But how can that be, when their products are potentially so useful? I can hear it now – but older adults love their technology (notwithstanding the 30 million aged 65+ non-owners of smartphones). Why all these gadgets and gizmos, these tools are so wonderfully helpful! Yes they are – apparently by accident, as determined by the user. It never seems to make it past the marketing department that this utility was intentional.
It’s really too bad that AARP ended its national events. The last one was in Miami last year – it was a good one – and Atlanta must still be reminiscing about that spectacular 2013 Life@50 event – which provided a pavilion and ramp-up for its AARP TEK training program. From 2013: “AARP TEK’s activities in Atlanta also will include youth volunteers known as “Tech Wizards” from 4-H Clubs of America and local colleges and universities, who will help boomers and seniors learn technology basics and how it can enhance their lives day-to-day."
Home is where seniors are, and for the most part, will stay. But that doesn’t mean they will be shut out from technology innovations – increasingly those innovations are designed to benefit those at home. Increasingly, those organizations that serve older adults must also stay current on new technology developments and assess their fit for the care recipients they serve. Categories of these April offerings include transportation, medication, housing, robotics, and tracking -- information is derived from the companies.
Surveys are foundational for design/marketing – but they don’t include real seniors. You need to make the set of slides to launch the product, service, or new website. Time to pitch the investment group, the board of directors, the distribution partners, the audience. Yet for the oldest adult markets and product segments that need seniors, the real seniors, individuals (aged 75+) are rarely surveyed – at least that we can tell, because their responses are dumped, clumped and lumped into the 65+ group.
Americans are worried about the risk of seniors falling. It’s a YARP ("Yet Another Research Project"). Yay. Carnegie Mellon researchers have provided this 2016 insight based on a survey -- accompanying their engineering project to 'solve' the problem. Coined to describe those special projects run by professors and grad students who appeared to have no access to the Internet to see what others have already developed and commercialized. But they have significant grant money that has yet to run out.
Imagine the coordinated care scenario that includes…home care. In July of 2012, The Future of Home Care Technology was published, based on interviews with 21 industry executives and a survey of 315 home care managers (including non-medical care, home health care, geriatric care managers, organizations and franchises) who represented 34,509 workers across multiple states. And as market research reports tend to do, this one tries to predict the future use of technology. It s worth a look back, both to re-read a much-downloaded report and place it in 2016 context of actions, announcements, and industry change.
You walked the Exhibit Hall at ASA. You've been there, done that -- the American Society on Aging conferences and always the Exhibit Hall – so that you could note what the organization prioritizes for its many social services attendees to hear about or visit. A few years ago, you were observing that there were many companies, so little tech. This time it seemed that the exhibit hall had even fewer tech offerings than previous, and very few brand-new companies. Big firm entrants were there -- like Tunstall (Exhibit Hall) and GreatCall (Sponsor), along with divisions of larger firms, like Plantronics/Clarity. You might have thought it was surprising to see a new senior-focused business unit from Hasbro -- with a Companion Robotic Cat (Exhibit Hall). Maybe you noted that a few smaller firms were there – with tech like MyMar (medication reminders for assisted living staff), MyMemory Carebook (life legacy), SwiftAlarm (PERS) and SingFit (dementia care music technology).
Five characteristics of health tech market maturity...for a mature market. What would boomers most want to have as key characteristics in the tech world of boomers/seniors? Here’s a starting list – comments welcome. 1) Their privacy is well protected by their insurers, doctors, software, social network and device makers; 2) Their health information is well-integrated into the multi-company health provider world – no need to carry around those CDs of EHRs); 3) Trends in their health patterns are noticed by care providers who use predictive analytics to note possible problems); 4) Boomers do less driving to specialists, more remote consultations, which are appropriately reimbursed through Medicare; 5) Fitness gadgets are replaced by well-being devices and systems.
Staying up-to-date by rounding up recent announcements. As the recently published 2016 Technology Market Overview noted, most older adults will remain in their own homes, served by home/companion and home healthcare providers and assisted by a variety of tech-enabled products and services. Over the past month, new offering announcements have that can help seniors, care providers (family and professional) meet the objective of remaining at home. Here are five, noting as always, that all material is provided from the websites/announcements from the companies themselves.
