The AN-ACC assessment model. The Resource Utilisation and Classification Study: Report 2

The Australian Health Services Research Institute (AHSRI), University of Wollongong,was commissioned by the Commonwealth Department of Health (the Department) in August 2017 to undertake the ‘Resource Utilisation and Classification Study’(RUCS). This followedan earlier review of the Aged Care Funding Instrument (ACFI)1which concluded that ACFI did not reflect the care needs of residents nor did payments reflect the relative costs of providing care. The ACFI review recommended the development of a new casemix classification and funding assessment framework. The RUCS comprised four separate but closely related studies, each of which included separate data collection and analysis elements that have been synthesised to produce a classification and associated funding model, the Australian National Aged Care Classification (AN-ACC), for implementation across the Australian residential aged care sector.A brief outline of the RUCS is provided in Appendix 1. This is the second of a series of reports that present the results of the body of work completed as part of the overall RUCS program.This report (Report 2) describes the new assessment model developed to support the AN-ACC. It contains details of the AN-ACC Assessment Tool including its development using expert clinical panels, field-testing outcomes, and the recommended business rules regarding assessment, reassessmentprotocols and triggers. The report also describes the skills and competencies necessary for the AN-ACC assessment workforce.