything they need for their bodies. But Sparrow says this is not a good life. He says: "We need to be extremely careful about concluding that a person’s life is going well just because they are realising their desires."
Humans are social beings. We need to be seen and known by other humans. If you use too much technology, you might take away the human touch. You might take away the "social recognition" that every person deserves. This is why your aged care innovation must be careful. You must make sure that tools help humans connect, rather than standing in the way.
How AI in Aged Care Fits Your Strategy
One of the biggest changes today is the use of AI in aged care. This technology can do many things. It can look at data to find health risks. It can help with paperwork so your staff has more time.
When you use AI in aged care, you should use it to support your people. It should not be a way to cut out human contact. Instead, it should be a tool that gives your staff more time to sit and talk with residents.
Here are some ways you can use AI with intent:
- Use it to track health patterns so you can act early.
- Use it to make schedules that work better for staff and residents.
- Use it to handle simple tasks that take up too much time.
The goal is to use the machine to handle the data so the humans can handle the care. This is how you use aged care innovation to make things better for everyone.
Using Your Mission as an Ethical Compass
How do you know which new tools to pick? There are so many options. It can feel like you are lost in a forest. This is why you need an ethical compass. Your mission and vision statements are that compass.
Every time a new idea comes your way, hold it up to your mission. If your mission is to provide "person-centered care," ask if the new tool really helps the person. If it just makes things cheaper but makes the resident feel lonely, it does not fit your mission.
Each time you pick a new way of working, you are making a statement. You are saying: "This is what I want the future to look like." You have the power to shape that future. You can choose a future that is cold and full of machines. Or you can choose a future that uses machines to make the world warmer for older people.
Think about these points when you look at new ideas:
- Does this tool help our residents stay in touch with their families?
- Does this tool respect the privacy of the people we serve?
- Does this tool make our staff feel more proud of their work?
Taking Your Next Steps with Aged Care Innovation
Change is coming, whether you are ready or not. But you can choose how you respond. You do not have to follow every trend. You do not have to buy every new piece of software. You should only move forward when you know it is the right step for your residents.
Aged care innovation is a journey. It is not a race to see who has the most robots. It is a journey to find better ways to love and support the people who built our society. When you innovate with intent, you make sure that the future is a place where everyone wants to live.
Be purposeful in your work. Look at the big picture. Make sure that every new tool helps you reach your goal of high-quality, human care. By doing this, you will build a sector that is not a Frankenstein's mess, but a beautiful home for all.
What is the ideal you want to create? How does your work today help you get there? These are the questions that should guide your every move.
Reference: https://www.australianageingagenda.com.au/technology/are-we-innovating-aged-care-with-intent/
