Tech Solutions for An Aging Society
SESSION OVERVIEW
As practitioners, we have the opportunity to aid our patients and their families in identifying resources that can potentially improve their overall quality of life as they navigate the ins and outs of aging in a fast-paced society.
During our session, we will identify an array of technologies that can have a positive impact on the lives of our patients and their families
YOUR INSTRUCTOR
LET'S TAKE A LOOK BACK. . .
OF HALF GODS AND MORTALS: AESCULAPIAN AUTHORITY
"O you that are half gods, lengthen that life. . . turn o'er all the volumes of your mysterious Aesculapian science."
AESCULAPIAN POWER
"This awesome authority which rules out any patient participation in the decision-making process, stems from a three-pronged power base: the physician's expertise, the patient's faith in him, and the belief that he has almost mystical powers."
EXPERT AUTHORITY
MORAL AUTHORITY
GOD-GIVEN AUTHORITY
MEDICAL PHILOSOPHIES
ACTIVE-PASSIVE CONTINUUM
JOINT PARTICIPATION MODEL
INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY
- Fifty years ago, knowledge relating to health and disease were considered "intellectual property"
- Doctors divulged little information and patients rarely questioned decisions
- Patients consulted when ill, and doctors did not necessarily see themselves as educators
- People were showing interest in health prior to the Internet
- General and scientific education
- Advent of T.V.
- Live debates on health issues
- "Doctor" columns in newspapers and magazines
- Taboos fell
PUBLIC INTEREST IN HEALTHCARE
ADVISE COLUMNS
"THE THERAPEUTIC ACT OF FRAMING A DILEMMA, OF SHARING A PROBLEM, KEEPS THE ADVICE SEEKERS WRITING - AND THE RUBBERNECKERS READING"
DOROTHY DIX
AMERICAS "MOTHER-CONFESSOR"
READERSHIP OF 60 MILLION
HOMELIFE VS WORKING WOMEN
ANN LANDERS
ORIGINATED IN 1950S
GUARDIANS OF WHAT WAS "NORMAL" IN FAMILIES, COMMUNITIES, & SOCIETY
DEAR ABBY
ORIGINATED IN 1950S
COLUMNS BECAME PUBLIC FORUMS FOR PEOPLE TO SHARE EXPERIENCES
"ADVISE COLUMNS WERE INTERACTIVE, MORE LIKE AN INTERNET CHAT ROOM"
VINTAGE ADVICE FROM DEAR ABBY
ON A BIRTH ANNOUNCEMENT . . .
ON BIRTH CONTROL . . .
MEDIA INFLUENCES ON HEALTH
TELEVISION AS A MEDICAL DEVICE
MARSHALL MCLUHAN
- Canadian philosopher - media theory
- Published Understanding Media: The Extensions of Man (1964)
- "Hot media (film, radio) engaged one sense entirely & the viewer or listener became a passive recipient
- "Cool" media (T.V.) engaged several senses less completely and required more interaction
- T.V. had the potential to become an interactive medium due to its "cool" construct
REBA BENSCHOTER
- N.Y. Academy of Sciences (1966) - hosted a conference of luminaries
- Texan heart surgeon, Michael DeBakey; National Library of Medicine head; advertising executives, and; the governor of American Samoa
- Transforming medicine with new media
- Presented on her experience at Nebraska Psychiatric Institute & Norfolk State Mental Hospital
- Focused on how the T.V. changed the infrastructure of patient care by: (a) changing the nature of clinical medicine; (b) the conduct of biomedical research, and; (c) the structure of medical institutions
A JOINT EFFORT
- Reba Benschoter (psychologist) - Cecil Wittson (psychiatrist) - Van Lear Johnson (technician)
- Importance of telecommunications in healthcare
- Wittson researched using telephones to expand mental health services in rural areas
- Wired building for closed-circuit T.V.s
- Created a closed-circuit loop between two video cameras, two microphones, and two T.V. sets that connected NPI and the University of Nebraska's anatomy department
- Neurologist to conduct a comprehensive exam and psychiatrist to conduct group therapy over the same system
- Funded to complete research (1964)
- Allowed for the timely diagnosis and treatment of patients despite not having an on-site neurologist
- Connected patients to family members who could not visit
- Improved morale of patients, family members, and hospital staff
- Allowed for better management and scheduling of treatment sessions
- Inpatient population dropped from more than 900 in 1965 to 476 by the end of 1968
KENNETH BIRD
- Boston Logan Airport (Oct 1960) - plane stalled & collapsed into Winthrop Bay
- Lack of timely medical attention
- Spectators blocked roadways
- "Miniature" hospital built - Kenneth Bird director
- Pulmonary/Cardiovascular care
- Conducted studies on disaster management
- Attempted distance consultation with nurses via telephone
"If I could see a space launch a thousand miles away in Florida, and hear an astronaut’s heartbeat a thousand miles up in space, then there was no reason why a patient a few miles away couldn’t be seen and his vital signs checked, while a nurse led him through a physical examination.”
TRANSFORMING URGENT CARE
- Getting a T.V. signal between the airport and hospital
- Privacy concerns
- Federal Communications Commission - signal wouldn't be picked up with other sets or interfere with other forms of bandwidth
- Bird with engineers from CBS and WGBH had to figure out how to build it
- Three year grant from the U.S. Public Health Service
- Line-of-sight microwave transmission pathway between the two sites (clinic & hospital)
- Range of cameras for physical examination
- Specialized cameras for X-rays, EKGs, & video microscopy of blood smears
- All information was fed back to the main hospital
“The doctor’s stethoscope is three miles long.”
Science fiction is already present in the contemporary practice of medicine
Like Crichton, Bird often chose to describe his clinic as a form of science fiction in the present.
"I don’t want no Tele-Medicine - I don’t want no Doctor’s smile - Flashing on a television - Over any span of miles - I don’t want no diagnosis - With a 1500 lens - I don’t want no eye exam - With a camera focused in - I don’t want no Doctor peering - Down my throat from miles away - I don’t want nobody listening - To my heart on microwave."
KEEP IN MIND
The practice of medical care at a distance was not new to the 1960s. As far back as the Middle Ages, many European physicians had received the stories of their patients’ ills in the form of letters—often accompanied by a flask of urine for diagnostic testing—and they offered their prescriptions and prognoses without any face-to-face interaction.
CURRENT DAY TECHNOLOGIES
HARNESSING TECHNOLOGY TO MEET CHALLENGES
MAINTAINING INDEPENDENCE
PHYSICAL SAFETY
MONITORING ENVIRONMENT
SCHEDULING & COORDINATING SERVICE PROVIDERS
MONITORING & ORGANIZATING MEDICATIONS
CHANGES IN COMMUNICATION
MEMORY PROBLEMS
OBTAINING ADEQUATE SUPPORT
IDENTIFYING HELPFUL RESOURCES
CURRENT RESEARCH
CATALYZING TECH (2014)
Adler & Mehta (2014). Catalyzing Technology to Support Family Caregiving. National Alliance for Caregiving.
"The vast majority of healthcare is actually provided by families, not by healthcare professionals"
Considerations:
1. Approximately 40-million caregivers.
2. Provide emotional support, helping with household tasks, 24/7 care, medical care.
3. Social issue as caregiving can be stressful, time consuming, etc.
4. Impact physical & mental health, financial & social situations, & economic productivity.
Expert Round Table:
*Researchers *advocates *designers *entrepreneurs, i.e. Intel, Silicon Valley, Kaiser Permanente, California Healthcare Foundation, Care Innovations, Institute for the Future, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, US Department of Health and Human Services, Center for Aging and Technology, and many more. . .
Exploratory Questions:
*To date, technology has made very modest contributions to supporting caregivers of an aging population:
1. Can technology play a more meaningful role in helping caregivers?
2. How can we accelerate innovation in developing new applications to support caregivers?
Ideas:
1. An "Intelligent Family Care Assistant" to help with day-to-day caregiving by helping to coordinate the family's tasks in the context of the family's other activities.
2. "Wearable technologies" - devices worn on or placed in the body, with sensors and/or human interfaces - to help monitor a person's health and overall condition.
3. Technologies that provide better connections between family caregivers and health professionals, enabling them to work more effectively as a team in providing care.
PROJECT CATALYST
Project Catalyst fills a gap in the market by putting the 50-plus consumer at the center of innovation. By conducting consumer research of new and emerging products with the consumer, the program helps inform developers about how their products and services are working to improve the lives of Americans as they age.
Research for Project Catalyst was conducted by HITLAB, which is a healthcare innovation lab that helps leading organizations with the ideation, creation, evaluation, and diffusion of technology-based solutions to improve the quality and accessibility of healthcare worldwide.
Founding Members:
- Pfizer
- United Healthcare
- MedStar Health
- Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
- AARP (American Association of Retired Persons)
- HITLAB (Healthcare Innovation Technology)
PROJECT CATALYST (2016)
Project Catalyst (2016). Caregivers & Technology: What They Want and Need. A Guide for Innovators: Research from a Nationally Representative Sample of America's 40 Million Family Caregivers.
"By 2020, 117 million Americans will need some kind of assistance. The number of unpaid caregivers is only projected to reach 45 million. That makes 1 caregiver for every 2.6 persons."
Considerations:
Half of family caregivers in 2014 were under age 50 & a quarter were millennials
Many people over 50 are online and connected
Many are interested in technology that is intuitive and consumer-friendly
Not enough technology to meet health and wellness needs
Purpose:
This guide was developed by:
1. Understanding how caregivers use technology.
2. Looking at technology functions of interest to caregivers.
3. Identifying barriers innovators need to overcome to meet caregiver's needs.
Demographics:
1. 1,028 caregivers completed online surveys
- Provide 8+ hours of care per week at least once/year
- Care recipients were 50+ years old
- Lived in U.S.
- Could read, speak, and write in English
2. (15) In-home interviews
3. Qualitative and quantitative research methods
Caregiver Performed Activities
Findings:
1. While caregivers’ use of technology to aid their duties is scant, their interest in tech is high:
- 71% of caregivers are interested in technology to support their caregiving tasks
- 7% of caregivers are already using or have used technology available in the market
- Technologies for scheduling, organizing, and medication refill and delivery are used most, and those used least are technologies for finding and procuring assisted-living or in-home aids.
2. Barriers to technology adoption are wide and many, and caregivers perceive lack of awareness, cost, and time to find or learn about new technologies to be their greatest hurdles.
3. Technology use will rise with time.
4. Technology that offers peace of mind is what caregivers want most.
5. Caregivers want tools to ensure medications are managed accurately and with ease.
7. When looking to hire help online, caregivers have significant trust issues.
8. Opportunities abound to restore countless hours, emotional energy, as well as alleviate stress and workload.
Project Catalyst (2016). Caregivers & technology: What they want and need. AARP.
PROJECT CATALYST (2017)
Project Catalyst (2017). Designing Technology for Caregivers: Understanding What Works and Doesn't. AARP.
"Caregivers are overwhelmed, exhausted, and burnt out. Technology can help alleviate some of the stress and burden, but only if it's the right technology, that works for the caregiver and care recipient at the right time, in the right way."
Purpose:
To increase the level of understanding by innovators and investors about the caregiver technology market in order to better support family caregivers.
Process:
Three pilot studies to test 3 areas determined to be "pain points" for caregivers identified in the prior Catalyst study: (a) care coordination; (b) emergency alerting, and (c) in-home aide services.
Family caregivers tested either a (a) care coordination platform, (b) personal emergency response device (PERS), or (c) home-care aide hiring platform for up to 6-weeks.
Findings:
- Provide options for caring for multiple loved ones
- Help caregivers recall what has been completed
- See schedules at a glance
- Cost of PERS device
- Lack of awareness of market options
- Perception that PERS is for old people
- Caregivers are deeply unhappy with the current state of homecare
- Affordable, quality of care is hard to find
- Caregivers feel unprepared and under-supported in the process of finding a home-aide
SERVING OUR PATIENTS
OUR ROLE
TECH TOOLS
RIDESHARING SERVICES
UBER
TWO SENIOR LIVING COMMUNITIES
TECHNOLOGY TUTORIALS
UBER ASSIST PROGRAM
uberWAV
LYFT: RIDE WITH CARE
GO GO GRANDPARENT
CALL-IN SERVICE
"PROFESSIONAL GRANDCHILDREN"
CAREGIVER ALERTS
FAMILY ORGANIZERS
PICNIIC
FAMILY LOCATOR
SHARED CALENDAR
SHOPPING LIST
MEAL PLANNERS
CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION
SPECIAL EVENTS NOTIFICATIONS
CALENDAR
CREATE FAMILY CALENDAR
ASSIGN FAMILY MEMBERS TO EVENTS
VIEW SCHEDULE IN A MONTHLY OR WEEKLY VIEW
COLOR CODE EVENTS
SYNC SCHEDULE ACROSS DEVICES AND KEEP FAMILY UP TO DATE
KEEP A DAILY JOURNAL
TRACK INCOME AND EXPENSES
EXPORT DATA AS AN EMAIL
FILTER SCHEDULE BY FAMILY MEMBER
https://apps.apple.com/us/app/calendar-family-organizer/id978882773
FLAYK
CAN MANAGE MULTIPLE FAMILIES, TEAMS, OR GROUPS OF PEOPLE
"FAMILIES" ARE COLOR-CODED
SET TASKS, MONITOR PROGRESS, ASSIGN REWARDS
https://apps.apple.com/us/app/flayk-made-for-your-family/id937835121
ONLINE REPOSITORIES
EVERPLANS
DIGITAL ARCHIVE - WILLS, TRUSTS, PASSWORDS, ADVANCED DIRECTIVES, INFORMATION ABOUT YOUR HOME, AND THE ABILITY TO SHARE WITH FAMILY MEMBERS
https://www.everplans.com/LIFESITE
ANY STAGE OF LIFE
NATURAL DISASTERS
CAREGIVING
MAJOR LIFE EVENTS
EASY ACCESS
YOUREFOLIO
FLOW CHARTS
ESTATE ANALYSIS
ESTATE CALCULATORS
CUSTOM PLAN DESIGN SUMMARIES
256-BIT SSL ENCRYPTION
HIPAA COMPLIANT
https://www.yourefolio.com/features
SECURITY
THE SENIOR SOURCE
PROTECTS AGAINST FINANCIAL & PHYSICAL ABUSE
FOR SENIORS IN A LONG-TERM FACILITY OR AT HOME
OFFERS A:
1. GUARDIANSHIP PROGRAM
2. LONG-TERM CARE OMBUDSMAN
3. ELDER FINANCIAL SAFETY CENTER
https://theseniorsource.org/MICROSOFT SENSECAM
ENSURES EVERYTHING IN THE WEARER'S VIEW IS CAPTURED
CAN OPERATE ON A TIMER
EXPERIMENTING WITH INCORPORATING AUDIO RECORDINGS
FAST-PLAY CREATES A 'FLIP-BOOK' MOVIE EFFECT
https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/research/project/sensecam/#!introduction
EVERSAFE APP
TELEMARKETERS EXPLOITED HIS MOTHER
DETECTION & ALERT SYSTEM TO IDENTIFY & PREVENT THEFT & OTHER FINANCIAL CRIMES
LOOKS AT SPENDING HABITS
SPOTS MISSING CHECKS (PENSION)
$7.49/MO
GPS TRACKERS
SMARTSOLE
GPS AND CELLULAR TECHNOLOGY
REQUIRES CELLULAR COVERAGE
ITRAQ
EXTRA-LONG BATTERY LIFE
SOS BUTTON
DEVICE LOCATOR
IMPROVED ACCURACY
MOTION AND TEMPERATURE SENSOR
COMPACT
LIFE360 - FAMILY LOCATOR
CREATE PRIVATE GROUPS "CIRCLES"
REAL-TIME LOCATION
REAL-TIME ALERTS FOR ARRIVALS AND DEPARTURES
LOCATE STOLEN OR LOST PHONES
STAYING CONNECTED
GRANDCARE SYSTEMS
MULTIPURPOSE SYSTEM
TRACKS DAILY ACTIVITY
MEDICAL MONITORING (GLUCOSE, 02, BLOOD PRESSURE, WEIGHT)
CAN DISPLAY ANYTHING: DIETS, DC PLANS, EXERCISES
INTERACTIVE TOUCH SCREEN FOR WATCHING VIDEOS, VIEWING FAMILY OR FACEBOOK PHOTOS, LISTENING TO MUSIC, PLAYING GAMES, READING THE NEWS AND VIDEO CHATTING WITH FAMILY
https://www.grandcare.com/VIVIFY HEALTH
KEEP HIGH-RISK AND CHRONICALLY ILL PTS OUT OF ER & HOSPITAL
IMPROVES COLLABORATION ACROSS CARE SETTINGS
PULLS DATA FROM PTS DIGITAL DEVICES OR AT-HOME REMOTE MONITORING KITS
PROVIDES ACTIONABLE INSIGHTS
CLARIS COMPANION APP
USES ANY INEXPENSIVE ANDROID TABLET
FEATURES: VIDEO CALLING, EMAIL AND TEXT, MED REMINDERS, CALENDAR, PHOTOS, WEB BROWSING, Q & A, CALL ME, ALERTS, CHECK-IN, WELLNESS SURVEYS, VIDEOS
https://www.clariscompanion.com/features/
SMART WATCHES
LIVE!Y
WATERPROOF SAFETY WATCH
MEDICATION REMINDERS
DAILY ACTIVITY SHARING
STEP COUNTING
FAMILY ALERTS
CAN PAIR WITH CELL PHONE
FALL DETECTOR (COMING SOON)
UNALIWEAR
ALL-IN-ONE VOICE CONTROLLED DEVICE
MEDICATION REMINDERS
VOICE ACTIVATED DIRECTIONS
FALL DETECTION
EMERGENCY ASSISTANCE
GUIDE ME HOME ASSISTANCE
https://www.unaliwear.com/FREEDOM GUARDIAN SMARTWATCH
SIMPLE DESIGN
LIGHTWEIGHT
LARGE TOUCH SCREEN ICONS
ADVANCED LOCATION TRACKING
TEXT-TO-SPEECH MESSAGING
REMINDERS AND ALERTS
WEATHER FORECAST
MEDICATION MONITORS
MEDIPENSE
HELPS ADHERENCE TO A MEDICATION SCHEDULE
CAN USE IN HOMES, LONG-TERM CARE FACILITIES, REHABS, HOSPITALS
CAN BE MONITORED BY PHARMACISTS, DOCTORS, NURSES, CAREGIVERS
96% OF CHRONIC DISEASE PATIENTS STAY ON TRACK
MEDMINDER
AUTOMATED MED DISPENSER
ELDERLY FRIENDLY
USED WITH DEMENTIA PATIENTS
BUILT-IN CELLULAR CONNECTION
NO INTERNET OR PHONE LINE NEEDED
CAREGIVER FILLS MED TRAY - ADULT CHILD LOGS ONTO WEB - REMOTELY PROGRAMS SCHEDULE - CHECKS USER COMPLIANCE - DISPENSER FLASHES WHEN IT'S PILL TIME - BEEPS IF MED IS NOT TAKEN - IF CONTINUES TO NOT BE TAKEN, THEN A PRE-RECORDED VOICE REMINDS THEM - IF NOT, THEN YOU GET AN EMAIL, TEXT OR CALL
REMINDER ROSIE
LOW-TECH GADGET
VOICE-ACTIVATED TALKING CLOCKPRE-RECORDED VOICE OF FAMILY MEMBER
TELLS WHEN TO TAKE MEDS
FAMILY MEMBER PROGRAMS CLOCK - MED IS TAKEN - PERSON SAY "REMINDER OFF" OR TOUCHES IT TO TURN IT OFF.
CAN BE USED FOR OTHER REMINDERS
EMERGENCY ALERTS
MEDICAL ALERT
LARGEST PROVIDER OF MEDICAL ALERT SYSTEMS
COMPREHENSIVE ON THE GO AND AT HOME SERVICES
24/7 MONITORING & HELP AT PUSH OF A BUTTON
NO CHARGE FOR EQUIPMENT, NO ACTIVATION FEE, NO LONG-TERM CONTRACTS, FIRST MONTH FREE
https://www.medicalalert.com/about-connect-america-medical-alert.html
GREATCALL 5 STAR URGENT RESPONSE
GPS TECHNOLOGY
CPR-TRAINED AGENTS TO FIND LOCATION & ASSESS SITUATION
https://www.greatcall.com/devices/lively-mobile-medical-alert-system/
MOBILEHELP
GPS SATELLITE LOCATION TRACKING
IN-HOME BASE STATION
PRESS HELP BUTTON - RESPONSE TEAM SEEKS MEDICAL HELP - CALLS AND EMAILS FAMILY - TELLS LOCATION/HOSPITAL
UNVEILED A FALL DETECTION SYSTEM (UNAIDED)
EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES
VIRTUAL RETIREMENT COMMUNITIES
TECH ON THE GO!
HAVE A GREAT DAY!
CLEARVIEW SPEECH AND CONSULTING SERVICES, PLLC
Email: contact@clearviewspeech.com
Website: www.clearviewspeech.com
Location: 1751 River Run, Fort Worth, TX, USA
Phone: (817) 692-8040
Twitter: @TechySLP