The dog days of February -- effort beyond task.  I was in a assisted living/nursing home last week and saw the same golden retriever dog (whose master is the ever-cheerful maintenance guy) and down another hall, a snoozing cat. Here's something I've not seen surveyed -- what percentage of senior housing organizations permit and even encourage pets on the premises and in the presence of seniors?  If you know the answer to this question, please contact me! I view the presence of a house pet (and not just the caged birds) as an indicator of effort beyond task -- making me hope that's true of every aspect.

Puzzle pieces -- interlocking from necessity.  For those of you who have seen the market overview (downloadable free at Aging in Place Technology Watch) or heard me present, you know that I view the technology market categories as four interconnected domains: communication and engagement (PCs, e-mail, web, video, chat), home safety and security (PERS, home monitoring, fall detection), health and wellness (medication dispensing and reminder, disease management, fitness), and contribution and learning (legacy, lifelong learning, volunteering, working). The puzzle metaphor was carefully chosen because ignoring one is a recipe for decline -- risk, isolation, depression, non-compliance.

The puzzle paradigm also reflects the need for solutions beyond products. I am regularly contacted by vendors of products who may have developed one product or be reselling a list of products. My plea is for a vendor to know how their product fits into (or spans) this four-part puzzle for aging well. Even if products are only sold through referral channels or online, it's extremely important that new entrepreneurs and established vendors understand and position their product within in the overall context of an aging individual's life (the puzzle). Even (call me crazy) referring to other vendors who could provide the missing pieces should an individual's circumstances require it. Evidence that we've a long way to go is everywhere -- particularly in the patient or doctor-centricity of language of health-related technologies. 

So here are three blog posts from the February collection -- I can't help myself -- the news tends to make me crazy:

The oversized and underdeployed world of mobile Health.  It's particularly eye-catching when a category or product is described (as I saw recently) as telehealth/eHealth/mHealth and saving projects are intergalactic in scale, but are far exceeded by spending projections (how can this be?).  I love a good market sizing as much as the next analyst, but in the world of health-related devices, perhaps for the benefit of venture capitalists who have no other way to predict success, the market sizings border on the hysterical.  With such a market, you'd think we would be benefiting sooner.

Smoke signals and caregiving apps -- more on the way.  Caregiving app innovation seems to be falling into two categories:  in one, the care recipient is in the center of a portal-like community of those who are interested in their status and care.  In the other, care recipients indicate their status (health, wellness) to worried caregivers. As noted above, larger context is required to ensure that these offerings have staying power.

How do home care agencies use technology? Whether it is home health care or companion care, today tech is primarily for administration of paperwork, not yet as a supplemental means of interacting with a care recipient.  Yet home care, which is preferred by nearly everyone as an alternative to assisted living or nursing homes, is not typically round-the-clock.  For those most at risk, can sensor-based or video technologies help fill in those monitoring time gaps?

If you or your firm would like guidance in any of these areas, learn more about Aging in Place Technology Watch offers of retainer-based business services.

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Hope to see you at one of the many conferences I am attending -- listed on the home page!

All the best!

Laurie Orlov