What's next in tech for older adults. At the Aging in America 2013 [3]event in Chicago last week, attended by more than 2000 professionals who serve older adults, there were several tracks within the large event, including the Business Forum on Aging, National Alliance of Caregiving Coalitions and for new entrants targeting the boomer/senior market, there was a chance to hear speakers and meet other entrepreneurs at the 10th Annual What's Next Boomer Business Summit 2013. [4]At the Summit, these startups were eager to meet with AARP executives, investors, and other players in the space (like GreatCall [5]and Philips Home Healthcare [6]). So here are five of the new products/services from those in attendance -- listed alphabetically; all of the material comes from their own websites:
- CareMerge. "People over the age of 65 are the heaviest users of the health care system, but care coordination is difficult with limited senior facility staff having to communicate with sometimes up to seven outside stakeholders (physicians, specialists, therapists and family members, for example) for each resident, in order to make timely care decisions. Faxes and phone calls have been the best option to-date, but through the use of mobile apps (powered by Twilio), Caremerge is helping providers connect and exchange significant information faster." Learn more at CareMerge [7].
- CareSquared. "CareSquared was founded by a group of individuals that shared the same concern that many do when faced with the need to place a loved one in a long-term care facility – how to ensure that our loved one’s quality of life remains good. We developed ElderVisit and EnVision to help bridge both the distance and information gap between nursing home patients and their loved ones to help ensure that quality of life." Learn more at CareSquared [8].
- CareTreeMe. New care coordination platform. "CareTreeMe was a Finalist in the Chicago Lean Startup Challenge, 1 of 10 companies in North America selected to present at the AARP conference (over 20,000 attendees)/ Named Best New Company at the Chicago Health 2.0 Conference. Invited to participate in Tigerlabs Health, one of the top health IT startup accelerators in the world, operated in cooperation with Princeton University." Learn more at CareTreeMe [9].
- Numera Libris. "Numera Libris gives today’s active seniors and their families freedom, security and the ability to manage their health at home or away. Numera Libris travels virtually anywhere delivering the functionality of a personal health device with a Mobile Emergency Response Service (MPERS). Through our telehealth+telecare platform, Libris allows an individual to upload biometric measurements from a variety of wireless health devices and instantly send that information securely to their health care team, including family, friends, and healthcare professionals." Learn more at Numera. [10]
- SingFit for Seniors. "SingFit Silver & Gold™ is a pioneering new program that brings the health- and wellness-enhancing power of fully immersive music-making to senior care. Available through Apple mobile devices, SingFit (US Patent No. 5,820,384) programming taps into the super powers of mega-hit songs, most people’s inherent love of singing and a growing body of research revealing that music-making is a terrific way to help promote cognitive and physical fitness at almost any age." Learn more at SingFit [11].