Abstract
This paper will discuss how information systems work to support the functions of health and aged care organizations in Australia and some of the different ways in which these information systems are able to do so.
Keywords: Australia, information systems, health, aged care, organizations
Information systems encompass both the software and the hardware systems that are used to support data-intensive applications (Elsevier, 2013). As our society becomes more and more technologically advanced and technologically based, it is no surprise that information systems are used across all fields in order to be able to assist in one form or another, and this is no different in Australia’s health and aged care system. Designed to be able to promote a high quality of care, work to protect the health and well-being of the elderly, facilitate aged care services, and plan effectively for the delivery of those services (Australia Productivity Commission, p. 16), Australia’s aged care system has likewise advanced into a more technologically driven organization.
The assessment tools are available online for anyone who needs to be able to download them, as are the forms themselves, all of which may be returned online, making it easier and more convenient for those who are assisting in care of the elderly (Australia Department of Health and Ageing, 2013). Quality assurance arrangements for community care are present within their programs and the reporting process for potential violations is online as well (Australia Department of Health and Ageing, p. 35). Medical records, communication between doctors and nurses, and even communication with family members may all be done through information systems, with all the necessary information stored within a database, ready to be retrieved at the first sign it is needed, and contained in a way that ensures not only ease of retrieval, but ease of comprehension, ease of storage, and a decrease in the amount of physical paperwork that must be kept by offices in a world where the elderly and sick will soon start to outnumber all others.
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- Australia Department of Health and Ageing. (2013). Assessment framework and tool for aged care project. Retrieved from http://www.health.gov.au/internet/main/publishing.nsf/Content/ageing-acat-assessment-framework-tools
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