While the senior care industry may currently be in its infancy, it will be forced to grow and adapt quickly to meet the skyrocketing demand soon to come from the Baby Boomers. Already, the industry is providing a means for seniors to receive complex care at home rather than in a skilled nursing setting.
But the senior care industry is also experiencing some growing pains, such as finding and keeping high-quality caregivers, lost provider productivity due to the need to travel from home to home communicating effectively with medical providers, and overcoming confusion in the marketplace. What’s next for this growing industry?
Future Senior Care Technology
The senior care Industry is in the early stages of using technology effectively, experts note. Communication about a patient between medical providers is not always shared electronically. And even when it is, the exchange doesn’t always function as intended.
Many medical providers still communicate primarily via telephone, fax and e-mail rather than with modern telehealth technology. Few make use of beneficial video technologies to communicate with patients and their families. Experts anticipate that in coming years, a network dedicated to caring for senior patients will make information available across medical providers regardless of geographic boundaries.
In addition, the industry will make better use of existing technologies, including smart home computer systems and dedicated wireless networks that provide patients with mobile support. Headline-grabbing technologies like personal care robots are expected to revolutionize senior care in the future.
Meeting needs in the present
How can senior care providers solve the challenges they and their medical professionals face today? IndependaTVe™ is a forward-looking technology solution that can provide home health care professionals with valuable technology-based assistance now. With its consistent, user-friendly Angela interface, IndependaTVe™ has a minimal learning curve. Professionals are up and running with IndependaTVe™ immediately.
Medical providers can take advantage of the built-in video chat functionality to actually show patients how to take their medications, meaning fewer potentially dangerous errors. IndependaTVe™ also allows professionals to monitor many more patients in shorter periods of time, reducing workloads and the resulting stress. It allows them to provide health education videos in easy to understand graphic format. And the simplicity of communicating through IndependaTVe™ encourages patients to get in touch quickly with information that caregivers need to know.
Senior Care: The Coming Evolution
With the Baby Boomers vastly underprepared for the costs of long-term care, an increasing number of seniors may choose to age in place longer than their predecessors. To accommodate significant increases in demand, the senior care industry will need to quickly improve patient monitoring and education, communication between providers and the ability to retain exceptional caregivers. IndependaTVe™ provides solutions for many of the challenges confronting senior care providers.
