Launch of new advance care directive online tool

The digital program was pitched and developed after two former IRT Group employees participated in the organisation’s 2017 Innovation Challenge. 

Developers April Creed and Rebecca Glover, designed ExSitu to give power back to the person who is able to create their own advance care directive and other protective documentation.
ExSitu takes care of a person holistically and delivers a tailored experience to the user. 

The online tool accounts for the person’s clinical and medical requirements, as well as their values and beliefs. 

“It’s common for people not to plan for the later stages of life and when the need arises their voice can be lost in the system,” Ms Creed says. 

“What’s unique about ExSitu is how it helps people create documents that reflect their own voice and values to guide the direction of their healthcare. 

“In an online interactive process, it helps people navigate difficult conversations about the later stages of life, recording their core values within advance care directives and other protective documentation that can be reviewed, signed and shared via ExSitu. 

“Ultimately it will help family and friends make better decisions for the ones they love when they can no longer speak for themselves in the advanced stages of dementia or palliative care.” 

Ms Creed and Ms Glover’s project was built and tested with primary support from IRT’S Innovation team and the University of Wollongong iAccelerate Start Program. 

The pair left their full-time roles to dedicate themselves to the project and build their business as Intrapreneurs at iAccelerate. 

ExSitu is currently being trialled by IRT’s homecare and residential care divisions and will soon to commence a trial with RMB Lawyers. 

Executive General Manager Strategy at IRT, Sam McFarlane says the company’s 10-week Innovation Challenge was launched two years ago to encourage their employees to create ideas which will reinvent support services, care experiences and housing solutions for Australia’s elderly. 

“Passionate about empowering people to steer their own decision-making, April and Rebecca responded to the call and pitched their idea for ExSitu,” Mr McFarlane explains. 

“They devised the idea in response to a gap they saw in service provision, identified through their 40 years of combined nursing experience in the aged-care industry.

“We were impressed because it aims to help facilitate lasting, positive change in the delivery of authentic consumer-directed care, and this is important because it has the potential to not just help every one of our residents, but all older Australians in the broader community.” 

Learn more about ExSitu online at myexsitu.com.