Aged care algorithm deciding support and funding

ABC NEWS (Australia)

Less than a year after the government introduced its "once-in-a-generation" reforms of aged care, families, assessors, clinicians, and aged care experts say the system is failing. Eight years ago, a Four Corners investigation by reporter Anne Connolly, exposed abuse, neglect, and suffering in residential aged care facilities, helping to trigger a Royal Commission into the sector. Now, Anne has travelled the country to speak with families struggling to care for their loved ones in the new system.

Transcript

00:13Audrey was previously assessed more than a decade ago.

00:20This time, under the reforms, it was done using a classification algorithm.

00:28The assessor used a new electronic questionnaire, the integrated assessment tool.

00:35It has hundreds of questions for which Audrey scored points about things like showering, cooking and cleaning.

00:45Along with the questions, the assessor tested Audrey's mobility.

00:54She just came and sat at the end of Mum's kitchen table with her laptop and she would ask the

01:00question and then tap away on the laptop.

01:04It was a tick and flick.

01:07Audrey's answers to these questions were fed into the algorithm to decide on her level of funding.

01:16I was very worried about a computer making a decision on a human being that the person in the room

01:23could see Mum's condition.

01:27Days later, Audrey received the results.

01:30The classification algorithm decided Audrey should remain at the same level of funding she'd received 12 years earlier.

01:39There's a different version of the intel.

01:40In the future, I will find out more.

01:40In the beginning of this loop, I am going to find out more.

01:40If you were in the middle of this loop, the initial flow is 100%.

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