The Commonwealth Department of Health has announced 20% of aged care recipients will now be interviewed as part of the regulator’s Consumer Experience Interviews (CEIs) to help inform the proposed Star Ratings for aged care operators due to start later this year.

The previous Aged Care Quality Agency first began publishing Consumer Experience Reports (CERs) – conducted during its accreditation assessments for operators by surveying at least 10% of residents or clients or their carers – in 2017 for residential care, followed by home care in 2018.

But the shift to the new Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission (ACQSC) and the COVID-19 pandemic forced a halt to the interviews until the Department put out a new tender in December last year.

The Department has now announced American-based health information technology and clinical research provider IQVIA, in a consortium with Access Care Network Australia and Health Consult, as the successful tenderer.

The expected volume of CEIs has also been increased to at least 20% of residents – in line with the  Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety’s recommendation – to provide a more accurate picture for the new star ratings, which are meant to be in operation by December, only eight months away.

IQVIA will schedule interviews with approximately 2,700 residential aged care facilities, and interviewees must include residents from vulnerable communities, diverse cultures and those with special needs.

As we discussed last year, the consortium will have their hands full – meeting the 20% sample requirement by December will require at least 4,000 interviews a month.