Blog

Caring for older Australians is an important aspect of the country's medical system, driven in large part by the country's ageing population. As a greater number of the country's residents face the various health issues that arise with old age, the need to deliver comprehensive medical care will only increase.

While Australia's ageing population is having many different effects on the country's medical professionals, geriatric physicians are perhaps the most important professionals for supporting older Australians.

Supporting the country's ageing population

According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, the proportion of people in the country over the age of 65 has increased from 11.8 per cent in 1994 to 14.7 per cent in 2014. Between June 2013 and the same time last year, the retired population grew by 118,700 individuals.

In the 20 years covered in the research, the number of people over the age of 85 also increased substantially, with a 185 per cent increase in the number of individuals within this bracket.

Utilising technology to meet this challenge

While these medical professionals have an important role to play in ensuring healthy outcomes for patients, it's important that physicians have access to tools that can support their performance.

For example, the Western Australian Department of Health reports that sub-acute patient care will continue to dominate the workload of geriatric physicians. This ongoing demand will require them to manage a significant workload from patients who have ongoing medical concerns that require careful management. That's where having the right tools can certainly help to realise these advantages.

Voice recognition to support geriatric care

As geriatric specialists look to improve their performance while managing the unique workload that comes with the nature of this field, one useful option to consider is voice recognition software.

This system allows medical professionals to quickly and accurately compose patient notes, with a wide vocabulary that can accommodate the range of health concerns that older Australians live with. By increasing the speed at which doctors can compose patient notes, Dragon Medical can also give geriatric specialists more time to invest into direct patient care.

Supporting Australia's ageing population will require a range of productivity tools to ensure that geriatric specialists continue to perform at their peak. By utilising services like Dragon Medical version, these professionals will be able to meet this challenge and continue to provide a high level of support.