AN-ACC in Aged Care: Everything You Need to Know

The inadequacy of funding available to the aged care sector has meant that residential aged care homes have lacked the ability to fully provide safe and quality care, with the way funding is distributed to aged care providers having an effect.

AN-ACC (Australian National Aged Care Classification) is predicted to provide consistency in the types of assessments used which in turn will reduce the administrative burden of completing assessments. Funding will be the primary driving force in this shift, as with ACFI (Aged Care Funding Instrument), approaching documentation with a re-enablement focus. However, ultimately moving from a task-driven model to a more person-centred approach will mean aged care homes will need to evidence care to secure the necessary funding.

With the change to AN-ACC funding in October 2022, many organisations were concerned about the impact it’s going to have on their funding and internal operations, given the increasing need for a clinical focus however there are solutions to this, such as Digital Clinical Documentation, which allow for better overall care and operations.

Discover more about AN-ACC and how you can prepare for it in this guide.

What is AN-ACC?

The previous funding model, ACFI, has been replaced by a new case mix classification tool called AN-ACC in October 2022. AN-ACC focusses on individual care needs and those costs of care that benefit all residents, which will be the basis for the new funding model.

It comprises a number of key elements with new residential aged care funding concepts added too. The assessment for care planning purposes is separate from the assessment of the resident for funding, which is undertaken by independent external assessors, capturing only the information necessary to assign a resident to a particular class for funding. Staff within the residential aged care home who know the resident well, undertake the assessment for care planning purposes and should be person-centred, based on residents’ needs, strengths, preferences and appetite for risk.

Why AN-ACC is important to all Aged Care Homes

AN-ACC is intended to increase stability and fairness across residential aged care funding and improve accuracy and national consistency in assessments. It also aims to reduce time spent on paperwork, encourage innovation and a culture of restorative care and enable providers to increase time spent on safe and effective resident care.

This will transform the way aged care homes operate, taking into account every area of the residents’ needs, ensuring care plans meet the personalised approach residents deserve, without compromising on important medical, social, emotional, lifestyle and spiritual needs of each individual.

The 5 most important things you need to know about AN-ACC

The implementation of AN-ACC is the first step towards achieving sustainable aged care reform. However, there are key points you need to consider when preparing for the new AN-ACC funding model.

Residents with mobility will get reduced funding.
Clinical documentation becomes of higher importance.
Reassessment can only be requested if there has been a significant change in a resident’s condition including hospitalisation of more than 5 days and 2 days or more if the resident has had a general anaesthetic, reassessment.
AN-ACC shadow assessments are completed by assessors and are not used for care delivery.
The funding rates between AN-ACC and ACFI do not align; ensure you do your analysis during your preparations.

The difference between ACFI and AN-ACC

An industry review in 2017 discovered that ACFI was ‘no longer fit for purpose' due to it not being specific enough to meet the needs of care whilst aligning with the correct level of funding to meet the level of care required. It’s also been known to be administratively inefficient and costly. However, AN-ACC has been introduced to fill in the gaps and improve the overall residential aged care funding and finance landscape, by approaching resident assessments and subsequent funding and staffing requirements from a holistic perspective, whereby all areas of care are accounted for such as a resident’s physical capacity, cognitive capacity, mental health needs and behaviour.

ACFI

ACFI is based on care plans forming a basis of funding whereas AN-ACC is designed as a funding tool only with care plans completed separately. ACFI subsidies are based on three core areas:

Activities of daily living
Behaviour
Complex health care

A payment rate was allocated to each through a Nil, Low, Medium and High care need requirement for each area. In addition to the daily amounts, subsidies were applicable to residents for additional care needs such as oxygen and enteral feeding.

With the ACFI funding model, appraisals of the resident are managed by the aged care home themselves.

AN-ACC

Assessment under AN-ACC differs considerably from ACFI. Under AN-ACC the subsidies payable is made up of three components:

A base care tariff
A variable payment, based on the resident's AN-ACC class
A one-off adjustment payment for when the resident enters aged care

AN-ACC is made up of 13 classes, with each class being split into with and without compounding factors.

With the AN-ACC funding model, appraisals are conducted by independent assessors.

How to support the requirements of AN-ACC in your aged care home

Residential aged care homes need to make sure they are aware of the classes that their residents have been allocated to, and the impact on funding that may have. While ACFI funding was specific to different care needs, AN-ACC provides funding that can be managed by the provider to provide the best care for their residents.

Digital clinical documentation will be key to ensuring that your aged care home continues to receive the best funding for your residents. Clinical information is the proof that you will require when requesting a reassessment, outside of the hospitalisation reasons. Providers will be able to request a reassessment if 12 months have passed for classes 2-8, or 6 months for classes 9-12 should there have been a significant change in care needs, which a digital clinical care system should be able to support the provider in making the decision for reassessment.

Digital Clinical Documentation: The key to ensuring funding under the new model

Increasingly more aged care providers are seeing that digital clinical documentation systems encourage a more person-centred approach to care delivery focusing on each resident and their individual needs. It allows for improved digital planning and monitoring of the resident's care, as care is being delivered, which reduces the time it takes to evidence care which means care staff can focus on delivering the best possible care to their residents, without having to worry about paper documentation.

Icon-driven technology also reduces the need for written language, eliminating language barriers between staff of different nationalities and reducing the risk of misinterpretation.

Through simple, comprehensive software, staff can evidence care quickly and whilst on the go which means the data is securely saved instantaneously and is accessible to all those in the organisation who require access. Care staff now have the resources to save time, reduce workloads, minimise errors, and enhance collaboration, whilst being able to deliver a high standard of care the residents deserve. Technology that can often be misconstrued as difficult and complex has now proven to be an instrumental part of aged care homes’ success, helping to pave the way towards a sustainable funding model that places outstanding care at the heart of its ethos.

Learn more about how digital clinical documentation systems can demonstrate quality care for aged care homes to help secure funding under the new model.

Get ready for AN-ACC with Person Centred Software

Person Centred Software’s Clinical Care System has all the best features to ensure your aged care home meets the needs of AN-ACC and secures funding. With an icon-driven system, the ease of evidencing care increases with, on average, the ability to record 50 care notes per resident per day. This leads to:

greater transparency
higher competency of data-driven decision making
comprehensive reporting potential.

Our innovative digital clinical documentation systems under the new model will allow for a more accurate and nationally consistent assessment process and the burden of paperwork will be removed which will allow care staff to focus on providing safe, effective and person-centred care to residents.

Contact our team today by filling in the form to get started!

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Complete Guide to AN-ACC