In reply: We welcome the discussion of the international comparisons of the Australian aged care system by Gibson — an issue that warrants considerable attention. It is complex to get an accurate picture of Australia’s aged care system in comparison to other nations. Data published by the Organisation for Economic Co‐operation and Development (OECD) are constrained by the data provided, but were used in our research conducted for the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety as a broad indicator for the purpose of such comparisons.1
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- 1. Dyer SM, Valeri M, Arora N, et al. Review of international systems for long-term care of older people. Adelaide: Flinders University, 2019. https://agedcare.royalcommission.gov.au/sites/default/files/2020-09/Research%20Paper%202%20-%20Review%20of%20international%20systems%20for%20long-term%20care%20of..pdf (viewed May 2021).
- 2. Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. OECD Health Statistics 2018 Definitions, Sources and Methods. OECD, 2018. https://www.oecd.org/els/health-systems/Table-of-Content-Metadata-OECD-Health-Statistics-2018.pdf (viewed May 2021).
- 3. Dyer SM, Valeri M, Arora N, et al. Is Australia over-reliant on residential aged care to support our older population? Med J Aust 2020; 213: 156–157. https://www.mja.com.au/journal/2020/213/4/australia-over-reliant-residential-aged-care-support-our-older-population
- 4. Sugimoto K, Ogata Y, Kashiwagi M. Factors promoting resident deaths at aged care facilities in Japan: a review. Health Soc Care Community 2018; 26: e207–e224.
The original article was based on work funded by the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety and the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) Cognitive Decline Partnership Centre. Suzanne Dyer received a salary from a grant from the NHMRC Cognitive Decline Partnership Centre, which included aged not‐for‐profit care provider partners.
Dominic Tilden is owner and director of a private health economics consultancy that provides services to multiple pharmaceutical and devices companies but not to aged care providers.