Episode 3: Leadership, innovation and what’s next for MOA

The Business of Care Podcast  |  Guest: Lahn Straney, Chief Scientific Officer, Evaran and MOA Benchmarking  |  Host: Marie Page, Head of Marketing, CareLineLive

About this episode

In this episode, Lahn Straney reflects on the lessons learned building MOA from a small auditing tool into a platform used by more than half of Australian aged care homes, entirely through word of mouth, without a sales team. He talks about what’s next in MOA’s innovation pipeline, including dynamic CX surveying that adapts to each person’s care journey, AI phone agents for resident feedback and why he believes the traditional audit as we currently know it, may eventually become obsolete. Lahn also shares what he’d prioritise if he were running a care service today. His answer isn’t compliance and it isn’t growth. It’s culture.

What’s covered in this episode

• The biggest leadership lesson from building MOA – and why communicating purpose with purpose matters
• The moment Lahn realised MOA was genuinely making a difference in the sector
• Compliance, growth or culture – what to prioritise and why the answer might surprise you
• What’s next in MOA’s innovation pipeline – including the new CX module and dynamic care journey surveying
• Dynamic scheduling of auditing tools and what this unlocks for providers
• AI phone agents for resident surveys – the research project underway in Australia and what it could mean for home care
• How surveys currently work – and why the carer-facilitated approach has a bias problem
• Evidence that AI can demonstrate more empathy than humans in clinical and survey settings
• Why traditional auditing, as we currently know it, will eventually become obsolete

Episode timestamps

• 00:00 – Introduction
• 00:26 – Biggest leadership lesson building MOA
• 03:07 – When did MOA start really making a difference?
• 04:09 – Compliance, growth or culture – what to prioritise
• 06:50 – Where is MOA heading next – the innovation pipeline
• 07:52 – Dynamic scheduling of auditing tools
• 08:13 – AI phone agents for resident surveys
• 09:21 – How surveys currently work
• 10:21 – The bias problem with carer-facilitated surveys
• 11:03 – How AI agents could transform survey collection
• 11:44 – Evidence AI demonstrates more empathy in clinical settings
• 12:25 – Why traditional auditing will become obsolete
• 13:03 – Close

About Associate Professor Lahn Straney

Associate Professor Lahn Straney is an epidemiologist and Chief Scientific Officer at Evaran, leading the development of data and analytics across MOA Benchmarking, CareLineLive and eCase (Health Metrics). His work centres on the design of quality indicators, risk adjustment and real-time approaches to monitoring variation and risk in care settings, with a focus on moving beyond retrospective reporting towards genuinely responsive decision-support tools.
Lahn holds a PhD in Epidemiology and Biostatistics from the University of Queensland and completed postdoctoral research at the University of Washington. He currently holds adjunct academic appointments at Monash University and the University of Leeds and has co-authored over 80 peer-reviewed publications. He is a regular speaker on the practical use of data in care, working with providers and governments on the evolution of quality measurement and reporting.

About MOA Benchmarking

MOA Benchmarking is a quality improvement platform built for adult social care providers across care homes, domiciliary care and supported living. Its modules cover audits, surveys, quality indicators, continuous improvement planning, incident management and feedback, replacing fragmented compliance tools with integrated, real-time insight aligned to CQC and CIW as well as Australian regulatory standards.
Now part of the Evaran group alongside CareLineLive and Health Metrics, MOA gives care providers the connected intelligence to move from reactive compliance to proactive, continuously improving care.
moabenchmarking.co.uk

About Evaran

Evaran is a global group of care technology companies united by a single purpose: enabling the sustainable delivery of high-quality care. Bringing together CareLineLive, MOA Benchmarking and Health Metrics, Evaran supports over 1,100 care providers and 170,000 care recipients across seven countries, with a focus in Australia, New Zealand and the UK.
Evaran’s platforms span home care, residential aged care, disability services and retirement living, giving care organisations the connected intelligence to deliver better care, at scale.
evaran.com

The Business of Care is a podcast for people working at the intersection of technology, quality and leadership in health and social care. Hosted by Marie Page, Head of Marketing at CareLineLive, each episode brings together experts and innovators to explore what it really takes to deliver outstanding care.

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