FAQ
Please find below a collection of the most frequently asked questions about the services provided by HealthCube...
General
Tell me more about
HealthCube?
HealthCube is an Australian clinical services company that
offers a range of Services designed to optimise the quality of life of residents of Australian aged care
facilities.
It was conceived by doctors in Canberra who saw a need to better utilise information technology to improve access to and quality of medical care for Australia's growing aged care population.
HealthCube's frontline Preventive Aged Care (PAC) service and Comprehensive Medical Assessment (CMA) service are built on cutting-edge IT to better capture, manage and secure health assessment information for the nation's growing aged care population.
Residents & families
What is HealthCube's Preventive Aged Care (PAC) service?
HealthCube's innovative PAC service is a medical practice servicing the residential aged care industry. But unlike much traditional medical care provided to residents in aged care, this practice features:
- a dedicated aged care focus;
- a strong preventive emphasis;
- a reliable, scheduled physical presence at facilities that offer its services to their residents; and
- Powerful supporting IT tools to streamline service delivery.
The PAC service provides a full suite of high-quality preventive assessments and condition reviews backed by regular scheduled chronic care consultations. The aim is to catch declines in resident health before they become serious, thereby reducing hospital admissions and improving resident quality of life. The cost is fully covered by Medicare.
To find out more about HealthCube's PAC service, click here.
What is a
Comprehensive Medical Assessment (CMA)?
The federal Government encourages CMAs for all elderly
Australians. For residents of aged care facilities the cost is fully met by
Medicare. A CMA involves:
- the compilation of a detailed medical history;
- a thorough medical examination by a GP;
- development of a list of diagnoses or problems; and
- provision of a written summary of outcomes for the resident's medical records.
HealthCube firmly believes annual CMAs are the cornerstone of superior preventive aged care delivery. CMAs give carers vital baseline information on the health status of a resident, and provide an essential knowledge base for development of care and medication plans that optimise quality of life.
All HealthCube PAC service patients receive annual CMAs. HealthCube will also deliver stand alone CMAs to aged care residents where appropriate.
To find out more about CMAs click here.
How much do I have to
pay to receive HealthCube's services?
All medical services delivered through HealthCube's PAC service
are bulk-billed, meaning no out-of-pocket expenses for residents or facilities.
What need does
HealthCube's PAC service address?
Traditional GPs operating under heavy workloads have
difficulty finding time to attend to the complex needs of the very old. In
consequence, GP's visits to aged care facilities can often be reactive, ad-hoc
and rushed.
This problem with the traditional model of medical care for residents of aged care facilities shows no sign of improving. Indeed, there is evidence that the number of GPs supplying services to aged care residents actually is decreasing - just as Australia's aged population is rising.
The Australian Medical Association warned in March 2009 that residents of aged care facilities were 'missing out on high-quality medical care' because of a lack of access to doctors. HealthCube's PAC practice is a timely response to this growing national problem.
The PAC practice differs from a traditional GP practice in its dedicated focus on aged care and its strong preventive - rather than reactive - emphasis. It aims to catch declines in a resident's health before they become serious, thus reducing hospital admissions and improving quality of life.
How does HealthCube
collect its health information?
HealthCube-employed GPs utilise cutting-edge information
technology to better capture, manage and secure health information.
Because this information is gathered in a common format and electronically stored, it can be easily and securely accessed with a few keystrokes by all those involved in the resident's care.
To find out more about HealthCube's technological edge click here.
What medical
information does HealthCube gather?
HealthCube GPs need to know pretty much what any GP needs to
know. Importantly, however, HealthCube's intuitive template-based software
ensures its GPs don't miss important issues due to haste or simple human
forgetfulness.
How does HealthCube
secure medical data and ensure that residents' privacy is respected?
Because HealthCube's services hinge on the gathering,
processing, assessing, storing and managing of health data, protection of
privacy and security are fundamental to its operating philosophy.
For an overview of HealthCube's stringent security and privacy protocols click here. Or review our Privacy Policy in full by clicking here.
How does HealthCube
ensure the quality of its clinical work?
To ensure the highest standards of clinical care, HealthCube
has established a rigorous staff training regime backed by an internal clinical
auditing process to review work completed by HealthCube clinicians.
With whom does
HealthCube share health information?
Only the resident's HealthCube GP, carers and family, unless
others are authorised to do so, which requires the written, informed consent of
the resident or his/her guardian.
Why might a resident
consider authorising wider access to his or her medical information?
The older you get the more important it becomes for clinicians
and carers to swiftly obtain accurate information about your state of health
and medications.
Because HealthCube gathers its health information in common format and stores it electronically, it is potentially accessible by ambulance paramedics during an emergency transfer, for example, or by emergency department and/or ward staff at a resident's local hospital.
A current HealthCube Comprehensive Medical Assessment (CMA) can be a powerful electronic introduction card for the frail and incapacitated when they need it most.
Want to know more? Click here.
Can residents or
their guardians review the medical information HealthCube collects about them?
HealthCube is committed to keeping residents
informed about the state of their health. On resident request, it will provide a
copy of a health assessment summary at no charge.
What services does HealthCube offer Aged Care Facilities?
HealthCube's three frontline services are:
The Preventive Aged Care (PAC) service, a medical practice providing high quality, needs-driven, ongoing preventive medical care to electing residents of participating facilities. The PAC service is a response to a widely recognised problem for RACFs: the difficulty of attracting the right medical support as and when needed.
A stand-alone Comprehensive Medical Assessment (CMA) service, where this is appropriate.
An Aged Care Funding Instrument Consulting service offering RACFs assistance with their Aged Care Funding Instrument (ACFI) reporting obligations. HealthCube's teams of experienced health practitioners and administrators can potentially free up care staff and improve frontline cost ratios.
How much do HealthCube services cost aged care facilities?
All medical services delivered through the PAC practice are bulk-billed, meaning no out-of-pocket expenses for residents or facilities. The cost of stand-alone CMAs similarly are fully met
by Medicare.
HealthCube's administrative consulting services are provided on commercial terms determined on a case-by-case basis. Please contact us for further information.
Do HealthCube's systems require changes to the way aged care facilities presently function?
HealthCube has developed its clinical and administrative workflows to enable them to flexibly integrate with the established routines of any aged care facility.
Is HealthCube's clinical software compatible with systems already operating in aged care facilities?
HealthCube is confident its
systems can integrate with any aged care facility's established systems, be
they paper-based or electronic.
What are the care dividends HealthCube offers aged care facilities?
HealthCube's PAC service aims to
catch declines in resident health before they become serious, thus reducing the
disruption of sudden hospital admissions and improving resident quality of
life.
The assurance of regular chronic care consultations as part of HealthCube's PAC service adds to residents' peace-of-mind and sense of wellbeing.
To find out more click here.
Does HealthCube understand the problems of aged care facilities?
HealthCube respects your
organisational values and works cooperatively within your operational demands.
HealthCube was conceived by Australian medical practitioners who believed modern technology could be harnessed to improve the quality of life of residents of aged care facilities. It is administered by experienced aged care industry professionals.
To whom might aged care facilities offer HealthCube's services?
Because the PAC service is
delivered by HealthCube-employed GPs, participating RACFs may offer it as a
clinical care option to all new residents. Existing residents whose traditional
GPs have retired, moved or become unavailable for whatever reason might also benefit.
Can aged care facilities be certain HealthCube meets all appropriate
privacy and security requirements?
Informed consent is a cornerstone
of all HealthCube aged care services. HealthCube complies strictly with the
Privacy Act and applicable National Privacy principles.
HealthCube's database servers are located within an secure hosting environment. Industry standard, secure data transmission protocols are employed and data is fully encrypted at all times.
General Practitioners
What sort of GP is HealthCube looking to employ?
HealthCube is looking for motivated, vocationally registered General Practitioners committed to delivering high quality healthcare in a dynamic, well-supported and remunerated work environment. GPs on maternity leave or starting to wind down their surgery-based practice may be particularly interested in this work. To find out more, and/or to register your interest, visit our Careers page.
How does HealthCube support my care of residents in aged care facilities?
HealthCube supports general practitioners caring for residents in aged care facilities. To this end, our approach improves the clinical workflow and health information sharing related to care delivery to the direct benefit of the resident, GP and facility. Please contact us to find out more about how HealthCube can work with you to this end.
How does HealthCube support aged care research and policy development?
HealthCube is committed to continually improving the care it provides to aged care residents, as well as contributing to the broader understanding of key issues relating to aged care in Australia. To this end, HealthCube is collaborating with research and policy organisations through the provision of carefully de-identified clinical data to examine means by which the care provided in residential aged care facilities can be improved.