Technology Roadmap 2.0 – Responding to the Reforms and Positioning with New and Emerging Technology & Innovations

Wednesday 12 October 2022

2:00pm – 2:30pm

Speaker Bio

Dr George Margelis is a medical practitioner who has been deeply involved in technology for the last 30 years. Originally trained as an optometrist, he started tinkering with computers in 1981 when he bought his first PC, a Sinclair ZX80 before going back to medical school to complete his training at the University of Sydney. He was Chief Information Officer (CIO) of a private hospital group as well as managing an innovative software development team that produced a personal health record for Australians 10 years before the PCEHR.

In 2013 he was appointed an Adjunct Associate Professor at the University of Western Sydney with the TeleHealth Research & Innovation Laboratory (THRIL). In 2014 he was appointed to the IT in Aged Care Hall of Fame for his work in the use of technology in aged care.

Abstract 

In 2017, the Aged Care Industry Information Technology Council published the Technology Roadmap for Aged Care in Australia recognising the need for technology to underpin the delivery of aged care services and ensure independence, choice, and control for consumers. The report acknowledged three issues: population ageing that has never been experienced at the same level; the rapid development of new technologies; and reform of the aged care sector that fundamentally changes how older Australians will be supported.

Following the release of the industry’s first roadmap, the Aged Care Industry Information Technology Council has assisted in enhancing the position of the Australian aged care industry for a vibrant and sustainable future. This work stimulates research, evidence gathering, and the development of practical demonstration projects designed to explore how greater innovation and technological uptake will help to improve the quality of the aged care industry in Australia.

These projects have included:

• Aged and Community Sector Technology and Innovation Practice: A Report on what the Research and Evidence is Indicating (2019). A summary of the contemporary evidence (2016 – 2019) of impactful and quality technology and innovation which provides the latest and greatest to inform strategic thinking.

• Capabilities in Aged & Community Care Readiness: An Evaluation of Innovation & Technology (CARE-IT) (2020). Aimed at assessing the innovation and technology capabilities and readiness of the aged and community care industry in five key areas (1) Business Support and Administration, (2) Reporting and Online Access to Government (3) Surveillance and Monitoring Technologies (4) Telehealth and (5) Smart Care at Home Technologies.

• A National Network of Living Labs for the Aged and Community Care Industry (2020 – unpublished). An international research project which identified the leading-edge components for the development of a national network of living labs specially focused on improving the quality and safety of the aged and community care sector.

• Residential Aged Care Facilities Use of Clinical Software (2021- unpublished). In collaboration with the Australian Digital Health Agency, the research project identified a range of challenges and barriers for residential aged care providers when adopting clinical software in their practice.