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August 2009

The end of the Peter Pan home - but shouldn't tech in the home be more universal?

Submitted by Laurie Orlov on Sat, 08/29/2009 - 11:21

Get this. A Dallas article that advised homeowners to Senior-proof their house so you don't have to move later says universal design is now Hot. The article cited an AARP study that 90% of those over 50 want to stay put in their homes, but noted that most homes in this country are 'Peter Pan' homes, designed for people who will never grow old -- with overly narrow doorways, dangerous carpets and doorsills, terrorizing bathrooms, and inaccessible upper floors. >>> Read more . . .

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Tech advice for living to 100 and enjoying life when you get there

Submitted by Laurie Orlov on Fri, 08/21/2009 - 11:32

This was an interesting week if you want to think about living to 100. Evercare offered up its 2009 Evercare 100@100 Survey -- which included survey results from college seniors. Dr. Judith Rich was published in the Huffington Post with the question "Would You Want to Live to Be 100?" Both built on surveys that compared the lives of centenarians. In fact, from the Foundation for Health in Aging, "For people born in 1899, the odds of living to 100 were 400 to 1. However, for people born in 1980, the odds improved substantially to 87 to 1." >>> Read more . . .

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A visit to Philips -- the call is a communication lifeline

Submitted by Laurie Orlov on Sat, 08/15/2009 - 14:14

I was fortunate to have an experience this week listening on calls when the Philips Lifeline pendant was activated. The calls have stayed with me -- and probably will continue to be on my mind for a long time.  Philips executives Deb Citrin (Philips Healthcare), Sharon Thompson (Philips Medication Compliance, part of Lifeline), and Mark Ruthorford, Director of Marketing for Philips Lifeline, hosted an informative 3-hour visit to Philips' location in Framingham, MA where the call centers are located.  We toured both call centers -- and I learned about the infrastructure behind the calls -- more than 8 million per year. >>> Read more . . .

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Fragmented thinking (gov and industry) hobbles healthcare technology enablement

Submitted by Laurie Orlov on Wed, 08/05/2009 - 14:18

Devices, devices, everywhere. I guess I just don't get telehealth-related technology 'progress' -- it seems like two steps forward in one area and a few backward somewhere else. On the one hand, there will be 15 million mobile and wireless telehealth devices by 2012, says an ABI July 22 research report, devices that will be jabbering away with information about our chronic disease measurement readings. Kind of exciting, especially for those who may be home-bound or live a long (or traffic-jammed) distance from the doctor's office. But who's going to monitor their readings? Oh yeah, the current health providers (aka today's doctors and nurses in hospitals and standard practice settings). >>> Read more . . .

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