clinical focus
leaving hospital and a person starting a
consumer-directed care package. It takes
time to be assessed for eligibility to access
a package and then to negotiate with a
service provider. It is a pretty lengthy and
complex process. If a person doesn’t speak
English as their first language or has a
capacity issue, they may not have the skills
to do that themselves or their family might
not have the healthcare literacy or social
care literacy to be able to negotiate that.
Keep it together
Consumer-directed care packages
generate some particular concerns for the
transition between hospital and home;
a recent panel discussed the issue.
By Dallas Bastian
T
he importance of good
communication and
consumer-directed care were key
points of discussion at a recent Transfer of
Care for Complex Consumers conference
held by Akolade.
The topics were covered during a panel
discussion on what consumers expect
from transfer-of-care services.
Victor Harcourt, principal at Russell
Kennedy Lawyers, who was part of the
panel, says a fundamental element of
meeting consumer expectations in transferof-care services is ensuring that there is
clarity for consumers from the outset.
“In the work I’ve done in this area for
the last 20 years, when I’ve been asked to
assist my clients – who are typically the
approved providers – in terms of disputes
that have arisen, we find that there is a lack
of clarity or understanding on the part of
the consumer or the resident at the outset,”
Harcourt says. “That’s not necessarily
anybody’s fault, it’s just the fact that we’re
dealing with a complex system.”
He says it’s important that information
be delivered through a variety of sources
and that it is clear and understandable,
and added it may be worth repeating it.
“I think it’s important that the consumer
experience, once they’re in the aged-care
facility, matches up with the promises that
are made at the o ]