Informational Requirements and Client-centred Disability Care: Issues, Problems and Prospects in Australia

Abstract

Client and patient-centred care have become watchwords in policies to transform social and health care systems in both Australia and the UK. In this article we argue that much of the success of moves towards client-centred social care will rest on the creation of appropriate informational environments to support new conversations between clients and those who commission and provide care services. We draw upon original research within an existing state-level insurance-based scheme covering citizens who acquire a disability in transport accidents to illustrate the problems faced by the absence of such a framework. We highlight some of the insights emerging from our work concerning the challenge of developing appropriate informational environments to support client-centred care and indicate the potential of co-design when focused on new conversations of care.