As the Aged care reform is underway in Australia, there seems to be a sense of uncertainty on what the role of allied health may be after the funding tool transition from ACFI to AN-ACC. Indeed, there are concerns about a lack of direct funding for rehabilitation and reablement services. However, the new model offers a fantastic opportunity to deliver quality, evidence-based programs that match the outcome standards recommended by the Australian Aged Care Royal Commission.
Despite the confusion and concern about the transition period, there is a great potential for Allied Health staff to finally use their training and expertise to deliver best practice care. Best practice evidence shows that exercise works for: falls prevention; restoration and reablement; including for those with cognitive impairment, responding to all key recommendations from the Australian Aged Care Royal Commission. Furthermore, the cost-effectiveness of exercise has been clearly verified by the Sunbeam study showing that the implementation of the structured strength and balance program can result in a cost saving of up to $670 per fall, meaning an estimated saving of $120 million for Australian healthcare economy for the first year due to the short- and long-term benefits.
This webinar, lead by Dr Jennie Hewitt, will discuss the implementation, prescription, and appropriate progression of successful exercise programs for people living with complex conditions and multiple morbidities. Promising pilot study findings on positive outcomes for residents with chronic pain will also be presented. For clinicians we will explore evidence-based exercise for people with a cognitive impairment, sarcopenia, frailty, other complex diagnoses, under AN-ACC, and also present real life case presentations where this approach has changed residents’ lives. For management we will present various ways of implementing and sustainably scaling exercise programs using AN-ACC while surpassing quality standards The webinar will conclude with an extended Q&A with Dr Hewitt.
Webinar video and other material
Below is the video recording of the webinar and the slides from our presenters.