ITAC 2014 now underway in Tasmania

The annual Information Technology in Aged Care Conference (ITAC) is now underway, bringing together leading aged care bodies and providers in order to better understand the impact of technologies on the aged care environment.

ITAC 2014 is held in Hobart, Tasmania, at the Grand Chancellor Hotel. Companies attending range from communication solutions providers such as Vocus Communications to providers of clinical workflow systems, like Austco.

This year’s conference is focusing on assistive technologies and whether they’re able to enhance or simply disrupt standard services. Throughout the talks, the importance of information technology, and how it can be used to create a focused and quality aged care environment, will be explored.

Aged and Community Services Australia (ACSA), Leading Age Services Australia (LASA) and the Aged Care Industry Information Technology Council (ACIITC) are all participating in the event.

The ACIITC was initially formed by LASA and ACSA around six years ago, as a way of considering and debating IT related opportunities in the aged care sector. Eventually, these opportunities could be disseminated and spread to the wider industry.

Local experts and even overseas professionals will be brought together from a variety of fields, including assistive technologies and community care. All areas will be discussed from a practical perspective, exploring the information required for providers to better manage aged care services.

Overall, the focus lies with educating aged care providers about the operational advantages of well managed IT systems. Following implementation, these systems are able to drive down costs, improve staff collaboration and enhance communication throughout facilities.

Aged care providers need to consider the benefits of new IT systems, and the effect they can have on facility operations. Events like ITAC 2014 are a good place for providers to start.