Success Story
Ozcare’s rapid implementation of AlayaCare Residential
Industry
Residential Aged Care
Founded
1996
Location
Queensland
Employees
4300
About Ozcare
Ozcare is a not-for-profit organisation that supports Queenslanders with aged care, retirement living, hospital, disability care, respite care, nursing, allied health, and dementia advisory and services. With over 18 aged care facilities, 16 community care locations, and six retirement living locations (which will soon expand to nine), Ozcare provides critical services to thousands of clients daily.
Ozcare needed software for their residential services that was easy to use, provided clear oversight into clinical services, and was not disruptive to clients when implemented. Importantly, it also needed to integrate with existing programs to create a single source of truth for clients’ care and support.
Interview with
Lanna Ramsay
Chief Operating Officer - Aged Care
The Challenge
The first challenge to overcome was visibility.
“We were previously using a system that was external to Ozcare and our current clinical system is being sunsetted,” explains Lanna Ramsay, Chief Operating Officer of Aged Care at Ozcare. “That system didn’t allow us to have easy oversight or extrapolate data into our business reports for Quality Indicators and overall monitoring.”
Ozcare wanted their new software to be able to adapt to changes within the sector, while also adapting to their needs.
Other priorities for the team were streamlining administrative processes and reducing paperwork to enhance staff productivity with a solution that incorporated mobile functionality.
“We had a strategic direction to implement future changes easily and consistently, and also to look at programs that could be used across our different services,” explains Lanna.
To do this, Ozcare aimed to adopt a cloud-based software solution that would enable them to flex up and down with business demand.
Ozcare needed this program to be implemented quickly and efficiently to ensure minimal disruption to staff and clients alike. They had to remain compliant in the midst of shifting industry standards, and critically, maintain the safety and care of their residents throughout the transition to new software.
The Solution
Along with several clinicians, Ozcare’s management undertook a comprehensive evaluation to define the requirements for their new system.
“We went through a tender process for the replacement clinical management system and the decision was made that AlayaCare met the business needs,” says Lanna.
AlayaCare was shortlisted alongside one other vendor, with both progressing to a detailed Implementation Study (IPS) phase. During this phase, each vendor conducted an in-depth evaluation of their operational needs and presented comprehensive final reports.
“AlayaCare’s IPS findings demonstrated a clear alignment with our business goals. This led us to confidently award them the tender for implementation,” explains Lanna.
“We selected AlayaCare as our replacement Clinical System. We worked very closely with AlayaCare staff to find the perfect solution,” she adds. “Despite many conversations about how we could tailor the product to our needs, we eventually decided to implement Innisfail [the pilot site] as an ‘Out of the Box’ version due to the requirement of better reporting on clinical activities and monitoring ongoing client need.”
Lanna explains that the pilot site was selected due to the need to implement a better clinical system that allowed for improved reporting, monitoring of client activities, and overall governance activities such as NQI data collection and reports.
“We know we can make changes post the initial pilot project period, but to date, we have identified minimal changes that are actually required.”
The Result
Lanna explains that the fact that they were able to implement AlayaCare Residential with minimal changes was a big win for Ozcare.
“One of the key things here is we have implemented AlayaCare out of the box. Having done that shows how good the system actually is.”
On top of that, the speed of implementation meant that staff were onboarded and using the software within weeks.
“We onboarded and went live at the site in just four weeks, and the total implementation process only took seven weeks from the project kick-off” remarks Lanna.
“This has given the team quick access to improved client information, the ability to monitor staff activity, and improved governance activities.”
Ozcare used its “tried and tested” wing-by-wing approach to ensure a smooth implementation for the staff.
“This is a process Ozcare developed previously when we went from paper-based documentation to our first electronic clinical system,” explains Lanna.
“This process allows for the training to start and for staff to commence using the program straight away. Using this methodology allows staff to be more confident in the new system by the time we leave the previous site.”
Lanna reports that the team could adopt AlayaCare so quickly due to the software’s user-friendly interface.
“The program is easy to use, it is very intuitive, and reporting is very simple,” says Lanna.
Another critical element to the quick user-adoption was AlayaCare’s support.
“The staff that came to site were of great assistance to the team and provided their expertise to resolve any issues we encountered and were able to address them very quickly,” says Lanna. “They had some great tips for us (and we had some for them too!).”
Lanna’s advice to others?
“I would definitely recommend AlayaCare based on the comprehensive clinical system that it is.
“Although the implementation was key, and yes it was a smooth transition to using it, the most important part is having a comprehensive clinical system that can change as the industry changes and demands for reports increase or governance activities change.”
“We are confident we’ve found that in AlayaCare Residential.”
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Do you want to get your business up and running quickly with AlayaCare Residential? Contact our team today.
