Residential Aged Care Digital Maturity Assessment (Brisbane North PHN).
About
Beacon Strategies assessed digital health maturity across residential aged care providers in the Brisbane North region, identifying practical opportunities to strengthen capability, connectivity and integrated care.
SERVICE: Health planning
SECTOR: Primary Health Network
STATUS: Completed 2026
CLIENT: Brisbane North PHN
Background
Brisbane North PHN commissioned Beacon Strategies to extend its established Digital Health Maturity Assessment into residential aged care. The project aimed to build a clear, evidence-informed picture of digital capability across residential aged care homes and identify opportunities to strengthen how the sector connects with primary care and hospital services.
Residential aged care providers operate across a complex digital environment that includes clinical care systems, medication management platforms, telehealth and information exchange with general practice and hospitals. The assessment considered variation in organisational size, ownership, service models, workforce capability and existing digital infrastructure.
Approach
We adapted and deployed the digital maturity framework developed through our earlier work with Brisbane North PHN, using a staged process designed for the residential aged care context.
Worked with Brisbane North PHN to confirm project scope, governance, responsibilities and the activity plan.
Reviewed and configured the assessment instrument so its language, terminology, question logic and scoring were appropriate for residential aged care.
Deployed the online assessment through Brisbane North PHN’s established aged care networks and supported participation throughout the data collection period.
Prepared and analysed responses across the maturity framework, examining digital systems, infrastructure, workforce capability, interoperability, person-enabled health, data use, governance and future readiness.
Identified areas of strength, variation and opportunity across participating residential aged care providers.
Translated the findings into practical insights and recommendations for future digital health activity and capability development.
Project deliverable
Digital Health Maturity Analysis — the aged care assessment generated a structured evidence base on current digital capability and was brought together with the earlier primary care assessment to provide Brisbane North PHN with a broader view across its provider network.
Outcome
The project produced a residential aged care digital maturity snapshot that described capability across the assessment domains, identified patterns and areas of variation, and highlighted opportunities for targeted support, strategic investment and capability development.
The aged care findings were also incorporated into a combined analysis alongside the earlier primary care assessment. This gave Brisbane North PHN a consistent view across two care settings, while retaining visibility of the distinct digital environments, strengths and development needs within each sector.
Together, the assessment and combined analysis provided a practical evidence base to support future digital health planning, strengthen coordination across care settings and guide targeted action aligned with Brisbane North PHN’s broader Digital Health Strategy.
Link to our vision
A more impactful social purpose sector — this project supports our vision by helping Brisbane North PHN and residential aged care providers better understand the capabilities that enable safe, connected and person-centred care. It provides a clear basis for directing future effort towards practical improvements in digital capability and coordination across the health and aged care system.
How we can help
We support Primary Health Networks, health organisations and aged care partners to assess system capability, identify strategic priorities and translate complex evidence into practical plans for improvement.
Explore more of our work in Health Planning and Primary Health Networks.
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