Aged care data revolution: New report highlights gaps and opportunities
Last updated on 10 March 2025
A new report from the Digital Health CRC and CSIRO’s Australian e-Health Research Centre has revealed both significant progress and ongoing hurdles in the nation’s aged care data landscape.
The report acknowledged the significant reform that has occurred over the past four years following the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety which identified major gaps in data collection and interoperability that the sector is still grappling with.
“The use of data in the Australian aged care environment is complex. Data, or information, is being collected in a breadth of ways and formats to provide care for older adults living at home or in residential aged care facilities (RACF),” the report stated.
“However, The Commission demonstrated that the collection, use, and consideration of data, was not being utilised in a way that benefited all parties accessing, providing, and delivering aged care services.”
Key findings
The report, titled The Australian aged care data landscape: Gaps, opportunities and future directions, highlights that while digital transformation has advanced, major issues persist, including:
- Data silos: Many aged care providers operate with fragmented systems that do not communicate with each other, limiting access to crucial information.
- Integration gaps: Aged care data is not seamlessly connected to Australia’s broader healthcare system, making it difficult for providers to access resident histories and coordinate care.
- Workforce burden: Data collection remains a manual and time-consuming process, adding to staff workloads instead of streamlining operations.
- Quality Indicators: Despite efforts to implement standardised metrics, collecting and delivering quality indicator data in a timely and appropriate manner remains a challenge.
The report does not solely dwell on those challenges, however, identifying key priorities for the sector that will help overcome integration challenges and inefficiencies.
Both organisations – CSIRO’s Australian e-Health Research Centre (AEHRC) and the Digital Health Cooperative Research Centre (DHCRC) – believe that it is essential aged care takes advantage of all available resources and technologies.
“Four years later [after the Royal Commission], substantial advances in digital health technologies have impacted the aged care landscape and it is critical we understand these changes to better improve outcomes for both healthcare workers and patients,” DHCRC Chief Executive Officer Annette Schmied said.
Progress and innovation
The report notes that several initiatives have been introduced to address these challenges, such as the Sparked FHIR Accelerator, which aims to create national data standards for aged care.
The Australian Core Data for Interoperability (AUCDI) roadmap has also been developed to guide future improvements in data exchange and governance and there are many data elements that would support aged care.
Additionally, the sector is increasingly leveraging artificial intelligence (AI) and real-time data capture technologies to enhance efficiency and reduce errors.
However, more work is needed to ensure these tools are widely adopted and properly integrated into existing systems. This includes streamlining how data is stored and shared between settings both internally and externally.
“In discussions with care recipients and care givers, we found that care recipients needed to share details of their care repeatedly because data exchange between their service providers is limited,” AEHRC’s CEO and Research Director Dr David Hansen said.
“If everyone involved in providing and receiving care has access to the same, up-to-date data, everyone is on the same page and older Australians can receive high-quality care.”
Future directions
To overcome current obstacles – such as complex data capture methods and siloed operations – the report outlines several recommendations:
- Improved interoperability: Establishing common data standards across aged care and healthcare to facilitate seamless information sharing.
- Digital literacy and training: Ensuring aged care providers and staff are equipped with the skills to effectively use emerging technologies.
- Government policy alignment: A coordinated national approach to aged care data policy, ensuring alignment with broader healthcare strategies.
- Enhanced data governance: Strengthening cybersecurity and privacy protections in light of evolving regulatory requirements.
It also calls for the opportunity to develop a coordinated support service for aged care users and providers that helps with data collection, analysis and exchange and overall workload reduction.
“In the report we look to lessons learned in the healthcare sector. The knowledge can be applied to data exchange both within the aged care sector and between the two sectors,” Dr Hansen said.
“There is much work to be done to ensure that the aged care sector is brought up to speed in the data realm to ensure improving levels of care, workforce support, and appropriate data is accessible to achieve world class leadership by Australia in aged care research and policy development,” Dr Hansen and Ms Schmiede added in their foreword.
As the aged care sector continues its digital evolution, the findings of this report will likely play a key role in guiding policy decisions and technological advancements, ensuring that data-driven care benefits older Australians and those who support them.
The report’s findings align with the Federal Government’s Aged Care Data and Digital Strategy, which aims to establish a collaborative, standards-based care system where data collection and use is optimised.