7 March 2025

Every patient should have access to the care they need; care that is tailored to them.

But we know that many of the 5.5 million Australians with disability (ABS, 2022) face significant barriers in accessing health care and often have poorer health outcomes compared to people without disability.

This is why Austin Health in partnership with The Royal Children’s Hospital, The Royal Melbourne Hospital, The Royal Women’s Hospital, Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, University of Melbourne and Healthy Trajectories, has evaluated and integrated a patient self-report Disability Identifier (DI) for the Electronic Medical Record (EMR).

It's an Australian first – a way for patients and their families to self-report their disability and any assistance or adjustments they may need when accessing healthcare, within their EMR. It was co-designed with people with lived experience of disability. The project has also been announced as the winner of the Partnering with Consumers to Improve Patient Experience category at the 2024 Victorian Public Healthcare Awards.

A recent innovative research collaboration looked at the utility and acceptability of the DI over its first nine months of implementation.

Austin Health’s DI Project Manager Kristen Morris said it was a productive partnership.

“Working across different health service systems and workflows has strengthened the adoptability of the question set across Victoria’s health care system, and hopefully more broadly across the country,” shares Kristen.

“Using co-designed questions supports our staff to ask the question in a consistent and considered manner, it provides every inpatient with an opportunity to communicate their support needs – ultimately improving the patient experience.”

The report also found the acceptability of the DI questions was high among patients, carers, and clinicians, indicating a positive reception and a willingness to engage with the process.

This study contributes towards developing a standardised approach to disability identification, emphasising the need for continuous evaluation, stakeholder engagement, and leveraging digital health platforms to enhance the inclusivity of healthcare services and achieve equitable health outcomes for all.

It’s important that this knowledge is shared far and wide, which is why the project team has designed an Accessible Care Toolkit, as a guide for other healthcare providers to incorporate the DI into their workflows and care delivery.

The DI Initiative has been made possible with funding support from the Victorian Government through the State Disability Liaison Program, the RCH Foundation and in-kind support from the Centre for Health Analytics and the participating health services. You can access the full report as well as the Accessible Care Toolkit on our website.