From Hospital to Home with NDIS Funded Support: Examining Participant Pathway Timeframes Against Discharge Expectations

ABSTRACT

For patients with disability who require funded supports to leave hospital, the introduction of the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) represents opportunity and challenges. At a time of major reform, timely and supported discharge is reliant on overcoming interface complexities. The purpose of this study was to examine the NDIS participant pathway timeframes against discharge expectations for hospitalised adults with spinal cord injury (SCI) or acquired brain injury (ABI) and interrogate delays for the two groups. Administrative data on 54 participants (ABI = 18 and SCI = 36) were analysed. Both groups experienced delays to discharge and significant variability in timeframes between NDIS pathway processes and extent of delays. Group differences were identified regarding inefficiencies across the continuum, with type of support a factor to investigate further. This study has uncovered critical points in the NDIS pathway that could impact discharge of participants and where collaboration and adaptive strategies could be targeted to improve processes.

IMPLICATIONS

• Ensuring the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) pathway operates effectively in the hospital setting is critical to the timely discharge of people with complex needs who require funded supports.

• Monitoring implementation of the NDIS in the health setting is important to avert interface problems that impede timely discharge and access.

对于需要资金支持出院的残疾病人，全国残疾保险计划（NDIS）既是机会又是挑战。在重大改革期间，资金发放能否及时而有助，取决于能否克服复杂的交叉重叠。本文考察NDIS参与者的路径时间流程，对照了成年脊髓损伤（SCI）或获得性脑损伤（ABI）住院患者的发放预期与审核延迟情况。我们对54名参与者（SCI=18，ABI=36）的管理数据做了分析。两组都存在延迟发放的情况，而且时间流程在NDIS路径程序和延迟程度间存在较大变化。连续体上的低效有着群体差异，支援的类型也是一个需要进一步探讨的因素。本文发现NDIS路径上一些关键点影响着参与者的资金发放，需要采取协作和适应策略性来改善发放的流程。

KEYWORDS:

• National Disability Insurance Scheme
• Disability
• Acute Care
• Discharge Planning
• Spinal Cord Injury
• Acquired Brain Injury

Disclosure Statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by The Hopkins Centre - a joint initiative of the Division of Rehabilitation, Metro South Health and Menzies Institute of Health Queensland, Griffith University.