Designing a clear, evidence-driven workflow during a national model change
Aged Care Funding Reform in Clinical Manager
[insert hero image: strongest AN-ACC assessment screen]
Context
The Australian Government introduced the Australian National Aged Care Classification (AN-ACC) to replace the Aged Care Funding Instrument (ACFI) after the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety. The change introduced new assessment categories, new scoring logic, and stronger expectations for defensible clinical evidence.
Telstra Health’s Clinical Manager is a long-standing enterprise system used across residential aged care facilities. Its ACFI funding workflow was more than a decade old and closely tied to legacy UI patterns. The product needed to support the national shift to AN-ACC without disrupting daily work for clerical and care staff.
Problem
Users needed a clear way to complete the new assessment, understand outcomes, and attach evidence in context. The existing funding workflow was fragmented and aligned to ACFI, not AN-ACC.
Common pain points:
Confusing navigation between screens
Difficulty locating and attaching evidence
Inconsistent terminology
Anxiety about incorrect classifications and funding outcomes
Outdated layout that increased cognitive load
The workflow needed to provide structure, predictability, and confidence.
Design judgement
Before recommending a redesign, I explored whether the existing ACFI workflow could be adapted for AN-ACC. Reuse would have been faster to deliver, easier for development, and less disruptive for staff.
After analysing both models and walking through the current ACFI workflow, I found that:
AN-ACC domains do not map cleanly to ACFI
Scoring logic is different
Evidence expectations are more structured
Retrofitting would increase complexity rather than reduce it
Based on this analysis, a targeted redesign became the clearer, safer option.
[insert image: ACFI quick calculator next to an AN-ACC reference]
Objectives
Provide a clear, linear assessment flow
Make evidence capture simple and contextual
Reduce cognitive load and navigation confusion
Build user confidence during a national funding transition
Minimise disruption inside a legacy system
Create a scalable structure for future improvements
Constraints
Ten-plus-year-old UI architecture
Limited appetite for large structural changes
Government-driven deadlines
Complex scoring rules interpreted through business analysts
No existing evidence-linking mechanism
These realities shaped the design strategy and delivery approach.
Research and insights
I interviewed clerical staff from five residential aged care facilities and analysed the AN-ACC assessment documentation and tool.
Affinity mapping of interviews
Key insights
Users preferred a guided, step-by-step flow
Evidence needed to sit visually close to the related question
Terminology needed to match everyday staff language
Navigation jumps caused hesitation and errors
The existing information architecture contributed heavily to inefficiency
These insights directly informed the structure and interaction model.
Ideation and strategy
Given the constraints, I focused on high-impact, feasible improvements rather than a full rebuild.
Strategic choices:
Align the new funding workflow to AN-ACC categories
Introduce evidence-linking within the assessment
Adopt a consistent single-column layout for clarity
Update terminology to match real clerical language
Test iteratively to refine hierarchy, labels, and interactions
Ensure alignment with product owners and BAs for scoring accuracy
The strategy balanced usability, delivery risk, and legacy limitations.
Key design decisions
Structured assessment flow
A guided sequence provided clarity and helped users predict next steps.
[insert image: mid-fidelity assessment flow]
Evidence linked within the workflow
Users could attach documents, notes, and observations directly to the relevant question, reducing errors and supporting audits.
[insert image: evidence tagging workflow]
Consistent layout and hierarchy
A simplified layout reduced scanning effort and improved task completion speed.
Terminology aligned to staff language
Updating labels and prompts increased confidence and reduced hesitation.
Embedded progress notes
Inline notes allowed staff to add contextual information without breaking the flow.
[insert image: progress note component]
Prototype and validation
I conducted iterative usability testing with clerical staff across multiple facilities.
Key findings:
Users strongly preferred the guided flow
Evidence needed to remain visible during decision making
Some labels caused hesitation and needed refinement
Small hierarchy adjustments had large impact on clarity
Iterations included:
Simplifying section titles and instructions
Updating evidence interactions
Improving hierarchy on dense screens
Clarifying transitions between sections
[insert image: updated prototype screen]
Impact
The redesign improved clarity, accuracy, and confidence during a major funding transition.
Outcomes:
Predictable step-by-step sequence
Better organisation and visibility of supporting evidence
Reduced cognitive load through consistent layout
Faster, more intuitive interactions
A more trustworthy workflow during audits and reviews
A scalable pattern that supported future enhancements
My role
I was the Senior UX Designer responsible for the full end-to-end process.
Responsibilities included:
Planning and conducting interviews with BAs
Analysing the AN-ACC model with BAs
Synthesising insights into opportunity areas
Designing flows, wireframes, and prototypes
Running usability testing and driving iteration
Collaborating with product, clinical SMEs, and developers
Advocating for pragmatic UX uplift inside a legacy environment
Reflection
This project showed how senior UX work requires thoughtful decision making as much as design execution. Exploring reuse first demonstrated business awareness. Evidence then showed that a targeted redesign was necessary to deliver clarity and safety.
Grounding the work in user needs, regulatory context, and system constraints delivered a workflow that improved understanding, reduced anxiety, and strengthened the foundation of Clinical Manager for future improvements.
