Five new technology offerings for Aging in Place - March 2016

Staying up-to-date by rounding up recent announcements.  As the recently published 2016 Technology Market Overview noted, most older adults will remain in their own homes, served by home/companion and home healthcare providers and assisted by a variety of tech-enabled products and services. Over the past month, new offering announcements have that can help seniors, care providers (family and professional) meet the objective of remaining at home. Here are five, noting as always, that all material is provided from the websites/announcements from the companies themselves.

Freeus. "Freeus, LLC, one of the fastest growing mobile personal emergency response system (mPERS) businesses in the United States, announced the launch of their newest generation of mobile PERS, Belle^TM. Belle expands users’ horizons and enables them to press one button to get help at home or away, anywhere in the US where there is AT&T 3G coverage. Belle does not require a landline or base station. It is shower-safe, lightweight and easily worn or carried with the included lanyard." Learn more at Freeus.

Hero. "HERO, a Brooklyn-based health technology company, debuts the HERO smart appliance, the world’s first household companion for managing vitamins and medicines. HERO is now available for pre-order at herohealth.com. HERO is built in Brooklyn and expected to ship in early Summer 2016. HERO is a smart countertop appliance that lives in your home, manages your family’s pills, and provides you with actionable insights to keep everyone on track. It stores up to 10 different pills, dispenses them on schedule or on demand, and monitors consumption. HERO enables users to care for themselves and their families by making health management seamless and simple." Learn more at Herohealth.

HomeHero Collaborative. "HomeHero, the trusted senior home care marketplace, has pledged to convert 100% of their care providers from independent contractors to W-2 employees. These “Heroes” will form the foundation of the HomeHero Collaborative, a new care management platform for hospitals and health plans that connects and extends the health system into the home. The platform leverages mobile technology and in-home visits to collect critical patient health data, and then uses an analytics engine to refer patients to the appropriate care provider within the Collaborative, helping predict and prevent hospitalizations. HomeHero is also introducing a HIPAA-compliant mobile app for iOS that helps families find, hire and remotely manage care for their loved ones while giving health systems unparalleled transparency into the home." Learn more at HomeHero.

RespondWell. Following Philips announcement of "Aging Well" services: "One of the first partners working with Philips to offer more personalized and connected care is RespondWell, a tele-rehabilitation company that focuses on improving quality of life by speeding up rehabilitation with an innovative solution used in the convenience of the home. This offering uses an online gamified approach to rehabilitation with on-screen digital instructors and incentives. It allows seniors who are recuperating from surgeries such as knee replacements or who are recovering from injuries due to falls to enjoy an adaptive experience that instructs, encourages and monitors progress to help track and accelerate rehabilitation.  It also allows caregivers and physicians to remotely monitor patient progress as they improve overall balance and strength from their own home, while potentially reducing the costs associated with care." Learn more at RespondWell.

Silver Spaces. "The newly released Silver Spaces™  mobile app offers a simple IOS application for seniors, their families, health professionals, remodelers, builders, service providers and those who care about and for seniors.  This app tackles that issue head on by asking targeted questions that cover the interior and exterior, one room or a whole house and are easily answered by moving a yes/no bar.  One can upload photos and notes all while doing the evaluation.  In addition, there is a rationale provided for each question so that the user knows why that question is important.  The user can do one or more home evaluations, save them, upload a logo (if a business) and capture demographics information for later use." Learn more at SilverSpaces.