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Survey of service providers finds only 47% could keep pace with demand and just 57% said they had sufficient resources in 2017 This important article is originally from the Guardian 04 December, 2017
Disability service providers are struggling to keep up with growing demand and increased costs under the National Disability Insurance Scheme, according to a new report that warns the speed of the rollout is potentially affecting service quality. The National Disability Services 2017 state of the sector report, released on Monday, warns that policy uncertainty and inadequate price-setting by the National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA) has seen business confidence and financial stability among disability service providers fall in the past 12 months. A survey of 516 service providers found that only 47% could keep pace with demand and 73% saw an increase in demand for their services in the past 12 months, while only 56% actually increased the scale or range of services they offered to meet that demand. Only 58% of service providers in 2017 said they planned to expand their services, down from 68% in 2015, and only 41% described their financial position as strong or very strong, down from 53% in 2016. Sixty per cent of organisations said they were worried about their ability to adjust to changes resulting from the NDIS and only 57% said they had sufficient resources in 2017, down from 60% in 2016. The report will be presented to industry chief executives at a meeting in Sydney on Monday, before a meeting between industry and the NDIA CEO, Rob De Luca, on Tuesday. The number of participants in the NDIS has grown from 30,000 to 113,000 in the 15 months since the trial period ended in July 2016. At the same time there was an almost sevenfold increase in the number of complaints about the scheme to the commonwealth ombudsman, which service providers said reflected problems with the process for designing individual service plans. The NDIA is working towards a target of 475,000 participants by 2019-20 but a productivity commission report in October warned that deadline would not be met because the sector was not growing fast enough The chief concern listed by disability service providers in the state of the sector survey was that the service prices set by the NDIS were not sufficient, with 50% of providers saying they would have to reduce the quality of the service they offered to fit within NDIS cost parameters. National Disability Services has warned before that organisations were faced with shutting down regional or remote services because the price structure set by the NDIS did not cover the actual cost of services. Sixty per cent of organisations said they wanted the NDIS to set prices aligned with the cost of supply. An independent review of pricing under the NDIS, commissioned by the NDIA board, is due to report its findings this month. Organisations also raised concerns about poor-quality NDIS plans, which the report said were being undertaken by local area coordinators who were under pressure to meet rollout targets and often cutting corners. “Planning was rushed, often conducted over the phone and existing services were frequently disregarded as a starting point for considering the supports needed,” the report said. “Essential supports were omitted from plans and rectifying these omissions was not easy.” The number of organisations that said the government was neither anticipating nor responding to the needs of disability service providers rose from 62% in 2016 to 74% in 2017, and 67% said the NDIA was not working well with providers. “The NDIA cut corners to meet ambitious targets to get people with disability into the scheme,” the National Disability Services CEO, Ken Baker, said. “I think it recognises now that it needs to focus much more on improving the quality of the NDIS experience for providers and participants.” Baker said the disability sector would work with the NDIA to resolve problems. “We are determined to see the NDIS succeed,” he said. “Too much is at stake to let it fail.” From: Liquidstate.com.au
Healthcare continues to evolve into a paperless industry as the professional reliance on mobile and tablet devices grow concurrently. In fact, majority of healthcare professionals are becoming ‘digital omnivores’ as they work between a desktop computer, tablet and smartphone. But what does this transition mean for companies marketing to and communicating with healthcare professionals in this digital age? Here at Liquid State we understand the value of knowing your customers’ needs and the latest industry trends. So, we took a look at the digital habits of healthcare professionals to see how app creation and app content management could bridge the gap between health marketers and their audience. Healthcare as a Paperless Industry According to recent study by Transparency Market Research (TMR), the healthcare industry is in the midst of transitioning from paper-based to paperless records. This will result in the expansion of the electronic health records (EHR) market and digital health marketing worldwide. Forbes reported in 2013 that less than 2 percent of American hospitals were paperless in regards to patient records, administrative tasks and medical research. However since then, the pressure has increased for more healthcare professionals to adopt a paperless approach. In 2015 the US government introduced a new scheme whereby, hospitals will receive reimbursement incentives for transitioning to digital records and hospitals, which fail to adapt will face serious financial penalties. This push towards a paperless industry is not only a bonus for corporate social responsibility (CSR) but will also result in lower overheads as the cost of stationery, paper and storage is removed. Many argue that digital storage is also the safest way of storing and transmitting medical records and relevant information. Therefore, this transition will impact healthcare marketing and communication, as marketing efforts will also shift towards a paperless approach, including app creation. Many have already taken the lead in creating apps to target healthcare professionals and publish essential information directly to their device. Effectively marketing your business through an app will ensure that your communications become an integrated part of the healthcare professional’s digital work process. Healthcare Professionals are ‘Digital Omnivores ’To ensure a paperless industry, healthcare professionals are adopting an integrated communication approach by working between smartphones, tablets and desktop computers. This behaviour is a characteristic of ‘digital omnivores’. According to the Mobile Trends Report published by Epocrates, in 2015 there was a predicted surge in ‘digital omnivore’ healthcare professionals as the technology becomes more accessible and user friendly. Specifically, 74 percent of healthcare providers will identify as ‘digital omnivores’ working between tablets, smartphones and desktop computers in a professional capacity in 2015. These healthcare professionals require an integrated communication system with a functional interface and enhanced user experience. The Mobile Trends Report asserted that: “In this era of easy access to and widespread proficiency with computers, smartphones, and tablets, the conversation must move beyond hardware and into the data and design that can be delivered to any health care provider’s preferred screen.” Therefore, when marketing to healthcare professionals it is important to ensure consistency and functionality between each device. The best way to ensure this is by publishing your marketing communications through an app that can be downloaded on smartphones, tablets and even desktop or laptop computers. That way you can ensure your communications are integrated across their chosen devices. Product and Brand Loyalty Healthcare professionals also exhibit strong product and brand preferences when working between devices. In the past five years, numerous reports show that doctors have clear choice for the Apple iPad and iPhone in a professional context. According to a 2011 survey of healthcare workers by health marketing company Aptilon, 79 percent chose Apple’s iPad. Now in 2015, it is reported that 59% of doctors and medical practices are integrating tablets as part of their daily operations with the iPad as the most popular choice. Furthermore, 68 percent of physicians use an iPhone compared to 31 percent who use an Android device. Therefore, this Apple brand loyalty has strengthened with each product update as the iPhone and iPad’s capabilities better support professionals in the health industry. Although, Android is becoming a strong competitor against Apple with the release of premium devices by Samsung, HTC and LG. Research suggests that Android holds a sizeable lead in market share with the younger age group of 34 years old and under whereas Apple is closing the gap within the 35-54 age demographic. However, many health tech and marketing companies are making the mistake of adopting an ‘iOS only’ strategy by creating apps that are only available on iPhone and iPad. Although this approach may cater to the majority of healthcare professionals, it is essentially boxing out Android users from downloading their app. Therefore, to better cater to a larger portion of healthcare market, it would make the most sense to create content that is available on all brands and products. For example, an app available for download on all Apple and Android devices. Digital Habits of Healthcare Professionals with Apps Ultimately, understanding these digital habits will inform how health marketing firms communicate with their target their audience in this technological age. Creating an app would allow marketers to consistently publish communications directly to the healthcare professional’s device – no matter the brand or product. |