Five technology and health blogs from March 2020

The world is spinning from the events of March 2020. At the beginning of the month, it made sense to publish a Market Overview about tech for older adults that did not link all tech to Covid-19, and by the end of the month every single news item, announced business initiative, investor prediction, startup messaging, university project, and technology topic was only about Covid-19. It’s almost quaint to look at where the month began – publishing the 2020 Market Overview of Technology for Aging (on March 5). The technologies noted are as relevant today as they were on March 5 – however, their application as the list of press releases notes, may be different. Telehealth is suddenly as critical as it always should have been. Smart home and enablement of remote interactions) matters more than it ever has. From the month:

Technology for older adults has become mainstream. The 2020 Market Overview of Technology for Aging is now online. This 2020 version reflects the growing market interest in the boomer-senior demographic and its position in the Longevity Economy. This tech market is less about products specifically designed for older adults and more about smarter marketing of many consumer offerings that could be useful to them. This includes smartphones, tablets, smart home technology, Voice First hardware and virtual assistants, and in-home sensors. Each of those devices is enabled for older adults by either more targeted marketing and packaging, enabling software, or bundling into training and solutions for in-home caregiving and/or healthcare. this forward-looking study is illustrated with descriptive graphics and includes more than 25 new offerings. Read more.

Technology innovation from HIMSS 2020. The event was canceled – but the briefings went on to shed a light on what’s new. When a conference of the scale of the largest annual health IT event HIMSS (possible attendance of 45,000 compared to 2019) is canceled, it sends shudders through the world of the entrepreneurs and providers they wanted to meet, solving thorny care delivery problems, finding customers and partners, gaining visibility to unusual and compelling solutions. And it created a big challenge for the multiple PR firms engaged to help create that visibility to innovation in care. Following cancellation, phone calls replaced nearly all 10 scheduled in-person meetings. In addition, HIMSS is offering a digital version of HIMSS. Read more.

Coronavirus and the impact on residents of senior living. Consider the directives aimed at senior living communities. Rant on. The Washington State nursing home deaths and the virus presence in multiple nursing homes have an immediate result. Nursing home visits are now restricted nationwide – and it appears, despite lack of clarity, that also means assisted living – the combination spanning 2.5 million nationally. Most people look at the lock-downs as completely sensible, preventing the spread of the virus to such a vulnerable population. And worker shortages already plaguing this industry are expected to worsen as workers call in sick, out of fear for themselves or their families. Read more.

TElehealth, HIPAA compliance and innovation tracking. The coronavirus pandemic has prompted instant behavior and tech changes. And not just about hand washing and social distancing. For the past two days, it’s apparent that the seemingly forever slow growth of telehealth adoption has entered a new, “When can I have that? Yesterday?” phase. This applies to caring for and treating the 2.5 million in senior living communities, including nursing homes. Some senior living providers have been ahead of the game for some time with telehealth, like Asbury Communities and Holiday Retirement -- offering services for residents at times when physicians cannot be on site. But the interest and use of telehealth in senior living has been accelerating since April 2019, when Medicare Advantage plans began covering it. And further, when senior living companies were enabled to provide their own Medicare advantage plans, that piqued more interest in telehealth. All that's left is to install the connectivity to make it effective. Read more.

Remote care technologies – what have they been, what will they be? This past week offers updates to services, policy, and practice. Expect more announcements moving forward, but matching reimbursement for telehealth with in-person visits was a big deal. Many other changes have been put in place, eliminating co-pays, adding coverage for telehealth for those without insurance, and many others many of them state-by-state (see Florida and California, for example). Senior living companies are readying telehealth services (see Holiday Retirement) and no doubt more will follow. Read more.

 

category tags: 

Telehealth-mHealth-Voice Health, Boomer-Senior Tech Business, senior living

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from Tips For Aging In Place https://www.ageinplacetech.com/blog/five-technology-and-health-blogs-march-2020

Remote Care Technologies – What have they been, what will they be?

This past week offers updates to services, policy, and practice. Expect more announcements moving forward, but matching reimbursement for telehealth with in-person visits was a big deal. Many other changes have been put in place, eliminating co-pays, adding coverage for telehealth for those without insurance, and many others many of them state-by-state (see Florida and California, for example). Senior living companies are readying telehealth services (see Holiday Retirement) and no doubt more will follow.

Previously limited categories expand to span multiple remote care services. Lots of chatter is underway this week about Telehealth, Remote Patient Monitoring, remote care technologies for senior living (where no visitors are allowed). Consider the HIMSS rebranding of one company, Wellsky, formerly Mediware,rebranded as Wellsky, but also renamed home, companion, private duty care as ‘personal care.’ This is an acknowledgement of the emerging reimbursement of some home care services by Medicare Advantage. Note United Healthcae’s reimbursement of E-Visits and Virtual Check-ins (including Medicaid patients until June 18).

Remote patient monitoring (RPM) gets a boost…In the time of Covid-19, in-person patient monitoring becomes nearly impossible unless the patient is in a hospital bed. Thus the FDA has expanded the ability to remotely monitor “clinical electronic thermometers, ECGs, cardiac monitors, ECG software for over-the-counter use, pulse oximeters, respiratory rate or breathing frequency monitors, non-invasive blood pressure monitors and electronic stethoscopes” used in home settings. Meanwhile, the demand for in-home telehealth skyrockets.  

…But what about remote engagement technologies? A number of companies fall into the category of care collaboration – while some vendors are making these offerings free during the pandemic, including Outpatient, Iamfine, Vital Care Family App, LifePod Family Caregiving Support, Ageless Innovation Pets and undoubtedly others. Engagement of family members in remote care situations like senior living, or at home long distance – why not reimburse these for the duration of remote telehealth, RPM, and similar reimbursement. If not now, when?

category tags: 

Telehealth-mHealth-Voice Health

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from Tips For Aging In Place https://www.ageinplacetech.com/blog/remote-care-technologies-what-have-they-been-what-will-they-be

Telehealth, HIPAA compliance and innovation tracking

The coronavirus pandemic has prompted instant behavior and tech changes.  And not just about hand washing and social distancing.  For the past two days, it’s apparent that the seemingly forever slow growth of telehealth adoption has entered a new, “When can I have that? Yesterday?” phase.   This applies to caring for and treating the 2.5 million in senior living communities, including nursing homes. Some senior living providers have been ahead of the game for some time with telehealth, like Asbury Communities and Holiday Retirement -- offering services for residents at times when physicians cannot be on site. But the interest and use of telehealth in senior living has been accelerating since April 2019, when Medicare Advantage plans began covering it. And further, when senior living companies were enabled to provide their own Medicare advantage plans, that piqued more interest in telehealth.  All that's left is to install the connectivity to make it effective.

Telehealth expanded for seniors, yes, this is a breakthrough – but there are issues.   So telehealth services will broadly expand during this coronavirus calamity. The key phrase in this? “Telehealth visits will be reimbursed the same amount as an in-person visit.”  This is the breakthrough push that the healthcare industry -- notably providers – needed to accelerate telehealth adoption.  Will this reimbursement extend past the current crisis?  Consider the scenario noted here which sounds helpful: “a patient with diabetes wouldn’t have to postpone a regular follow-up visit with the doctor to keep safe — he or she could do it via Skype.” Hmmm. 

You’re ready for telehealth, having used Skype.  You love it, I’m sure, once you created your Skype ID, learned how to sign on and most importantly, sign out. Oh, you haven’t used it? You don’t know the system requirements for running Skype on whichever of seven device types you have? Your healthcare provider isn’t running any training today.  Or your aging mother doesn’t have any of those devices – only 62% of those aged 70+ own smartphones, according to AARP. So someone (you?) must be there in person to help facilitate a telehealth interaction (as suggested by Seema Verma), but you’re not allowed to visit.  

OCR lifts HIPAA restrictions – and innovation efforts accelerate. Did you know that HHS has an Office for Civil Rights (otherwise known as OCR)?   Did you know that they penalized providers (really?) who communicate with patients via Apple FaceTime, Facebook Messenger video chat, Google Hangouts video or Skype, but now they will temporarily suspend that process.   On the other hand, Health 2.0 is tracking technology innovations in the time of Covid-19, noting the categories of innovation and the open calls for help in that category.  Here’s telehealth – no requests for help at this time, here’s diagnostics (see Stanford, testing all 3 types of virus!) and here’s home care.  Sigh. More when there’s more.

category tags: 

mHealth-Telehealth-Voice Health, Boomer-Senior Tech Business, healthcare

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from Tips For Aging In Place https://www.ageinplacetech.com/blog/telehealth-hipaa-compliance-and-innovation-tracking

Coronavirus hysteria – and the impact on older adults in senior care

Consider the directives aimed at senior living communities. Rant on. The Washington State nursing home deaths and the virus presence in multiple nursing homes has an immediate result. Nursing home visits are now restricted nationwide – and it appears, despite lack of clarity, that also means assisted living – the combination spanning 2.5 million nationally. Most people look at the lock-downs as completely sensible, preventing the spread of the virus to such a vulnerable population.  And worker shortages already plaguing this industry are expected to worsen as workers call in sick, out of fear for themselves or their families. 

Study the Johns Hopkins sick map. Take a look at states like Florida and Arizona, which have a notable percentage of older people. Florida, a state of 21 million, has 4 million people aged 65+ and has had 106 total cases of the virus reported, with 4 deaths (only one age 65+).  Arizona has an estimated population of 7.3 million people with the 65+ representing 22% of the population.   The state has 12 cases, no deaths. Theories like international travel, cruises, conferences are all being circulated (and presumably investigated) as possible connections to the spread of the virus – it’s unlikely that this includes many residents of senior living. And so far, the nursing home connection (and deaths) are linked primarily to a Seattle facility.   

The net result for older adults in senior living is isolation and possibly jeopardized care.  Now even the oversight for monitoring care quality from family visitors is gone. What are the communication alternatives for families of residents to check on their status?  And particularly, for those assisted living or nursing home residents (upwards of 50%) who have dementia?  Skype?  FaceTime?  Seriously?  Through which building window?  And which staff member will take a resident to that window and hold up a tablet or their own phone?  Oh and is there Wi-Fi in the community?  Good luck finding that out online. (Instead you will note how many consulting organizations are offering to help with deploying a solid infrastructure.)

What happens next? The preparedness checklists are available and online. But these predate the directs to shut down visitors. Testing in nursing homes is beginning – note that the residents, not the staff, were tested in the Kirkland facility. Will there be test kits available to senior living communities everywhere to test staff so that they can be cleared to come in?  Or will these only being made available in the form of drive through testing for those with symptoms to avoid further spread of the virus.  If that’s the case, what about the symptom-free CNAs and other senior living workers? Ah well, maybe Google will help with communication about the virus and we can relax -- we will have better answers soon.  Rant off.

category tags: 

senior living, social isolation, covid-19

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from Tips For Aging In Place https://www.ageinplacetech.com/blog/coronavirus-hysteria-and-impact-older-adults-senior-care

Corona virus hysteria – and the impact on older adults in senior care

Consider the directives aimed at senior living communities. Rant on. The Washington State nursing home deaths and the virus presence in multiple nursing homes has an immediate result. Nursing home visits are now restricted nationwide – and it appears, despite lack of clarity, that also means assisted living – the combination spanning 2.5 million nationally. Most people look at the lock-downs as completely sensible, preventing the spread of the virus to such a vulnerable population.  And worker shortages already plaguing this industry are expected to worsen as workers call in sick, out of fear for themselves or their families. 

Study the Johns Hopkins sick map. Take a look at states like Florida and Arizona, which have a notable percentage of older people. Florida, a state of 21 million, has 4 million people aged 65+ and has had 106 total cases of the virus reported, with 4 deaths (only one age 65+).  Arizona has an estimated population of 7.3 million people with the 65+ representing 22% of the population.   The state has 12 cases, no deaths. Theories like international travel, cruises, conferences are all being circulated (and presumably investigated) as possible connections to the spread of the virus – it’s unlikely that this includes many residents of senior living. And so far, the nursing home connection (and deaths) are linked primarily to a Seattle facility.   

The net result for older adults in senior living is isolation and possibly jeopardized care.  Now even the oversight for monitoring care quality from family visitors is gone. What are the communication alternatives for families of residents to check on their status?  And particularly, for those assisted living or nursing home residents (upwards of 50%) who have dementia?  Skype?  FaceTime?  Seriously?  Through which building window?  And which staff member will take a resident to that window and hold up a tablet or their own phone?  Oh and is there Wi-Fi in the community?  Good luck finding that out online. (Instead you will note how many consulting organizations are offering to help with deploying a solid infrastructure.)

What happens next? The preparedness checklists are available and online. But these predate the directs to shut down visitors. Testing in nursing homes is beginning – note that the residents, not the staff, were tested in the Kirkland facility. Will there be test kits available to senior living communities everywhere to test staff so that they can be cleared to come in?  Or will these only being made available in the form of drive through testing for those with symptoms to avoid further spread of the virus.  If that’s the case, what about the symptom-free CNAs and other senior living workers? Ah well, maybe Google will help with communication about the virus and we can relax -- we will have better answers soon.  Rant off.

category tags: 

senior living, social isolation, covid-19

• 

from Tips For Aging In Place https://www.ageinplacetech.com/blog/corona-virus-hysteria-and-impact-older-adults-senior-care

Innovative offerings from 2020 (virtual) HIMSS

HIMSS was canceled – but the briefings went on to shed a light on what’s new.  When a conference of the scale of the largest annual health IT event HIMSS (possible attendance of 45,000 compared to 2019) is canceled, it sends shudders through the world of the entrepreneurs and providers they wanted to meet, solving thorny care delivery problems, finding customers and partners, gaining visibility to unusual and compelling solutions. And it created a big challenge for the multiple PR firms engaged to help create that visibility to innovation in care. Following cancellation, phone calls replaced nearly all 10 scheduled in-person meetings. In addition, HIMSS is in the process of arranging a digital version of HIMSS. In the meantime, Here are some of their updates, in alphabetical order:

• Amwell (formerly American Well).  CEO (and American Well founder) Dr. Roy Schoenberg noted that the pioneering telehealth company, founded in 2006, rebranded itself on March 9 as Amwell.  As the newly published vision states: “No longer is telehealth merely a virtual urgent care service. Across our ecosystem and platform, Amwell, digital care delivery is fundamental to and enabling longitudinal care anywhere.” The offering of remote consultation, diagnosis, and suggested treatment is now a white-labeled offering embedded inside insurance, health care providers, and employee wellness services.  The service is offered online and on mobile devices.  Today’s physicians can apply once for cross-licensure across 36 states.  Amwell is now moving forward to help providers offer ‘hospital at home’ – now part of multiple insurance offerings.  Learn more.

• J2Global – from the telehealth sublime to the reality of fax. John Nebergall, SVP and GM for J2Global’s eFax offering (one of the business lines, 10 million subscribers, of this $1 billion company.  He talked about the capability to use cloud faxing for providers who lack an EHR system, enabling doctors to prescribe, query the network and download patient records. This ‘paper exchange made digital’ using secure cloud-based fax through their eFax platform called ‘Consensus.’  As he noted, despite the initiatives to automate health record data exchanges across platforms, fax still dominates – and needs to access and deliver information securely.  He noted that J2Global’s role is purely transport, ‘healthcare communication that works.’  Learn more.

• ŌMcare Home Health Hub. Lisa Lavin, founder of the company, provided an update on the new Medication Adherence capability announced this week. “Ōmcare Home Health Hub, which gives caregivers of all types – from physicians and pharmacists to home care providers or family members – the ability to see and speak to elderly or disabled dependents and confirm compliance with medication treatment plans from anywhere. The two-way video capabilities of the Ōmcare Home Health Hub allow individual caregivers or senior living facilities to ensure proper medication adherence through visual confirmation of right medication, right person, right time – from anywhere – which can significantly impact quality of life and clinical outcomes while reducing health care costs.” Learn more.  

• PointClickCare.  BJ Boyle, VP for the Post-Acute Insights Business of PointClickCare, talked about the firm’s effort to improve care coordination – or more importantly visibility to care status (“Where is my patient?”).  BJ noted “that PointClickCare is already the largest Electronic Health Record provider for long-term care” and is following its customer base of skilled nursing and long term care providers into their growing number of initiatives delivering care in the home. The goal is help provider organizations gain visibility to the ‘post-acute episode journey’ by using a tool called Harmony Visualize to help providers understand the patient care pathway, enabling external care term members to have access to information, all the way through to home health care. Learn more.

• Somatix SafeBeing (RPM). Announced in 2018, Somatix SafeBeing, a gesture detection wearable, is now being deployed in various organizations across several states. The firm’s RPM (Remote Patient Monitoring) platform is designed for detecting gestures that enable “passive monitoring of elderly individuals' ADLs (Activities of Daily Living), such as sleeping, drinking, walking and medication intake, as well as real time alerting of falling and wandering. By monitoring such activities, SafeBeing can accurately detect and instantly alert caregivers of dangers posed to elderly individuals under their care, enabling immediate response.” The offering is integrated into PointClickCare software and can also work through other smart watches. Learn more.

• Vivify Health (RPM).  Vivify Health, now part of Optum, provides remote patient monitoring of older adults through use of a tablet.  “The typical user is 70 years old and has an average daily compliance of 90% daily over long-term programs. We ship a welcome video for the tablet that they can startup with one button. The term of use can be a fixed period or unlimited depending on the health condition. We help manage multiple conditions typically up to a post-discharge cycle is 90-day cycle. Prioritize which patients need attention, build in virtual visits, but also have a tablet-based protocol.  We are focused on the higher cost of care – and certain older adults fit that profile. We deliver that monitoring through IVR, Web, mobile, television and smart speakers.  Learn more.

• Brooks Rehab and Sonifi Health (170 healthcare provider locations).  “The nonprofit post-acute hospital has partnered with SONIFI Health to install an interactive technology system in each of the patient rooms. The platform integrates with the facility’s electronic medical record system to provide personalized experiences with information that’s updated in real time. The in-room display automatically shows each patient’s care team and schedule of appointments for the day, as well as educational videos to learn more about their condition or recovery including their prescribed medications. Therapy appointments, an electronic whiteboard, patient feedback and a custom hospital orientation video including services and amenities are also integrated into the system. In their downtime, patients can use the system to access a variety of former patient stories, movies, channels, music options, and relaxation and spiritual content.”  Learn more.

• WellSky – technology for ‘personal’ (aka home, companion, private duty) care. A company grown from a 1980 founding of Mediware through multiple acquisitions, it was rebranded in 2018 as WellSky – and is now run by Bill Miller, former CEO of Optum. The company is established in the Home Health and Hospice space as a result of its Kinnser acquisition, but according to COO Steve Morgan, is also moving into the home care (aka companion care) space, which it is renaming the ‘personal’ care space and  as a result of its ClearCare acquisition, currently supports 4000 personal care agencies. The challenge? How to provide visibility to care requirements before they become acute?  Using predictive analytics, Steve noted that WellSky can coordinate care in the home, initiating an intervention prior to hospitalization, thus save money and improve care.   Learn more.

 

category tags: 

mHealth-Digital Health-Telehealth-Voice Health, healthcare, Boomer-Senior Tech Business

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from Tips For Aging In Place https://www.ageinplacetech.com/blog/innovative-offerings-2020-virtual-himss

Five new technologies from the 2020 Market Overview

echnology for older adults has become mainstream. The 2020 Market Overview of Technology for Aging is now online.  This 2020 version reflects the growing market interest in the boomer-senior demographic and its position in the Longevity Economy. This tech market is less about products specifically designed for older adults and more about smarter marketing of many consumer offerings that could be useful to them. This includes smartphones, tablets, smart home technology, Voice First hardware and virtual assistants, and in-home sensors. Each of those devices is enabled for older adults by either more targeted marketing and packaging, enabling software, or bundling into training and solutions for in-home caregiving and/or healthcare. this forward-looking study is illustrated with descriptive graphics and includes more than 25 new offerings.  Here are five of them:

Aloe Care.  Aloe Care is delivering the world's first voice-activated, in-home digital care assistant for older adults. The service improves elders' safety and makes communication and care collaboration intuitive and easy. Aloe Care includes a Smart HUB for live, two-way hands-free communication and Smart Sensors to detect falls, motion, air quality, and temperature. People who use the service have 24/7 access to support, including a professional emergency response team and a family app for optimal care collaboration.  Based in New York, Aloe Care was created by caregivers for caregivers.  Learn more at Aloe Care Health.

EnvoyatHome. envoyatHome’s system of smart sensors and innovative software monitors for your loved one’s well being and communicates with you at Internet speed. Getting started is easy. By simply tapping and swiping in the mobile app, you create a personalized plan to instruct envoyatHome smart sensors to monitor and notify for what concerns you, the Caregiver – your loved one’s declining cognitive state, his safety, her privacy, or their home environment. Our Data Insights uncovers subtle changes in behavioral trends and patterns over time, so you can have meaningful conversations with medical professionals and spend your caregiving dollars where it really matters.  Learn more at EnvoyatHome.

Handsfree Health. HandsFree Health™ is committed to creating health and wellness platforms that keep you and your loved ones on track to good health. We make intelligently designed, fully integrated platforms that move quality-conscious health and wellness consumers closer to compliance and optimal health. Individuals love the easy, streamlined support. Employers and healthcare systems value our products' impact on consumer's accountability, compliance, and awareness. WellBe is the HandsFree Health virtual assistant that connects voice recognition technology with health expertise, keeping your health habits on track. Learn more at HandsFree Health.

Support.com TechSolutions. TechSolutions helps consumers resolve a wide range of tech issues, along the lifecycle of the device- including problems with setup/configuration, troubleshooting, learning new features, ensuring devices work well together, and even pre-sales questions such as product compatibility. With TechSolutions, consumers can choose how they want to receive tech support – online DIY tools for thousands of common tech problems, known as Guided Paths®, or live agent support via phone and chat, available 24/7. Consumers can also request a virtual house call where a tech expert remotely connects to their device to solve the issue for them. With Support.com’s proprietary software, SeeSupport, agents can see what the consumer sees using their smartphone or tablet camera, helping to solve even the most difficult technical problems. Learn more at Support.com.

Vidapoint.  VIDAPOINT^TM software suite also includes the VIDAPOINT^TM mobile APP that allows family and caregivers to remotely set the service parameters (medication times, fall detection levels, Geofencing, location) via any smartphone without requiring contact with the call centre to assure cost effective call operation. Vidapoint Certified Service Providers have full control over the VIDAPOINT^TM APP implementation and responses from pendants and the subsequent dispatch of emergency assistance and notification of family, caregivers or professional services.  Learn more at Global Wireless Health.

category tags: 

Voice First/AI/Voice Assistants, mHealth-Digital Health-Telehealth-Voice Health

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from Tips For Aging In Place https://www.ageinplacetech.com/blog/five-new-technologies-2020-market-overview