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.
SAN FRANCISCO, Jan. 21, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Honor™ (www.JoinHonor.com), the leader in high-quality home care for older adults, today announced a major shift to empower its home care professional workforce. They will now become employees, eligible for benefits—and stock options. This move will enable Honor Care Professionals to provide even better service to Honor's customers.
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.
New York, New York (January 4, 2016) – Hometeam, a new approach to home care which brings more independence, joy and vibrancy to older adults — and peace of mind to families, today announced it has secured $27.5M in a Series B funding round. Oak HC/FT, a leading venture-growth equity fund investing in Healthcare Services technology companies, joins existing investors Lux Capital, IA Ventures and Recruit Strategic Partners in this funding round which will directly enable the company to accelerate its medical and technology development.
A look back to look forward. Consider the context for 2016 innovation, despite (or as a result of) a still-erratic economy, and smaller-cheaper-better base technologies. At the same time, the assisted living industry watches residential age climbing – over half now are 85+. So the desire (or perhaps the only option) to age at home has further intensified. That has created opportunities like the AARP and Leading Age funds; research initiatives like Baycrest and Philips AgingWell; and startup pitch events like Louisville Innovation Summit, or Aging 2.0. Based on looking back at 2015, here then are five categories of trends for 2016:
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.
CINCINNATI, Ohio. – Dec. 14, 2015 – FirstLight HomeCare, provider of quality, affordable, non-medical in-home care for adults, announced its 2015 earnings as $52 Million, a 98 percent increase over 2014 revenues.
Remember the Cyberdine demo of HAL at ASA some years ago? The Hybrid Assistive Limb (HAL) was designed by a venture firm in Japan to help a wheelchair-bound individual stand and move. It was very cool. It was priced at that time (2009) at around $5000. By 2014, the device could be rented for the equivalent of $1400/month. And now it has again been modified. This time, according to the WSJ article about Japanese demographics, the country needs its older laborers to work substantially longer. So a 67-year-old worker in the construction industry can stack wood just like someone half his age. Yay. And then there is the charming Pepper robot, selling for an equivalent of $1600, leading recreational activities in senior housing, charming the residents. In Japan, 13% of the population is 75+, and in another statistic, 15% of the 'elderly' population has dementia.
In the exhibit hall, there is often hope, sometimes disappointment. Startups hope for a committed investor, the inked partnership. Or perhaps a positive nod from a health firm or senior-housing community -- sell-once, deploy-many. At the mHealth Summit, now a HIMSS property as part of the multi-show Connected Health Summit, the obvious signal sent by HIMSS was its lack of interest in mobile and wearable mHealth – the summit was just one of several events scheduled at the same time. Attendees looked at the relatively limited scale of the show, noted its IT emphasis, compared to previous – some very big players did not even bother to participate (Walgreens, but not CVS?). Too much health IT, not enough mhealth? Or is all health tech now actually health IT?
PALO ALTO, CA--(Marketwired - Nov 23, 2015) - People Power, a services enablement company providing apps, cloud and mobile services for the Internet of Things (IoT), today launches its crowdfunding campaign for the Presence Pro Care software solution.