Your chance to have say on improvements to My Aged Care site

After a few (significant) bumps along the road, the aged care industry seems more determined than ever to improve facilities and services for all Australians.

Now, the Turnbull government has recently announced a $2.8 million investment in a plan to improve the My Aged Care website. 

The My Aged Care website is a linking platform for older Australians, aged care assessors, service providers, and health care professionals. While it’s already used by more than a million people each year, there are significant improvements required if the website is going to keep pace with increasing demands as the Baby Boomer generation moves through the aged care system in the coming years.

The $2.8 million is in addition to the government’s recent $20 million commitment to My Aged Care. The effects of these investments won’t be immediately visible, however; this latest instalment will be used to provide a business case for how the gateway can be improved rather than improving it right now. 

Australians will get to have their say on what can be improved, though, with the business case slated to “take into account input from consumers, service providers, assessors and health professionals, with the aim of making the website and information service more functional”. There’s no word yet on how consumers will be given the opportunity to contribute. 

Read more: The cutting-edge tech making aged care facilities safer 

One of the main aims of the business case is to isolate ways to provide faster and better-integrated connections to providers for those who have been assessed as in need of care.

More than 2,000 aged care assessors and 3,500 service providers make use of the My Aged Care website, along with thousands of health professionals. These users will also benefit from the improvement with the implementation of more efficient processes that will help to reduce cost pressures. 

Online self-service options will help to improve consumer choice, putting all relevant information in front of users in an easy-to-understand format.

For those who are still a little uncomfortable with the functionality of the website, My Aged Care also has an associated phone line that can help users learn more about the services available for them. 

Have you used the My Aged Care website? What do you think needs improving?