Digital innovation has been at the forefront of discussions around aged care reform and planning for the future ageing population. But Dr George Margelis, the chairman of the Aged Care Industry and Technology Council, is warning against innovating too fast.
He says that without proper training and co-design with residents and staff, implementing technology and time limits on digital changes will only exacerbate inadequate care.
“99.9 per cent of aged care providers that I've met in the last 30 years have amazing passion and empathy for providing better care, and we need to make sure we don’t override that by putting too much pressure on them,” he said.
“As long as we are continuously improving the service, things will fall through the cracks, sometimes things will go wrong, there will be positive days and negative days.
“It will be an ongoing journey.”
Dr Margelis has been involved in the aged care sector for over 20 years and worked closely with the government during the royal commission.
He joined Aged Care Insite to unpack the barriers to digital transformation, care technology in the age of COVID-19 and the rewards of innovation for our ageing population.
Do you have an idea for a story?Email [email protected]