Australia’s Star Rating System in Residential Aged Care: What Should We Expect? 

Thursday 13 October 2022

11:45am – 12:15pm

Speaker Bio

JC is a Registered Nurse committed to improving resident care outcomes and operational efficiency. His particular interest and expertise in aged care motivates him to seek innovative ways to address challenges operators face amidst significant regulatory change and increased consumer demands. Currently as Principal at Pride Living and Non- Executive Director at Menarock LIFE, JC engages with residents, staff, providers and industry in designing frameworks and strategy on how services adapt to industry reform. JC also holds post- graduate qualifications in Nursing and is a member of the Australian Association of Gerontology and the Sigma Theta Tau International Honour Society of Nursing.

Abstract 

The inaugural star rating system into residential aged care will come into effect by the end of the year, yet little is known on how this would impact the industry when applied in the Australian context.  A similar system has been in place in the United States since 2008 and their adoption paints a picture on how the industry has learned to adapt to this new benchmark. The realisation of this in Australia may mirror that of the US given their comparable rating systems. A key theme that emerged from literature review highlighted that while the ratings help empower consumer choice and stimulate market competition, it may not accurately portray the quality of care provided, decreasing public confidence in the system. Australia’s rating system comprises of four sub- categories, namely quality indicators, compliance ratings, consumer experience and care minutes. The quality indicators and care minutes are self- reported data sets whereas consumer experience and compliance ratings are independently assessed. How do we ensure our rating system remains reliable and valid? Accounting for 27% of the overall rating score, having two out of four categories self- reported should prompt providers to review existing systems and processes to ensure that data is captured effectively and efficiently for external reporting; otherwise, their service’s ratings will be inaccurately represented, either falsely inflated or diminished. An in- depth scrutiny of how a service captures and manages their quality indicators and AN-ACC (Australian National Aged Care Classification) scores would help achieve this.