AI is being rapidly adopted by industries across Australia. With multiple benefits for the healthcare industry to gain – and the Australian Government investing almost $30 million to research new ways AI can improve health services – it’s no surprise that AI is increasingly playing a role in the Australian aged care sector.

An AI era of Aged Care

From removing manual processes and delivering administration automation, to operational efficiencies and improved care team coordination, AI is a potential industry game changer for aged care.

The biggest AI benefit is linked to data and the mass amounts the industry needs to access, manage and collect to provide quality aged care. Unlike other industries, this data isn’t simply used to accelerate growth or optimise business. Its use could mean the difference between life or death, prolonged health or illness.

According to a recent e-health report from the CSIRO and the Digital Health Cooperative Research Centre (DHCRC), connected data and coordinated care across the aged care sector is vital to quality care. The rapid speed of record digitalisation in aged care is making this integration easier, giving AI-enabled systems access to more information – increasing outcome accuracy and reliability.

Looking at the wider industry, 70% of healthcare professionals believe AI will significantly transform  in the next five years. Recent research also revealed that 92% of healthcare leaders see promise in AI-driven efficiencies, with 65% also believing it will enable faster decision making.

Flipping the AI coin, these integrations present some serious considerations – with many aged care leaders believing there is still significant challenges around its use.

Ensuring safe and responsible use of AI

While many Australians are accessing AI-enabled tools every day, one-quarter of Australians between the ages of 50 – 64 believe AI could risk human extinction in the next 20 years. To build community and client trust, transparency about how AI is used will be essential.

Similar to privacy regulations, AHPRA is calling health and aged care professionals to gain informed consent from clients – particularly when it comes to AI tools gathering personal information or recording health conversations.

To keep data protected, careful policies and controls need to govern how, where, and when AI accesses information. Engaging aged care teams in these conversations is key, ensuring they understand how to use AI safely and what guidelines you have as an organisation.

With aged care clients from a diverse range of communities and backgrounds, questions around AI bias and discrimination are also a concern. In aged care, this also extends to ageism with many AI tools developed in line with stereotypical ideas about older generations. While improvements are being made to reduce this, it reinforces the need for a human in the AI loop – reviewing, controlling and making final decisions from AI outputs.

For all these areas, guidelines such as Australia’s AI Ethics Principles are a great tool for aged care organisations. Designed to ensure AI is safe, secure and reliable, the eight principles help professionals reduce AI risks and ensure AI is used to the highest ethical standards.

Creating a culture for AI adoption

The success of AI implementations could reside more with culture than technology changes, with some aged care professionals on the fence when it comes to AI for care. From diminishing professional autonomy to how it could undermine clinical expertise, these are very real fears leaders will need to carefully navigate.

Education and change management strategies will be key when taking aged care teams on the AI journey. By involving them in implementations, your team will feel engaged in the process and more comfortable in AI’s increased use. They will also be able to answer questions from clients with confidence, supporting better client acceptance in the process.

Download all 8 considerations for AI integration into Aged Care here.