To connect older adults, when will a trend convert to a mandate?

Since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, tech nice-to-haves have become critical.  Between boosting the deployment of telehealth technologies, once-delayed initiatives became instantly late. Consumers are on board with telehealth, and engagement technologies like smartphones and tablets are offered through Medicare Advantage, plus a wave of other pandemic-related tactics and free offerings appeared.  Thousands of smart speaker devices have been delivered to senior living communities.  Note that PACE programs for frail and low-income elderly are now directed by CMS to use remote technology for "activities that would normally occur on an in-person basis," such as scheduled and unscheduled participant assessments, care planning, monitoring, communication, and other activities.”

Government agency initiatives for seniors have been tracked.  Since the Covid spring, high-dollar government initiatives for seniors have been launched, and others from prior years received an update. For example, state ombudsman programs will get tech to enable remote monitoring of long-term care facilities, programs were launched to foster digital health innovations for vulnerable populations, reimbursement for telehealth services delivered to people at home, the CART program for collaboration between the VA and NIA for aging in place.  And for inventors, observe and contribute if you can to the federal government $750K prize for innovation to mitigate social isolation and loneliness.

But let’s remember the baseline.  Consider where the year started in terms of tech for older adults.  Before the pandemic, a baseline of tech adoption was set by a 2020 AARP Tech Trends study that indicated 10% of older adults using smart home technology, only 62% of the 70+ using smartphones, few reporting use of virtual assistants or smartwatches, even fewer using devices for health and wellness.  Pew Research in 2017 last spelled out the low level of adoption among older adults, particularly among the oldest and further, among those with less education and lowest incomes.  The net result today is a technology divide that is stubbornly wide and challenging to cross.

How can initiatives be leveraged to boost access for the have-nots?  On the one hand, it is great to see all initiatives described (and not mentioned) targeting the technology have-nots among older adults.  We have seen the heartbreaking images of seniors in nursing homes peering through windows – the acceleration of efforts described here is important and valuable.  It is time to imagine how are these efforts going to be disseminated through a fragmented combination of associations, states, senior housing communities, nursing homes, home care agencies, and to families.  Will a clearinghouse be developed that will be well-publicized so that all who need to know can find a solution to engage and connect the offline elderly? Will vendors want to cooperate – and who would coordinate?   

category tags: 

covid-19, Skilled Nursing Facilities (SNF), senior living, Technology - AARP, Boomer-Senior Tech Business

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from Tips For Aging In Place https://www.ageinplacetech.com/blog/connect-older-adults-when-will-trend-convert-mandate

Covid-19 and Mid-Year Look at 2020 Tech Trends for Older Adults

That was then… In early 2020, focus sharpens on market categories of aging and caregiving. AARP published a new report that showed growing interest in technology among those aged 70+. The 127,000 CES 2020 attendees in January saw exhibit areas and innovations focused on older adults and what they need. Cambia Health released a survey of caregivers, 64% of surveyed caregivers use at least one digital tool to help them with caregiving. The National Alliance for Caregiving surveyed caregivers about including their use of technology (surprisingly low), and Samsung, Best Buy and Amazon now group offerings that could be helpful for older adults and those who care for them.

And then came disaster...  In March, everything changed with the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic that shut down non-essential businesses, shuttered most restaurants and retail, eliminated all visits into senior living and nursing homes and halted family travel to visit their elderly relatives, putting the virus front and center in the media, with daily counts of cases and deaths, further terrifying older adults and their families. Some estimates indicate that 42% of all deaths from the virus could be traced to nursing homes.   Among the biggest scandals were the deaths in New York City nursing homes from bringing Covid-19 patients into the buildings, quickly infecting the other residents, killing as many as 10,000 or more.

…And ageism and the digital divide got worse.  The epidemic of nationwide worry at home that horrified families has been particularly damaging for older adults, especially the oldest, peering out of windows of nursing homes and senior living apartments at family members clustered outside. A growing ageist media wave emerged, perhaps well-meaning, intent on isolating older adults, no matter their health status, at home and away from others. The resulting loneliness and depression revealed a glaring digital divide between the technology haves and have-nots among older adults.

And the technology lens zeroed in on telehealth now. The slow crawl of telehealth uptake has turned into a gallop. Telehealth technology vendors have struggled for a decade to gain attention, but with CMS reimbursement for (any) telehealth visit , a market crawl became a race. Senior living firms that had (optimistically) deployed Wi-Fi in 50% of their buildings AND at the same time, saw their businesses stall when prospects could not sell their homes and did not move in. Telehealth tech during Covid-19 ranged from the telephone call, FaceTime visit, Skype, Microsoft Teams, and helped promote the boom in Zoom.

Engagement matters. As families were cut off from each other and their aging family member,  suddenly tech to mitigate isolation was useful – and even for a time – free.  See the lengthy list of free or low-pricing tech offerings for seniors that emerged in April, all aimed at both marketing their offerings and tackling loneliness and isolation.

The smarter home of older adults must help fill care gaps.  The shortage of caregivers is getting worse, whether at home, in senior living communities or nursing homes.   Technology cannot replace hands-on work, but it could help make that work more effective and efficient. This includes machine learning/AI and smart home tech that may provide some assistance with managing the community, offering information to management and caregivers about care worker and recipient status and even making the home a healthier and more amenable place, even with use of AI for Covid-19 safeguards.  

Senior living communities, nursing homes, and home care firms must act. The clients, families and prospects are rightfully anxious – and may be talking about how their relatives should leave or will never move in, remain at home permanently and other emotion-laden statements that are signs of the times.  But as people age, circumstances like dementia, injuries, falls, and progressive diseases can intervene.  Now is the time for organizations that serve older adults to ramp up technology investments to serve their constituents with the technology that they already – or will soon -- expect.

category tags: 

Voice First/AI/Voice Assistants, smart home, dementia care, cognitive decline

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from Tips For Aging In Place https://www.ageinplacetech.com/blog/covid-19-and-mid-year-look-2020-tech-trends-older-adults

Covid-19 Statistics -- What are they saying?

When you stare at numbers long enough, you start to see things.  Note the wave of headlines about Florida and Covid-19 virus spiking. Consider a report this week that some labs only reported positive cases and that 100% of those tested were positive (oops), caught first by a local TV station. Then suddenly there were 15,300 cases reported on Sunday.  Then cases are jumping in Sunbelt nursing homes.  And finally, Florida hospitals are being overrun.  Whew.  Messages arrive from northern friends – “Are you okay? We hear about Florida!”  For those who live in Florida, is it time to hunker down any more than we are already hunkered?  Some say there should be another full shutdown. Should young people be terrified (they’re not!)? Should people in 55-plus communities be terrified (they are!) Should we examine the data more closely?   

What is happening with testing?  Here is the current Florida dashboard and the NYTimes representation of that data. First of all, for the counties with the largest population, it’s no surprise that the greatest number of cases (positive for Covid-19 as a result of testing) occurs there.  Testing in Florida at one point was reserved for people with symptoms, revealing how Florida lagged behind in testing. Today, Florida is in the middle of the pack in terms of absolute numbers tested, according to Johns Hopkins tally. Florida has ramped up testing (as seen nearby with drive-through testing lines) – and symptoms are not required. To date, 300,000 have tested positive in Florida – of the 10,000 newest positives, 2500 were in Miami-Dade. You will note that the chart in the article is for South Florida, not the whole state. The article also notes the numbers hospitalized with a primary diagnosis of Covid-19.  As of today, the number tested positive is 301,810. So what’s behind those 15,300 new cases in Florida? These cases appeared suddenly as a result of a backlog delivering results from a single lab, GENETWRKx.

What is happening with hospitalizations and deaths?  The Florida Department of Health has begun reporting hospitalizations (19,334) out of the total positive case count. You might also note total deaths of 4,521, out of the positive cases 301,810.  Back to the Sunbelt article about nursing homes – facilities in the Tampa area are seeing a ‘800% cumulative increase in new cases among nursing home residents.’ Okay, now down to the details about deaths.  The average age of death is in the upper 70’s for the largest county and is 77 across all counties. And in Pinellas County (Tampa area), 71% of deaths are tied to long-term care facilities. Right now, the health department report simply lists all facilities and the number of deaths, most of which are zero. 

Why are so many people being tested?  Just got another ‘Are you okay?’ call because someone in a northern state was listening to the above ‘news.’  Because testing is now more widely available, it’s happening – and odd reporting anomalies like Sunday’s drive up the numbers and thus the media interest. And also because some folks on television have expressed a hope that everyone in the United States will be tested. So many asymptomatic (i.e. healthy) people are being tested because they can be – pushing up the testing numbers and revealing more positive and asymptomatic or pre-symptomatic people. What that means varies among those doing the analysis or adding clarification.

category tags: 

covid-19, analytics, Skilled Nursing Facilities (SNF)

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from Tips For Aging In Place https://www.ageinplacetech.com/blog/covid-19-statistics-what-are-they-saying

LIFE in Action

InnovAge LIFE, known nationally as the Program of All-inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE), can help by providing healthcare and social services to seniors - without having them move to a nursing facility.

from Tips For Aging In Place https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TcUaC0hjvgw

InnovAge California PACE - Sacramento | TV Spot

from Tips For Aging In Place https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e5VR-SNUg18

Considering medication packaging and dispensing during Covid-19

During Covid-19, do older adults take their prescribed meds?  Not necessarily. Medication non-adherence has long been a topic of concern, with the cost of poor adherence amounting to $177 billion each year, 50% of treatment failures, and as many as 25,000 deaths. And according to the Pharmacy Times, Covid-19 has made a problematic situation much worse.  Some pharmacy experts express concern about the pandemic’s side effects of isolation, job loss/loss income, medication costs, missed or unavailable doctor’s appointments, or issues with package delivery.  And the CDC has expressed concern about risks and modified procedures for older adults and pick-up of prescriptions in pharmacies.

The CDC failed to mention technology.  The use of automated pill packaging and pre-filling at the pharmacy for patients to help them with compliance, especially during Covid-19. It seems reasonable that a device correctly pre-loaded with doses either at the pharmacy, by a home health worker or a nurse in senior living would improve accuracy of dosages.  And it also seems reasonable that a device that alerts about upcoming or missed doses would improve compliance.    So what are some of the dispensing alternatives on the market be pre-loaded at the pharmacy and delivered to the user without having to leave the house?  Here are five, in alphabetical order with content from vendors:

Hero Health. "From simple to the most complex, Hero remembers your daily pill regimen and dispenses multiple medications (up to 10 different kinds) multiple times a day to fit your custom prescription schedule. Hero can store up to a 90-day supply depending on the pill size. With HeroFill, the pharmacy automatically fills prescriptions that the device is tracking, and the system notifies when a new prescription is needed." Learn more at HeroHealth.

MediPense RxPense.  "RxPense self-programs up to 2 weeks’ scheduled doses and ensures only the right senior can take the right medications at the right time. User authentication includes voice biometrics, pins codes, RFID and passwords. Programmable alerts, extensive remote monitoring of one or thousands with a simple, polished HIPAA-compliant portal. RxPense is a fully connected, IoT home health hub for today’s aging population. Physicians, caregivers and health care provides can view a complete picture of the monitored senior. Medication history, health data, prescriptions, vital signs and consumption all presented in one, easy to view, portal page." Learn more at MediPense.

MedMinder Pharmacy.  "MedMinder delivers the patient’s medication to their door, in pre-organized daily trays for the entire month. The tray slides directly into the smart pill dispenser which unlocks only one capsule of medications at the prescribed time. If the user doesn’t take the medication even after receiving alerts, a family member is notified. With the new MedMinder dispenser, the pharmacist is only one-click away by featuring a full touch screen that allows users to connect with medical professionals and caregivers, view information about their medication, and connect third-party devices such as blood pressure machines, scales, and thermometers via Bluetooth. It also allows for the patient’s family to upload photos to the device remotely to help them feel connected from afar." Learn more at MedMinder.

PilloHealth Pharmacy Autoload (PAL).  Built as an add-on to the PilloHealth robotic device, "the PAL tray provides patients with a convenient prefilled pharmacy consumable designed for seamless integration with the Pillo Health device. PAL removes the need for consumers to manually fill Pillo with multiple individual medications and ensures patients are taking the right medication and dosage at the correct time. Once the tray is placed within Pillo, other over-the-counter medications or nutraceuticals may be added to PAL while inside of Pillo using the user-guided filling workflow; Pillo then updates the pharmacy on the added products." Learn more at PilloHealth.

Pillpack. "With PillPack, each month, customers receive a personalized roll of pre-sorted medications, along with a convenient dispenser and any other medications that cannot be placed into packets, like liquids and inhalers. Each shipment includes a medication label that has a picture of each pill and notes on how it should be taken. PillPack uses PharmacyOS, a software platform created entirely in-house, to help manage each customer’s medications, coordinate refills and renewals, and make sure each shipment is sent on time, every time. PharmacyOS also enables real-time notifications and and an online dashboard so customers can control their shipments, refills, and copays. Customers can also email, text, or call their PillPack pharmacist any time to ask questions or clarify instructions." Learn more at PillPack.

 

 

category tags: 

medication management, covid-19, social isolation, computers, internet and social networking

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from Tips For Aging In Place https://www.ageinplacetech.com/blog/considering-medication-packaging-and-dispensing-during-covid-19

Hearing loss: Five teleaudiology offerings in the time of COVID-19

Covid-19 sharpens the benefits of teleaudiology. Half of those aged 75+ and one-third of the 65+ have hearing loss. During the pandemic, telehealth use grew sharply in the care of older adults, enabled by CMS reimbursement changes that likely will be permanent.  It’s also likely that teleaudiology (the utilization of telehealth to provide audiological services) will gain additional importance when face-to-face visits are worrisome, even impossible in some locations. As with other market segments, the hearing health market saw the opportunity to promote their teleaudiology (or tele-audiology) services for those who already own telehealth-capable hearing aids that may need adjustment. Some may require a smartphone app and in-office guidance from the audiologist to get started with it, or at the least, read an explainer about "merging face time with FaceTime." Here are five examples – content is from the vendors:

Beltone Remote Care Live. "Beltone Remote Care Live gives hearing care professionals the ability to both consult with patients via video and to remotely make hearing aids adjustments through the Beltone HearMax phone app in real time. Recognizing that COVID-19, or coronavirus, is a serious issue for the patient populations typically using hearing aids, telehealth services can be a useful tool for both hearing care professionals and their patients." Learn more at Beltone.

Starkey Hearing Care Everywhere Remote Programming. "Through this latest update, even patients whose devices were not originally configured for remote programming are now able to access this important feature. Using the Thrive app, patients can send requests to their hearing providers, who are then able to make fine-tuning adjustments to optimize hearing aid performance remotely. This new measure enhances patient safety by reducing the need for an in-office visit." Learn more at Starkey.

Signia’s Remote Hearing Care Program.  "This new program enabling hearing care professionals to prescribe, fit and fine-tune hearing aids remotely. Remote Care includes Signia Assistant. This new virtual assistant is built upon the latest artificial intelligence technology and provides 24/7 support in the form of intuitive, text-based dialogue. With tailored sound adjustments and how-to videos, 93% of patients who use Signia Assistant say that it boosts their Learn more at confidence and makes them feel more in control of their hearing success.” Learn more at Signia.

Phonak Remote Support. "One of the best parts about telehealth is that we can control your hearing aids from our office while you’re sitting in your living room. The latest models of the Phonak Marvel are telehealth compatible as they connect via the Phonak Remote Support™ App. This smartphone app connects the Marvel hearing aids to the provider, allowing them to make real-time adjustments from virtually anywhere." Learn more at Phonak.

Oticon. "Oticon RemoteCare telehealth solution expands the potential for hearing care professionals to assist more patients remotely, even when a face-to-face appointment would normally be the most appropriate way to provide care. RemoteCare allows hearing care professionals to follow up online with patients to remotely adjust and fine-tune hearing aids in a virtual appointment. First fit with Oticon RemoteCare further expands the scope of the telehealth solution to give hearing care professionals the ability to provide initial fittings to a select group of patients with valid audiograms, while patients to remain at home during the current virus outbreak." Learn more at Oticon.

category tags: 

hearing loss, hearables/hearing technology, covid-19

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from Tips For Aging In Place https://www.ageinplacetech.com/blog/hearing-loss-five-teleaudiology-offerings-time-covid-19

Five teleaudiology offerings in the time of COVID-19

Covid-19 sharpens the benefits of teleaudiology. Half of those aged 75+ and one-third of the 65+ have hearing loss. During the pandemic, telehealth use grew sharply in the care of older adults, enabled by CMS reimbursement changes that likely will be permanent.  It’s also likely that teleaudiology (the utilization of telehealth to provide audiological services) will gain additional importance when face-to-face visits were worrisome, even impossible in some locations. As with other market segments, the hearing health market saw the opportunity to promote their teleaudiology (or tele-audiology) services for those who already own telehealth-capable hearing aids that may need adjustment. Some may require a smartphone app and in-office guidance from the audiologist to get started with it, or at the least, read an explainer about "merging face time with FaceTime." Here are five examples – content is from the vendors:

Beltone Remote Care Live. "Beltone Remote Care Live gives hearing care professionals the ability to both consult with patients via video and to remotely make hearing aids adjustments through the Beltone HearMax phone app in real time. Recognizing that COVID-19, or coronavirus, is a serious issue for the patient populations typically using hearing aids, telehealth services can be a useful tool for both hearing care professionals and their patients." Learn more at Beltone.

Starkey Hearing Care Everywhere Remote Programming. "Through this latest update, even patients whose devices were not originally configured for remote programming are now able to access this important feature. Using the Thrive app, patients can send requests to their hearing providers, who are then able to make fine-tuning adjustments to optimize hearing aid performance remotely. This new measure enhances patient safety by reducing the need for an in-office visit." Learn more at Starkey.

Signia’s Remote Hearing Care Program.  "This new program enabling hearing care professionals to prescribe, fit and fine-tune hearing aids remotely. Remote Care includes Signia Assistant. This new virtual assistant is built upon the latest artificial intelligence technology and provides 24/7 support in the form of intuitive, text-based dialogue. With tailored sound adjustments and how-to videos, 93% of patients who use Signia Assistant say that it boosts their Learn more at confidence and makes them feel more in control of their hearing success.” Learn more at Signia.

Phonak Remote Support. "One of the best parts about telehealth is that we can control your hearing aids from our office while you’re sitting in your living room. The latest models of the Phonak Marvel are telehealth compatible as they connect via the Phonak Remote Support™ App. This smartphone app connects the Marvel hearing aids to the provider, allowing them to make real-time adjustments from virtually anywhere." Learn more at Phonak.

Oticon. "Oticon RemoteCare telehealth solution expands the potential for hearing care professionals to assist more patients remotely, even when a face-to-face appointment would normally be the most appropriate way to provide care. RemoteCare allows hearing care professionals to follow up online with patients to remotely adjust and fine-tune hearing aids in a virtual appointment. First fit with Oticon RemoteCare further expands the scope of the telehealth solution to give hearing care professionals the ability to provide initial fittings to a select group of patients with valid audiograms, while patients to remain at home during the current virus outbreak." Learn more at Oticon.

category tags: 

hearing loss, hearables/hearing technology, covid-19

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from Tips For Aging In Place https://www.ageinplacetech.com/blog/five-teleaudiology-offerings-time-covid-19

Five Aging and Health Technology Blog Posts from June 2020

June -- it was the worst of times.  Who can comprehend that 43% of Covid-19 deaths are linked to nursing homes? Who could have imagined the economic impact of job loss and (almost all) business shutdown?  Who could have speculated that senior living organizations would have get occupancy levels nationwide below 88%? Who would have thought that telehealth definitions would include phone calls and Facetime?  Most importantly, as so many families were reminded, their aging relatives had not adopted any of the devices and software that would enable face-to-face communication. Or that high speed internet would not be available in nursing homes or the dementia care units in assisted living where their relatives now lived. Let’s hope July is better! Here are the five blog posts from June 2020:

Tech adoption older adults matter more now than ever.  Will results change when older adults are surveyed later this year? So we know that ‘remote care’ and ‘caring’ in its various forms, including telehealth, seem to be heating up as a priority, whether for senior living organizations, families, healthcare provider organizations. It's putting more emphasis on the need for home healthcare and home care, especially in times in which the care workers hesitate to enter a home and which families are locked down and not visiting. Here is where we were on technology adoption at the start of the pandemic, and the wave of telehealth interest heated up. As one tech company noted, a one-year-pipeline compressed into a month of demand. And a plethora of companies raised their hands to offer their engagement technology for free. So if this is the baseline of adoption, what’s next when the surveys come around again? Read more.

Will technology become standard in senior living and nursing homes? The articles are beginning to appear here and there. In the time of Covid-19, some are talking about an increasing use of technology in their nursing homes. Others are discussing the race to enable ‘televisits’ -- noting outreach from AARP to CMS to boost the requirement for enabling technology in nursing homes. And numerous other articles have appeared that showed nursing homes receiving donations of technology. The State of Florida gave tablets to 150 nursing homes. The attorney general of Massachusetts supplied 750 tablets to nursing home residents. And Texas provided $3000 per Texas nursing home for tablets, webcams, and headphones. The pictures associated with some of these introductions of technology were bleak. Fortunately, some states are now allowing families to visit residents in designated areas outside.  Read more.

Can seniors use and benefit from telehealth? Telehealth – the genie is out of the bottle. In March, the government announced expansion of telehealth access, noting that it would raise the reimbursement rate for telehealth visits during the Covid-19 pandemic to match the doctor’s rate for in person visits, as Seema Verma, the head of CMS noted: ‘the genie was let out of the bottle’ and won’t likely be put back in. The regulatory change enabled "the use of smartphones, video conferencing platforms such as Zoom, and messaging services like WhatsApp; and the ability to provide care across state lines in 48 states." Read more.

What use is a PERS watch without a call center? You see PERS news releases on occasion. PERS -- Personal Emergency Response System -- is a long-time market dominated by pendants worn around the neck. Recently Parks Associates sized the PERS market to be $1.1 billion by 2024 -- others think it is a $3.1 billion market today. Also early in the year, Vidapoint was announced as a 'global' low cost offering. LifeStation announced Mobile LTE, small and fast, a pendant linked to a sizable 24-hour call center. Then in April, Verizon does it again, launches a PERS, this time a smart watch offering, called the Care Smart Watch for seniors. Read more.

Reading about big tech controversies can make you sigh. Rant on. You may remember when the browser arrived. Maybe you knew about Mosaic in 1993 or Netscape Navigator in 1994. But you probably did not try them unless you were a geek -- because there wasn’t much to look at then on the so-called World-wide-Web. Apple’s Safari did not appear until 2003 and Google Chrome in 2008 – eventually these dominated the browser market, though three cheers for the existence of privacy-oriented browser Brave (2016) and search tool DuckDuckGo (2008). No doubt both will disappear into acquisitions. As for social media, things really got going with AOL Instant Messenger in 1993 -- then all was pretty quiet until 2003-4, when LinkedIn, MySpace, Skype, and Facebook all arrived. Read more.

category tags: 

Telehealth-RPM-Voice Health, Skilled Nursing Facilities (SNF), computers, internet and social networking, smartphones, cell phones

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