Did your aged care Star Rating miss the mark? The initial release of aged care provider performance via a Star Rating at the end of 2022 revealed that only 1% of providers achieved a 5-star rating, while the majority, comprising 59%, received a modest 3-star ‘acceptable’ rating.
So, what sets apart the few who attained the highest rating, and does it truly make a difference?
In this article, we explore the aspects that distinguished the 1%-ers from the rest. We’ll analyse the factors influencing 5-star rating in senior care facilities, the potential impact on providers, quality improvement strategies for a higher 5-star rating, then look at best-in-class technology to enhance 5-star rating in aged care.
Why was the Aged Care Star Rating Introduced?
The Aged Care 5-Star Rating system was implemented in Australia to provide transparency and essential information to customers, so they can make informed decisions about their care by comparing the quality of different aged care homes.
The star rating system serves as a catalyst for continuous improvement to achieve best practices in senior care management in Australia through person-centered care.
To support this effort, the ‘Find a Provider’ tool on the My Aged Care website makes it simple for individuals comparing 5-star rated aged care facilities in Australia.
Factors Influencing 5-star Rating in Senior Care Facilities
The system assesses the performance of elderly care providers in Australia across four nationally consistent quality of care performance areas: Compliance, Quality Measures, Residents’ Experience, and Staffing.
These assessments are conducted based on standardised evaluation criteria set by the Australian Care Quality and Safety Commission (ACQSC). These are designed to play a pivotal role in monitoring and improving elderly health and well-being in residential care facilities.
When understanding quality measures in the 5-star rating system it’s important to know the ACQSC uses a number of methods and systems to inform a provider’s overall star rating.
Here’s a breakdown of how the rating information is collected on the key performance areas:
- Compliance: The ACQSC assesses an aged care provider’s performance and history in complying with government care regulations and standards.
- Residents’ Experience: Face-to-face surveys are conducted with at least 10% of residents across all residential aged care homes.
- Staffing: Data on staffing is collated from the Quarterly Financial Report, focusing on registered nurses, enrolled nurses, personal care workers, and assistants in nursing.
- Quality Measures: Information reported through the National Aged Care Mandatory Quality Indicator Program captures the number of care minutes delivered, the respectful treatment of residents by staff, and incidents of falls and significant injuries.
The ACQSC calculates a star rating from 1 to 5 for each performance area: 5-stars being excellent and 1-star being significant improvement needed in that area.
A provider’s overall star rating is then determined, again between 1 and 5, which considers the weighting assigned to each performance area. A high overall star rating indicates a provider is delivering high quality of care across the care quality performance areas.
In What Ways Can the Aged Care Rating System Affect Providers?
Aged care providers are striving to achieve higher star ratings to attract customers in this increasingly competitive sector.
The industry’s 5-star rating system has far-reaching implications for aged care providers:
- Reputation: A favourable rating may attract more residents as it signifies excellence in aged care, while a lower rating can lead to decreased occupancy rates.
- Funding: Government funding programs for aged care can be affected, and this funding allows providers to invest in resources, staff training, and facility improvements.
- Compliance: There are compliance requirements for maintaining 5-star rating in aged care. Failing to submit compliance reporting on time or adequately results in a Compliance Rating of 1 or 2 stars and an overall Star Rating capped at 1 or 2 stars.
- Quality Improvement: Understanding quality measures in the 5-star rating system is This rating indicates if a provider uses performance feedback to identify gaps and implement necessary changes to enhance quality of care and strengthen their practices.
By meeting specific criteria and standards, providers can ensure a safe and high-quality care environment, and mitigate the risk of penalties, negative assessments, and potential reputational damage.
Using Technology to Enhance 5-Star Rating in Aged Care
When implementing best practices for achieving higher 5-star rating in Australia, the sector is increasingly turning to purpose-built technology solutions for aged care providers.
Let’s explore how an Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system can support improving 5-star rating in Australian residential aged care:
- Quality of Care: With real-time access to resident data an industry-specific ERP system enables providers to excel in personalised care planning, and meet their physical, emotional, and social needs throughout their whole aged care journey.
- Staffing: With an ERP built for aged care, providers can efficiently allocate, roster and schedule care staff based on their availability, qualifications, and specific resident care plans. The capacity to forecast staffing requirements enables better resource planning, workload balancing, and staff cost optimisation overall supporting improved workforce management in Australian aged care.
- Infrastructure and Facilities: A purpose-built aged care ERP can help ensure a facility meets aged care regulations in Australia by maintaining records, tracking certifications, and generating reports required for audits or inspections. Asset and inventory management, maintenance and repairs can all be ERP-tracked and managed.
- Governance and Management: Best-in-class aged care software provides all the required functionality to manage the governance, marketing, administration, operations, client, procurement, document management, and financial aspects of an aged care organisation.
- Continuous Improvement: A commitment to proactive and ongoing quality improvement by delivering innovations in care delivery for better 5-star rating is a hallmark of top-rated aged care providers. Providers that use integrated and holistic ERP software have better visibility into all business areas to see and seize opportunities and make informed decisions.
- Compliance with Regulations: Fit-for-purpose ERP software simplifies reporting on Aged Care Quality Standards with accurate and timely documentation. They can enable automated up-to-date reporting routines and include regular software updates to align with changes to Australian Aged Care legislation.
- Consumer Feedback: There is a strong focus on the importance of resident feedback in the 5-star rating system. Providers can manage customer interactions through an aged care industry-specific ERP with built-in customer relationship management functionality. Features for collecting and storing feedback, provide insights into customer preferences and experiences that are necessary for continuous improvement.
Ultimately, an industry-specific ERP system can prove vital in helping aged care providers achieve higher star ratings by promoting customer-centric operations, improving overall performance, and adhering to quality standards.
Aged Care Customer Success Stories
Follow the links below to find out why some of Precise’s Aged Care Provider customers chose Epicor’s Senior Living Solution as their ERP software and what business improvements, wins, and successes they experienced.
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