Since October 2024, new mandates regarding care minutes in aged care require Australian facilities to provide 215 minutes of direct care per resident daily. To meet these mandates, providers must implement precise, easy-to-use systems that support the accurate measurement and reporting of care minutes in aged care.  Austco’s Tacera Nurse Call System, combined with Pulse reports and clinical workflow solutions, provides a comprehensive approach to accurately tracking care minutes provided by personal care workers (PCWs), assistants in nursing (AINs), registered nurses (RNs), and enrolled nurses (ENs).

At Acetek, we bring over 25 years of expertise in healthcare technology solutions and integration. Our experience is essential in helping aged care providers implement and optimise their systems to meet compliance obligations.  We specialise in nurse call analytics, real-time location tracking, and clinical workflow solutions, ensuring seamless integration of Austco’s platforms with existing facility infrastructure. This end-to-end support enables aged care facilities to meet care minutes in accordance with aged care requirements while enhancing care quality and operational performance.

Contact Acetek today to discuss how we can help your Aged Care facility stay compliant and record care minutes accurately.

Austco’s Clinical Workflow enhances the Tacera Nurse Call System with customisable in-room touchscreens featuring virtual buttons. These interfaces allow staff to log specific care activities, such as rounding, pain assessments, or direct care tasks, in real-time. This ensures every care interaction is recorded accurately, supporting care minute tracking.

The system bi-directionally integrates with EMRs, automatically updating resident charts when care activities are logged. For instance, when a nurse documents a rounding or pain assessment on the touchscreen, it is instantly reflected in the electronic medical record (EMR). This integration reduces administrative workload, minimises documentation errors, and ensures precise recording of care minutes.

Starting 1 October 2024, the Australian Government will permit enrolled nurses (ENs) to provide up to 10% of the RN care minutes. In facilities with a 44-minute RN care minute target, ENs can now contribute up to 4.4 minutes. This policy change offers staffing flexibility while maintaining compliance. Austco’s Tacera Nurse Call System adapts seamlessly to this update. The customisable touchscreens and Pulse Reports enable facilities to track and differentiate care minutes provided by RNs, ENs, and personal care workers, ensuring adherence to the updated standards and aged care minutes responsibilities.

The Real-Time Locating System (RTLS) enhances care tracking by automatically detecting staff presence. Nurses wear badges that interact with in-room sensors, logging their location and time spent with residents. This system records data on room visits, response times, and care durations without manual input, creating a comprehensive audit trail of care activities.

The Clinical Workflow solution allows in-room touchscreens to be customised to document specific care tasks, such as medication administration or wound care. Each action is time-stamped and linked to the resident’s profile.

Pulse Reports compiles data from the nurse call system, RTLS, and Clinical Workflow to produce comprehensive reports. Administrators can review metrics like response times, time spent on care activities, and specific tasks performed. These reports support compliance with care minute requirements and aid in quality improvement initiatives across departments or entire facilities.

At Acetek, we specialise in implementing advanced healthcare technology solutions tailored specifically for aged care settings. With over 25 years of experience, we offer comprehensive, end-to-end services — from integration design and project management to installation and ongoing customer support. Our expertise in nurse call analytics, real-time location systems, and detailed reporting enables aged care facilities to meet regulatory standards, enhance operational efficiency, and improve the quality of care.

By partnering with Acetek, aged care providers can significantly reduce the administrative burden of care minute compliance, allowing staff to focus more on delivering exceptional care to residents.

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