ATA’s live event return to Boston. This week the American Telemedicine Association (ATA) conference, charmingly titled “What Now? Creating Opportunity in a Time of Uncertainty,” returned to a live format event in Boston. For those wondering, the event title relates to 'reimbursement uncertainties, workflow challenges, and investments needed.' Most of the exhibitor list of companies' focused on improving the efficiency and effectiveness of provider workflow and businesses. But some offered innovation for patients, whether in virtual visits and care, vital sign measurement, and improvements to patient experience. One might note that individuals 55 and older account for more than half of healthcare spending, with costs rising with age. Here are five from the ATA event, content from vendor websites:
June 30, 2021 - Austin, Texas -- Iris Healthcare, the leading provider of Advance Care Planning (ACP) solutions for health plans and providers, has been selected by Healthfirst, one of New York’s largest not- for-profit health insurers to provide its comprehensive suite of ACP services that are tailored to the needs of healthy, chronically-ill and seriously ill members. The goal is to provide universal access to advanced care planning to members who are dually eligible for Medicare and Medicaid as part of Healthfirst’s value-based care model.
BOSTON, MA, June 30, 2021 -- Intuition Robotics, the empathetic digital companion™ company, announced today a significant expansion of ElliQ, their AI-driven companion robot, to enable the extension of primary care teams’ presence into older adults’ homes. This will help increase patient engagement and improve the overall patient experience, while offering primary care providers continuous actionable data and insights for early detection and intervention. Intuition Robotics also announced a pilot with Family Doctors, a Mass General Brigham affiliated practice in Swampscott, MA.
What does the future hold for wearables and older adults? Change is ahead. Older adults in 2021 are at the same point of awareness and adoption of wearables as was once the case for Voice First. According to AARP's recent technology survey, most, especially those aged 70+, have not adopted wearables. They may be particularly unfamiliar with those that capture and track health-related status. But that will change, as general market adoption drives interest among older adults and those who care for them. Price points will become more affordable and data will become more actionable, informative, and predictive of future change. As the technology evolves, wearables will be:
LAFAYETTE, Calif., May 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Mary Furlong & Associates (MFA) announces its annual What's Next Longevity Venture Summit June 16-17 and the $10,000 Business Plan Competition. Now in its 18th year, the original thought leader conference focused on the longevity economy attracts more than 400 investors, entrepreneurs and other experts at the intersection of aging, technology and investment. The virtual event offers an online learning and networking experience with leading authorities on the future trends in the $8.3 trillion U.S. longevity economy.
Looking out toward the future – what trends matter most? The lack of broadband access among older adults is worrisome in these days of online-only vaccine registration. In years past, getting older adults online was a lower priority for senior advocates, social service agencies or healthcare organizations. News organizations rarely discussed tech adoption among seniors. And survey frequency about Internet access had dwindled over a decade.Now even the Wall Street Journal tech writer searches ways to get elusive vaccine appointments scheduled for older friends and relatives. The New York Times notes that some older adults don’t have computers. When the 2022 surveys of broadband access for the 65+ are published, will the numbers be much higher? New government efforts are underway to offer cheaper broadband -- will older adults participate? Stay tuned. Here are four blog posts from February 2021:
ATA’s live event return to Boston. 
Looking out toward the future – what trends matter most? 