Innovators in Aged Care: Elyssia Clark on building better care with data

Summary

In this episode of Innovators in Aged Care, our Chief Commercial Officer, Brian McCarthy, sits down with Benetas General Manager of Customer, Insights & Marketing, Elyssia Clark, to explore the transformative impact of technology and innovation in the aged care sector.

Elyssia shares her perspective on trends such as data aggregation, remote monitoring and AI-driven tools that are enhancing care delivery and helping to address workforce challenges. She highlights how these advancements are not only improving operational efficiency but also enabling providers to deliver more personalised and proactive care for residents.

Whether you're an industry professional or someone curious about the future of aged care, this conversation is a must-listen for insights into how innovation is driving meaningful change in the sector.

Key takeaways

Data aggregation is emerging

Connecting data from multiple sources helps aged care providers understand residents’ health and wellbeing more holistically, but success depends on ensuring high-quality data.

"What we're starting to see more and more of is an ability to start to stitch together data from multiple sources... that enables us to build a more holistic understanding of the health and wellbeing of the clients that we're looking to support," Elyssia said.

Technology can ease workforce challenges

Tools like telehealth, automated rostering and remote monitoring reduce administrative burdens and help staff focus on delivering quality care.

"What we're starting to see now is more opportunities to leverage technology to help streamline and give some efficiencies there. And that then frees up our people to be able to deliver the care our residents and our clients are expecting," Elyssia said.

Resident experience matters

Innovations like interactive tables, voice-activated devices and social robots enhance cognitive engagement, reduce isolation and improve overall wellbeing.

"Some of the things that we've done, obviously with the introduction of Abi the robot into our homes, that's been a really great opportunity to give our residents the experience of technology in quite a new and novel way," Elyssia said.

Collaboration drives progress

Sharing insights and strategies across providers helps the sector adopt technology effectively and avoid common pitfalls.

"I think that there is certainly a lot of opportunity for providers to come together on a more regular basis to share their learnings from a tech perspective," Elyssia said.

Ongoing change management is vital

Introducing new tech requires ongoing support, training and user-friendly design to ensure staff can use it effectively, not just at launch but over time.

"I suggest to people that yes, obviously the day one launch is really important, but really a lot of focus needs to be on year one," Elyssia said.