Consider this a heads up about new technology-enabled options for older adults. Sometimes it is helpful to know about offerings before or just as they are being released, if only to look for their availability in the future. The five interesting offerings that are noted below are all going to be available within the next six months, possibly sooner. Each in its own way strives to solve a problem experienced by older adults or those who serve them:
Six years ago, you had to make the case for tech. Why was it useful to describe a market of technology that could help people live longer in their homes? It was necessary to justify this lens with demographic projections, costs of aging somewhere else, how many wanted to stay in their homes – and then, only then – start describing enabling technologies that could help facilitate their own or family member’s successful aging at home. The tech market was filled with passionate founders and niche, senior-focused products. That was then.
The Home Health Technology Summit will take place March 13-15 at the Hotel Monteleone in New Orleans, offering tailored education on the technologies that homecare providers can leverage to transform business and care.
From PERS to remote patient monitoring to telehealth, technology has the potential to make homecare providers a differentiator in post-acute care.
More CES innovations, announcements -- and vice versa. It's another day (and the last day) of 2016 CES, including more from Eureka Park and Digital Health exhibitors -- please note yesterday's set of six. Were these the best ideas or the best of CES? Not necessarily -- but they could be useful to older adults -- the reason for inclusion here. It may seem strange to see long-established companies and literally website-free startups in the same list below. But that is the wonderful thing about CES -- all are walking around breathing the same air and like last year, overwhelming the similarly enormous crowds. Here are five that caught my eye:
SAN DIEGO, CA--(Marketwired - Jan 6, 2016) - GreatCall Inc., the leader in creating usable technology for active aging, brings family caregivers peace of mind and older adults a new level of empowerment by combining the health benefits of an activity tracker with the safety advantages of a mobile emergency response service. The introduction of the Lively Wearable by GreatCall is the first step in the development of a wearable health hub for the active aging market.
Nortek Security & Control LLC, a Nortek, Inc. company (Nasdaq: NTK), and a leader in health and wellness technology, announces the addition of health measurement data capturing capabilities via wireless connection to their Numera® Libris® mPERS solution. The Numera Libris will now integrate proactive health data so seniors and their families, as well as anyone with chronic illnesses, have the tools to track and share important health and activity information, empowering engagement and early intervention.
2015 was an intriguing year for technology and aging. The market opportunity has become more apparent, as the oldest boomers reached aged 69. Just for instance: there were multiple age-related fund launches; home care with tech underpinnings began to attract the lemming-like VCs; PERS offerings began to be integrated; speaking to devices (not typing) became increasingly possible; smartphones became tablet alternatives; senior housing organizations attempted re-branding of their offerings, likely to better match boomerdom. As we get closer to 2016 and summarizing key forward-looking trends, consider blog posts from 2015.
