National Aged Care Mandatory Quality Indicator Program expanded
Published on 4 October 2022
The National Aged Care Mandatory Quality Indicator Program (QI Program) has been expanded to offer a new set of rules and requirements for aged care service providers, commencing from mid-2023.
In addition to the existing quality indicators, providers will be asked to report on data such as hospitalisations, staff turnover and consumer experience.
The program, which requires Commonwealth-subsidised residential aged care services to collect data and report on a set of quality indicators or standards every three months, can offer useful information on the delivery of quality aged care to service providers at a National, State and Territory level.
Aged care service providers are required to measure, monitor and report important aspects of the quality of care they provide.
The Quality Indicators
The QI Program was updated and expanded on July 1, 2021, which now requires service providers to collect data and report on pressure injuries, the use of physical restraints, unplanned weight loss of aged care residents, falls and major injuries, and medication management, including polypharmacy and antipsychotic drugs.
Announced recently, the program is said to further expand from April 1, 2023, with the implementation of six new quality indicators for residential aged care.
These indicators are said to relate to:
- Activities of daily living – such as the percentage of care recipients who had a decline in activities of daily living
- Incontinence care – such as care recipients who experienced incontinence-associated dermatitis
- Hospitalisation – for residents who had one or more emergency department presentations
- Workforce – like staff turnover
- Consumer experience – For care recipients who report ‘good’ or ‘excellent’ service experiences
- Quality of life – For care recipients who report ‘good’ or ‘excellent’ quality of life
The QI Program can provide nationally comparable data across residential care services and create an evidence base to make quality improvement initiatives simpler in the future.
Your responsibilities
Providers must submit quality indicator data no later than the 21st day of the month after the end of each quarter through the Department of Health’s My Aged Care service provider portal.
If you are a provider that uses another company to submit the data on your behalf, it remains your responsibility for making sure the data is both accurate and submitted by the required dates.
Reports on the quality indicators are published quarterly and annually on the GEN Aged Care Data website by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW).
Individual services cannot be identified in the data.
Rights of residents and their loved ones
Residents and their loved ones can submit a complaint to the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission about their experiences in aged care, the Commission then should reach out to the provider about the issues raised.
A spot check may be conducted at the service to see if there are any other problems of concern, and the Commission can request information from the provider at any time about their compliance with the program.