Australia's health services face a major challenge in meeting the Australian Government’s vision of 'better health and healthier ageing for all Australians'
The challenge is how to afford and manage the supply and demand of health services for an expanding and ageing population that will increasingly demand high levels of service.
This challenge is especially acute in an environment where traditionally, there have been limited avenues for treatment outside of hospital.
Meeting the challenge will require major, innovative changes in the delivery of health services that will include more individualised health care, and person-centred health care in community settings, rather than in hospitals. What's more, the services will need to meet consumer expectations of ease and timeliness of access to services, freedom of choice, quality and consistency of outcome, continuity of care and informed participation in care. This future health environment puts enormous emphasis on:
• Performance measurement and management of care providers
• The management of patient information
• Improved levels of information sharing at all levels of care provision
• As well as the delivery of cost effective service
The Federal Government expects substantial benefits from its health vision, resulting in hospitals operating on a financially sustainable basis, improved service access and quality for patient care and more patients treated in a timely manner with reduced treatment times.
The emphasis of both Government and opposition policies on the measurement and management of hospital performance is notable and is an area in which SMS can assist. We have extensive expertise in Business Intelligence applications and the design of effective processes and information systems to provide appropriate measures to enable effective management.
With our extensive cross-industry experience, SMS is ideally positioned to assist health services organisations make the innovative changes required to reap the benefits of the government's vision. We have partnered with numerous public and private sector health clients across Australia to deliver greater business effectiveness, and accountability to customers and governments. Our business optimisation solutions are designed to improve organisational outcomes through best practice change management, leadership coaching, strategic and operational planning and business process improvement.
Our complete familiarity with advanced information management concepts enables us to improve information system effectiveness through concepts such as enterprise architectures, service planning, web portal design, and data quality management.
In partnership with our clients, SMS will continue to ensure that each health dollar is spent effectively on improving models of care for a healthier Australia and that health services organisations share the benefits of this improvement.
The following highlights the key areas that SMS is focusing on to address healthcare challenges:
• Performance management and Business Intelligence approaches
• Strategic advice and assistance in eHealth initiatives such as eReferrals and ePrescriptions
• Cost minimisation particularly using “Lean” techniques
• Data management
• Business Optimisation
• Systems Selection and Implementation
Paul Cooper is the Government and Health Industry Director for SMS Management & Technology.
The latest Health & Human Services industry brochure can be viewed here...