Recent changes to the Aged Care Quality Standards (strengthened standards) will impact how aged care providers deliver clinical care to older people. This will have a strong focus on improving clinical quality and safety.
These changes may impact General Practitioners (GPs) who often need to interact with aged care providers who deliver services to the patient either at home or in a residential aged care service.
The strengthened standards emphasise medication safety, with specific attention to reducing the impact of polypharmacy and the use of psychotropic medications. Strengthened Standard 3: Personal care and clinical care focuses on high risk and high prevalent clinical risks for an older population. This includes:
- comprehensive care
- medication reviews
- swallowing and choking problems
- dementias and cognitive impairment
- falls and mobility
- continence
- nutrition and hydration
- mental health
- oral health
- pain, pressure injuries and wounds
- sensory impairment.
As a result, aged care providers might request the assistance of the client’s GP in medication reviews to help reduce risk to clients. These requests will be crucial in helping aged care providers to meet their new accreditation standards and ensuring the best possible outcomes for patients with improved collaboration with GPs and aged care providers.
There are also new requirements for aged care providers in improving clinical governance, supporting end of life and palliative care in collaboration with family and carers, general practice or other primary palliative care services.
The Australian Commission on Quality and Safety in Health Care was responsible for developing this Standard for aged care accreditation. They also align with the RACGP Silver Book and the National Safety and Quality Primary and Community Healthcare Standards.
The Strengthened Standards are expected to be enacted in the aged care sector from July 2025. Only home care and residential aged care providers offering clinical services, such as nursing, need to be accredited against these changed standards.
For further information about the standards, visit agedcarequality.gov.au/providers/quality-standards
