The central objective of remote monitoring technologies has always been to help seniors and the chronically ill live safely and independently in their own homes, and at lower costs than hospitals.
The dilemma of distance -- boomers have parents who live in, for example, Florida. The oldest boomer is 69. They’re not all that healthy. The still-living parent(s) may be even less healthy. In this age of medical specialization and long distance families, many aging women living alone: they need to see doctors, perhaps multiple doctors. Even if the children of aging parents live nearby, experiencing enhanced intergenerational proximity (!), the aging parent may ultimately live alone. With life expectancy for woman now averaging 88+, it is safe to say that older boomers are still involved in coordinating the care of their aging parent/mother. And they’re doing it from a distance – since the boomer woman with a career may not reside in Florida. Consider that Florida is now on track to become the 3rd largest state – with population growth primarily from migration. The state now has a median age of 74 for its 65+ population, one-quarter of that population widowed. But the dilemma of distance criss-crosses the country from California to Maine, from upstate New York to New Mexico.
SAN FRANCISCO, Dec. 18, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Most long-term care in this country is performed by families, not institutions. And, as in other areas of our society, new technologies have emerged as change agents in that care.
There is more to the world of aging-related technologies than CES. Seriously, can that be true? And yes, I actually know several people who asked me in the past week -- what is CES? My explanation was weak -- there were no follow-up questions. Anyway, these five companies that have been focused on technology to help older adults made recent announcements of changes to their business strategies, products, and/or branding approaches. Each in its own way offers a milestone for the industry -- but taken together, the announcements demonstrate a focus on the older adult population and new ways to deliver benefit for them by providing additional products, service innovations and partnerships during 2015. Text comes directly from company websites:
ROSEVILLE, Calif., November 10, 2014 – Intel-GE Care Innovations™, a pioneer in connecting the care continuum to the home, today announced the launch of its latest telehealth technology system, Health Harmony. The platform simplifies remote patient monitoring by providing intuitive and easy-to-use technology that enables patients, clinicians, care providers, and family caregivers to collaborate for better care in the home and within normal daily routines.
So many companies, so much press. So far, even though the gadget gadfly media has produced multiple post-CES articles, they are mostly of the gizmos-for-you and even for those health tech companies like Withings, press caught them in the activity-tracking ‘fun’ wearable category. Some write-ups were good visual tours, and some press folk offered up a ho-hum, nothing new to see here view, like the NY Times – Everything Old is New Again. Which is silly. There were a gazillion new things to see at CES, but no way to make sense of them. The floor layout in both convention centers we were in could best be categorized as dart board random -- except for booth numbers and mega-broad categories. So to finish off this trilogy of post-CES blogs, Part 1 addressed a few tech offerings in the aging-related space. Part 2 took a look at a few of the health-related technology innovations. Finally, a few others that could assist in the older adults market, here some additional picks, only OnKöl and VideoforAlle targeting the senior market. As Ars Technica noted about CES 2015, that's a wrap.
LAS VEGAS – January 6, 2014 – At the 2015 Consumer Electronics Show, Independa, the leader in integrated community engagement and remote care technologies, today announced the launching of its mobile app solution on Apple iPhones and iPads, including integration with Apple Watch and the Apple HealthKit platform. As an early adopter of Apple Watch and HealthKit, Independa further expands its market leadership into consumer health and remote care management for the older adult generation.
LAS VEGAS – January 6, 2014 – At the 2015 Consumer Electronic Show, Independa, the leader in integrated community engagement and remote care technologies, today announced its entrance into the consumer market by making the unique and award-winning Independa TV available to anyone who is struggling to provide remote care for their aging loved one. This powerful and simple TV-based solution enhances the lives and independence of older adults aging in place and provides peace of mind to their caregivers.
SAN DIEGO – November 12, 2014 – Independa, the leader in integrated community engagement and remote care technologies, today announced its unique technology platform designed to enhance the lives of millions of senior citizens has earned the coveted 2015 CES Innovation Award in the “Tech for a Better World” category.
International CES 2015 – overwhelming at every turn. What a relief -- it's over. International CES was an extremely difficult venue to sort into useful categories – the Sands Exhibition Hall (part of Tech West) was filled with every health-related variant of wearable, fitness, and lifestyle improvement like Belty that expands as you eat more – as well as Eureka Park. Watch those fit women peddling bikes and running on treadmills, that distance-measured basketball jump shot, and of course -- the pet-related tracker with the large and tippy stuffed dog. And they don’t call it International for nothing – walking by, saw (or heard) French entrepreneurs (22% of all startups at CES), the Israeli pavilion, Italian, Spanish, German, and of course, Chinese and Japanese. It is an overwhelming show, not for the faint of heart or foot, and that’s just to get from hotels to conferences and exhibits.