Resident-friendly tech
Still packed with residents’ favourite programs, Foxtel Business iQ is now an all-in-one TV entertainment, direct messaging and information sharing platform for aged care communities.
Like the sector’s ongoing journey of reform, Foxtel’s Business iQ is evolving to better meet the needs of aged care residents and those who care for them.
The user interface received “a new coat of paint” at the end of last year, explains Tom Enright, Foxtel’s national health manager.
“We’ve taken cues from the best elements of our Foxtel residential platform and looked to other popular streaming services like Netflix to inspire a user-friendly, easy-to-follow and accessible interface,” Enright tells Australian Ageing Agenda
It’s intuitive, and users can see content in tabs. It means new residents who had Foxtel before going into care will recognise Business iQ because it looks familiar, he adds.
Tom Enright
The updates – which come after listening to industry feedback and speaking to residents about things they liked and could be improved – also include a bigger and more user-friendly remote control that Foxtel is now rolling out across the industry.
“It’s ergonomically designed so that when it sits on a flat surface, residents can scoop their hand under it and lift it easily. It’s got bigger buttons, fewer buttons and a tactile layout,” says Enright.
Other features familiar to streamers include the ability for residents, visitors or a lifestyle member to pair a portable device with the Business iQ box and cast to the television.
“One of the most compelling features of Business iQ – and a key reason for its strong appeal among care providers – is its ability to facilitate direct communication between staff and residents, enabling the seamless sharing of messages and information via the TV screen,” says Enright.
“This is more than a list of TV channels. It’s a digital, modern, time efficient and a potential costsaving tool. And that’s all before we get to what’s on the TV.”
A community hub
Staff can send live or scheduled messages to individuals or groups of residents to see rolling across their TV screens including personalised and special messages.
“Care providers can greet residents every morning with a ‘Good morning, Nancy’. We know that when residents see that, their eyes light up,” Enright tells AAA
“Or it could be other information, such as, ‘Hey Nancy, don’t
forget about your podiatrist appointment at two o’clock. Or, ‘you’ve got a hairdressing appointment in the in-house salon,’” he says.
“Alternatively, it can also be generic messages that go to everybody, such as ‘Bingo starts at two o’clock,’ or ‘We’ve got a bus trip to the RSL.’”
The information sharing features include customisable tiles on the screens to create “a digital compendium” for residents.
“This is like a hotel service showing what’s going on around the aged care home. It’s an opportunity for care providers to share any information they want that might be useful for the residents.”
This, suggests Enright, could be a staff directory of the people looking after residents every day, the weekly menu, or activities on offer such as art therapy, dance lessons, cards and coffee or walking groups.
“One of the particularly valuable things we’ve had feedback on is the ability to share the lifestyle calendar via the television,” says Enright.
It is replacing hard copies printed and slid under residents’ doors or laminated and tacked to notice boards.
“There are cost and time efficiencies with being able to have all this information in a digital compendium on the resident’s TV screen,” he says.
Staff add all information to the system via a password controlled backend portal called EzVu.
“It’s user-friendly and simple to use. Staff can copy content from existing materials or upload new information, making it easy to keep everything up to date. And it’s all shown on the TV screen.”
The depth of appeal of these features initially took Enright by surprise.
“When we launched this platform, I thought it would be the movies, the on-demand library, the ad-free content or the sheer depth and breadth of our content that would prick the imagination of care providers,” Enright tells AAA
and around 1,100 movies in the library, which is refreshed monthly.
“We’ve got something for the kids and grandkids when they visit on the weekend, and the classic old stuff, which is appropriate for the aged care demographic,” adds Enright.
“One of the great things about our movie offering is they’re ad-free during the movie, so none of the interruptions you get on local TV.”
Taking centre stage in sport are Fox League and Fox Footy, the channels that respectively feature rugby league and AFL.
“We’ve got every game of every round live for these two codes,” says Enright. “And our coverage during play is ad-free, so no irritating interruptions between whistle to whistle or siren to siren.”
On top of the live action is ondemand historical programs, such as grand finals from decades ago.
“It gives us confidence and makes us feel justified in saying that we’ve got something for everybody, and that our content selection is unrivalled and unmatched in Australia when we can dive so far back to the VFL and AFL grand finals over the past decades,” says Enright.
More to come
These new features are already here, but it’s only the start of the ongoing evolution of Business iQ.
“We’ve got a dedicated product team constantly looking for ways to enhance the existing service,” says Enright. “We take feedback we receive from the industry and, where appropriate, incorporate suggestions into our product roadmap to benefit the broader customer base.”
Software changes occur via a seamless automatic update process that happens in the background usually overnight when there’s least disruption.
“There are cost and time efficiencies with being able to have all this information in a digital compendium on the resident’s TV screen.”
“But one of the things that resonated with people was the direct messaging to the resident and the information sharing. They were of equally high value as the fabulous content that we’ve got.”
Premium content
And let’s not ignore the entertainment side of Business iQ, which has a scrollable 14-day electronic program guide that covers all Foxtel and local network channels.
“We’ve got lifestyle. We’ve got entertainment. We’ve got documentaries. We bring the world to their living room when they’re not as mobile as they used to be,” says Enright.
The two jewels in the content crown, he says, are movies and sports. There are 10 movie channels split by genre, such as romance, action and adventure, comedy and even one dedicated to the movie greats,
“We 100 per cent guarantee our hardware and software, and when the new phases come through, it just happens automatically. There’s no need for any adjustments with the hardware or retuning boxes,” says Enright.
Everything about Business iQ is a jump forward in the user experience and benefits for residents and staff, he adds.
“It is state of the art in terms of TV entertainment, information sharing and messaging in a commercial environment.” ●
