During the pandemic, the elderly and the disadvantaged are more dependent on their care circle than ever before, including everyone from children and grandchildren to neighbors, professional assistants and healthcare providers. Nursing circles have played a vital role in helping with errands such as groceries and nursing, and have provided relationships that they no longer get from the outside world. Because of fear of long-term care facilities and nursing homes, more elderly people choose to receive care at home.this The Wall Street Journal analyze Federal data found that since the end of 2019, the occupancy rate of nursing homes in the United States has fallen by 15%.In addition, in September 2020 American Association of Retired Persons polling Among adults over 40, 28% of respondents stated that they are unlikely to “choose facility-based care” for older family members.
During the pandemic, the elderly and disadvantaged groups are also increasingly relying on easy-to-use technology to easily interact with their care circle at home.On January 26 Blog postPeter Rinderud, a senior researcher in statistics at Ericsson, said that during the pandemic, more and more elderly people are turning to the Internet and its devices due to isolation and loneliness. He pointed out that this is in the elderly who have narrowed the “smartphone usage gap between them and the younger generation.”according to Ericsson Research Among senior citizens in 8 countries/regions, including the United States, “half of senior citizens browsed the Internet every day in 2016; as many as 81% now do so every day.” Research shows that more and more senior citizens People use instant messaging and social media, watch videos, and make video calls every day. Rinderud pointed out that with “more and more health appointments, services and products online migration”, Internet skills are essential for the advancement of the elderly.
Technology is also important for many elderly people who belong to “restricted networks”, where they have fewer sources of support and little interaction with network members.According to a 2018 advanced studies Journal of GerontologyThere are four types of social networks for the elderly, including restricted, child-based, friend-oriented and diverse. Friend-oriented networks are more common in Western and Nordic countries. The researchers stated that “people with limited internet tend to have the worst happiness” because “there are few sources of support and little interaction with network members”, while those with diverse networks perform best.Earlier Research It also shows that as individuals age, happiness depends on the structure, function, and quality of social networks. However, for people with limited networks, the technology to connect to the outside world may become more important.
As we enter a post-pandemic world, it is clear that the elderly and the disadvantaged have a new normal-they are more willing to continue to receive most of the health care and other services at home.And approximately 85% of the elderly There is at least one chronic disease, and 60% have two or more diseases (according to the CDC). We can expect to see a continuous vigilance model for visiting doctors and emergency rooms in person in the foreseeable future, and therefore rely more on technology.
Beyond telemedicine: technologies that support in-situ security and aging
Looking to the future, we must provide multiple channels for the elderly and disadvantaged groups to contact their care circle to obtain healthcare services, medical emergencies, continuous monitoring, and chat with their loved ones. The introduction of new care models and technological advancements in the past few years have opened up more options to enable individuals to safely care for the elderly at home. In the post-Covid-19 world, as older people increasingly choose to spend more time at home, we hope to see the accelerated development of the following technologies.
- Personal Emergency Response System (PERS). During the pandemic, this technology has become more important for the elderly and disadvantaged groups living at home by providing immediate medical assistance and promoting interpersonal relationships. Instead of relying on a mobile phone, individuals can get help for any reason by pressing a button on a device worn around their neck. The PERS system can be connected to the operator of the call center in a few seconds. This technology allows operators to dispatch appropriate responders based on individual needs, including emergency services, caregivers, family members or neighbors. As the elderly continue to spend more time at home, human voice can provide a sense of security and security that cannot be achieved through voice mail or text.
- Remote patient monitoring (RPM) and family hospital models. Due to the physical difficulties of going to the doctor’s office or hospital and the lingering fear of Covid-, older people with chronic diseases such as diabetes and hypertension, as well as more acute diseases are more likely to receive care at home 19. RPM and home hospitalization models will Play a key role in its continuous care. In the past few years, RPM technology has become more advanced and easier to use. For example, patients can easily measure blood sugar and blood pressure using wireless devices at home, which transmit information to dashboards and medical professionals who are observing and responding. The family hospital model uses similar technology to provide emergency patient care.
- Pre-packaged applications. We will also see mobile applications that bring together care circles to help seniors, disadvantaged groups, and other individuals interact more with relatives, friends, and healthcare professionals. These apps will be pre-installed with a personal care circle, allowing one-click texting and phone calls to visit family and friends, shopping, and other activities. For example, a person will be able to access news and events happening in the world around them (such as daily weather) to reduce social isolation.
New healthcare ecosystem
The new ecosystem that provides healthcare and safety in the home will continue to exist and will continue to evolve with the needs of more and more healthcare consumers. By 2030, one in five Americans will be 65 years and older. U.S. CensusWith the increase in the number of elderly people, the elderly, including baby boomers, will significantly affect the growth trajectory of RPM and family hospitals. AP-NORC Center Learn A study published in May 2021 found that 88% of Americans are more willing to receive care at home as they age. Only 2% said they would like to receive care in a nursing home.
As technology increasingly allows care to enter the home more easily, the wider healthcare system will also benefit. For example, once a patient leaves the clinical environment, clinicians often cannot understand a person’s health and safety. PERS and RPM technologies can fill these gaps by generating critical patient data (about patient falls, call center calls, chronic diseases, etc.) to generate actionable insights and proactive interventions.
By accessing more real-time patient information, clinical teams can coordinate care or change care plans based on these insights. An important example of how these technologies are working occurred during the peak of a pandemic, when the PERS system was able to identify Covid-related symptoms at an early stage, so as to intervene before a person’s condition deteriorates and eventually enters the emergency room or ICU. At the same time, provide the nursing team with actionable patient data, allowing them time to spend their time on the people who need it most, while reducing hospital admissions and readmissions.
New healthcare technologies are reducing the pressure on healthcare delivery models that provide expensive, labor-intensive care in hospitals and doctors’ offices. Early intervention is reducing costs, helping individuals live at home with dignity and safety, while supporting value-based holistic care.As we move into the future, as we age, we will only see technology continue to play a more important role in improving our health, allowing us to live longer at home, and even in our forever Family.
Photo: AJ_Watt, Getty Images
