Understanding the National Quality Indicators
Understanding the Quality Indicators
The National Aged Care Mandatory Quality Indicator Program (QI Program) was launched by the Australian government in July of 2019.
This initiative was designed to improve the quality of care in residential aged care facilities by mandating routine reporting on specific indicators.
The current Quality Indicators are:
- Pressure Injuries
- Physical Restraint
- Unplanned Weight Loss
- Falls and Major Injuries
- Medication Management
- Quality of Life and Consumer Experience
- Hospitalisation and Emergency Department Visits
- Pressure Injury Prevention Measures
- Daily Living Activities
- Advance Care Planning
- Pain Management
The QI Program is mandatory for all residential aged care providers. Providers must collect data on each of the indicators and submit this data to the government every three months via the Government Provider Management System.
Not only is this data reported to the government, but it is also made publicly available via the My Aged Care website. This fosters strong accountability and organisational transparency, providing older Australians and their families with access to this information when making decisions regarding where to send their loved one.
Changes to the Quality Indicators
As of the 1st of April 2025, three new quality indicators will be introduced to the QI Program.
These new quality indicators are:
- Enrolled Nurse Care Minutes
- Allied Health Care Minutes
- Lifestyle Officers’ Engagement Time
This will bring the total number of quality indicators up to fourteen.
The addition of dedicated staffing indicators is reflective of the crucial role staff play in the delivery of high-quality care.
It is designed to strengthen workforce accountability, and forms part of a broader industry initiative to improve care quality and person-centeredness, which we are seeing with the introduction of a new Aged Care Act and strengthened Quality Standards.
What does this mean for aged care providers?
Aged care providers will need to collect data on a wider range of indicators.
It will be beneficial for aged care providers to look at ways in which their care management system can automatically collect data on some of the quality indicators. This will help to prevent frontline staff from becoming further overburdened with administrative duties that they must balance with their primary role which is the delivery of high-quality care. Manual data entry is not only time consuming but prone to errors in transcription.
Once collected, data must then be collated and submitted at the end of each reporting quarter.
Find out how the OneTouch Health platform can assist providers in adhering to the National Quality Indicator Program in our next blog, coming soon.
