New Victorian funding for medications, mental health and mobility

Key points:

• The Indigo 4Ms tool — (medication, mentation, mobility and mental health) — developed through United States experts and aged care stakeholders, will be rolled out in North East Victoria

• The $1.3 million dollar will see six rural facilities address aged care in an innovative way

• The Government has promised to deliver $24.7 million dollars in aged care innovation funding across four-years, supporting rural and regional community services

Mark Butler, Minister for Health and Aged Care, is announcing that Beechwood Health Service will receive $1.3 million dollars in Federal funding to deliver a new system of aged care support, after years of planning with experts.

The Indigo 4Ms system — medication, mentation, mobility and mental health — will give a four-pronged approach to:

• Understand and act on a person’s values, priorities, goals and care preferences
• Screen for high-risk medications and prescribe medicines effectively
• Support patients to stay mobile and take part in physical activity that suits their ability
• Assess and ensure adequate hydration, nutrition and sleep
• Screen, assess and manage vision, hearing, incontinence, cognitive decline and depression

Beechworth Health Service previously received $400,000 in funding under the Primary Care Rural Innovative Multidisciplinary Model program to co-design a healthcare solution to meet the needs of local communities and health professionals. The program trials new ways of delivering multidisciplinary primary care in rural and remote communities, to then evaluate whether they lead to better health outcomes.

Minister Butler says tackling the challenges of older Australians in rural and remote communities requires health care that considers their individual needs.

“The Innovative Models of Care Program will help us find effective ways to deliver primary health care to people who live in rural and remote areas to address distance and access issues, as well as workforce shortages,” he says.

“The Indigo 4Ms tool has great potential in helping ensure that older Australians get coordinated and effective health care, without service duplication and without having to tell their medical history multiple times. I look forward to seeing the results of the evaluation once it is rolled out.”

Victorian Labor Party Senator Linda White says the tool makes accessing health and aged care services easier by reducing the impact of distance on rural and regional Australians.

“Working with local communities to co-design better health care tools helps us to deliver the primary health care services that rural and regional communities in Victoria want and need,” she says.

“Australians living in rural and regional Victoria deserve access to quality primary health care services that matter to them, such as medications, mobility and mental health.”

Based on theorised case studies comparing and contrasting cost savings, along with social and health outcomes — prior research findings show that the 4Ms framework:

• Had cost a cost savings potential of $80,505 for all three case studies when the Indigo 4Ms framework was implemented
• Improved health and social outcomes
• Improves upon existing structure for assessments, along with facilitating ease of communication and engagement with patients