Home Health Tech in the UK

Home health technology has made it way over seas and is a big topic in the UK right now.  The BBC Technology News program “Click” recently featured a variety of these technologies in their report “How tech can help the elderly stay independent”, which highlights tech that allows caregivers to look after relatives who wish to remain independent at home.

The GC-HomeBase, our interactive system, is one of the technologies covered in the video report.

How tech can help the elderly stay independent

Monday, 20 August 2012 08:59 UK

As the population ages – an increasing number of elderly people will need care. Most people are resistant to the idea of going into a care home and would prefer to remain independent in their own house.

Lara Lewington looks at how the latest technology can help elderly people enjoy their own home comforts for longer.

Take a look at online at http://news.bbc.co.uk.

CEDIA 2012 EXPO – See the latest GrandCare has to offer in the Future Technology Pavilion

CEDIA EXPO LogoDon’t miss the leading tradeshow in the residential electronic systems industry.

Sept. 5th – 8th Indianapolis, IN

For more information or to register please visit http://www.cedia.net/expo

Future Technology Pavilion

The Future Technology Pavilion will feature technology solutions that will be integrated to create the next generation of the smart home, set to arrive in the next few years. Explore this year’s pavilion to feel, touch, and experience the intuitive home of 2016. With four main areas representing health, work, eat and play, this year’s pavilion is designed to show the functionality of the intuitive home as it interacts and reacts to the homeowner’s needs.

Our very own GrandCare System is just one of the many great technologies which will featured in the pavilion.

Read more

Senior Care Products Magazine – someone to watch over me

An article written by Laura Mitchell and Gaytha Traynor, both founding members of GrandCare Systems, on Aging-in-Place Technologies has been featured in Senior Care Products’ Summer 2012 Publication. This article covers opportunities within the digital health and home monitoring industries for HME providers.

Three steps are highlighted in this article to aid providers in being successful within the new aging services market: Research the market, Study the technology and Follow the money.

Aging-in-Place Technology

The digital health and home monitoring industry offers new opportunities for HME providers.

“It is a well-known fact that most seniors wish to remain independent at home for as long as possible. A 2007 “Aging in Place in America” research study commissioned by Clarity and The EAR Foundation reported that senior citizens fear nursing homes more than death. According to the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP), 90 percent of Baby Boomers indicated they want to age at home. This trend is timely, because as the aging population explodes Americans are realizing there won’t be enough care facilities or professional staff to fully support their numbers—not without some technological assistance.”

Take a look at the entire article at http://www.homecaremag.com

Dr. Eric Topol: A Doctor in your pocket

People’s Pharmacy— listen to Dr. Topol here

I just love listening to Dr. Eric Topol, a brilliant cardiologist at Scripps Health and cofounder of West Wireless Health Institute. His attitude and vision is absolutely spot on with how the medical world needs to transform.

I couldn’t agree more with the notion that we need to treat the human vs. the symptom (digital side of it). However, I must say that when confronted with the question of losing communication between patients and doctors with the digital age, I absolutely think that tech will ENABLE and further communication and coordination between patients and doctors. With the rising cost of healthcare and the new reform where Medicare will no longer pay for Readmissions to hospitals (within 30 days). Doctors essentially go from completely omniscient and all knowing (while the patient is in the hospital) to essentially blind when that patient walks out the door. It cannot be surprising when these patients are readmitted back to the hospital because he/she failed to take medications, change his/her lifestyle, couldn’t manage chronic conditions or didn’t understand the instructions. It only makes sense that a digital health technology will take part as a coordination platform for these patients.

Imagine that a patient goes into the hospital for heart problems and immediately is set up with a digital health touchscreen platform. This touchscreen will show the patient videos and instructions about their condition, discharge instructions, educational and fitness videos, medication reminders/prompts (pictures of meds and instructions), doctor notes, etc. This system would also talk wirelessly to blood pressure, weight, pulse ox and glucometers. The system would track wellness readings and could alert a doctor if readings were unusual. When the patient leaves the hospital, this system would follow the patient home. The patient would use it for education, coordination, reminders, telehealth tracking, to video chat with nursing staff and ask questions.

The point is – these systems do no good without human intervention and like all things can enable and empower caregivers and patients to be better.

Read our whitepaper on how I think digital health technology can be deployed post hospitalization, located here:

Kudos to Dr. Topol for being so right on…again!!!!

Laura Mitchell
GrandCare Systems

2012 SCU Boomer Venture Summit Finalists Announced

This will definitely be one of THE events of 2012. Congratulations to the finalists of this year’s business plan competition! We look forward to seeing who wins.

Aside from the competition the summit has much to offer for the vetreins as well as the newcomers in this industry. Speakers include Jeff Makowka, Laura Mitchell, Laurie Orlov, Mary Furlong and Lori Bitter, just to name a few. This years keynote “A Fireside Chat: An Investor’s Perspective on the Longevity Economy”, will be presented by Marc Yi, Managing Director of Intel Capital. [More]

The top 5 finalists have been chosen!

The five finalists will give a five-minute presentation of their business plan onstage at the Summit. The finalists include:

  • Calcula Technologies – has created a treatment for kidney stones that are smaller than 10mm in size. Calcula’s minimal evasive therapy can be provided in a doctor’s office.
  • CircuSonic Therapeutics – has developed the CircuSonic Limb Tank to address peripheral artery disease (PAD). The patented non‐invasive medical device alleviates pain, accelerates wound healing and increases blood flow to the lower limbs.
  • HyloMimetics – is developing a bioinspired molecule that prevents the progression of osteoarthritis and restores healthy cartilage, getting patients out of pain and remobilizing their lives.
  • My Wonderful Life – is a free website where you can plan and personalize your funeral to celebrate the life you’ve lived. Its mission is to encourage the discussion of our deaths with our family members, and to take the burden off of our survivors.
  • ROTO Mobility – designs and creates ergonomic and efficient mobility products that improve people’s health and active lives.

The grand prize winner will be chosen by a panel of distinguished judges that includes Andy Donner, director at Physic Ventures; Anne Hawkins, vice president at Great Hill Partners; Jody Holtzman, senior vice president, Thought Leadership at AARP; John Hopper, managing director at Linkage Ventures; Xander Mahony, venture capitalist for Draper Fisher Jurvetson; Scott Oliver, partner, Morrison Foerster; and Jeff Shoemate, vice president of innovation and business development for the senior markets segment of United Health Group.

It’s not too late to register.

Sign up now and take advantage of our promo code sv12grandcaremp SAVE 20%!

Silicon Valley Boomer Venture Summit and Business Plan Competition

There will be an additional 53+ million people over 50 in the next 20 years.

Since 2004, Santa Clara University and Mary Furlong & Associates have co-produced the Silicon Valley Boomer Venture Summit and Business Plan Competition, and each year has been more successful than the one before. The event brings together entrepreneurs, leaders in the field of aging and the venture community to create a unique forum to explore, share and design products and services that will dominate the baby boomer market in coming years. In addition, this program is designed to teach entrepreneurs how to think through a business.

Business Plan Competition

The culmination of the Boomer Venture Summit will be the ninth annual Boomer Business Plan Competition. Since 2004, this competition has fostered a cutting-edge forum to explore, share and design the products and services that will dominate the growing boomer marketplace. Contestants will meet investors and partners, secure resources and get media exposure that can help turn dreams into realities.

This year’s competition will be offering a
$10,000 grand prize for the best business plan.

All entries will be judged by a panel of distinguished professionals from the venture capital, business, media and education communities, each of whom will have expertise in the various segments represented. Laura Mitchell, VP Marketing, GrandCare Systems, will be one of this year’s expert screening judges. Take a look at this years judges.

Register for the 2012 SCU Boomer Venture Summit 

 Learn More

Mary Furlong & Associates

Mary Furlong & Associates works with companies seeking to capitalize on new business and investment opportunities in the boomer market. MFA provides business development, financing strategy and integrated marketing solutions to entrepreneurs, corporations and non-profit organizations serving the 50 market.

Visit www.maryfurlong.com for more information.

Laura Mitchell to Speak on Hospital Readmission

At the First National Medicare-Medicaid Payment Incentives and Penalties Summit

“The Leading Forum on Recovery Audits, Readmissions, Value-Based Purchasing, HACs and Never Events, and Managing to Medicare Margins.”

Laura Mitchell, VP Business Development will be speaking alongside Dr. Erick Eiting on “Healing in Place™ — Using Technology to Reduce the Risk of Hospital Readmissions.” Conference Theme II: Thursday, May 31, 2012, from 4:45pm-5:15pm in the Prince William room. 

Laura has also recently published a whitepaper under the same title.

The following is an excerpt form “Healing in Place™”:

From Hospital to Home: The Grand Transition
One cannot seriously talk about healthcare reform, improving outcomes, or reducing cost without talking about the aging of America, given the large portion of healthcare costs that are incurred in the later stages of life.1 Healthcare already consumes a distressing 17% percentage of GDP, and with the “Boomers” entering their chronic condition years, the financial strain on our society is certain to become more acute, if not critical. As a society, we pay for many pounds of cure. GrandCare Systems is passionate about providing those ounces of prevention that allow patients to successfully transition from acute care to heal at home with a technology assist. Only by moving from the monitored life to the analyzed life to the influenced life, can we reverse the cost spiral of post-acute and chronic care.

A downloadable copy of this whitepaper is available HERE.

For more information on the summit visit http://www.medicaremedicaidpaymentsummit.com

Register at http://medicaremedicaidpaymentsummit.com/registration.php

Webinar recordings NOW easier than ever to access!

Starting with last weeks recording, you will now be able to view each webinar on our GCSys YouTube Channel. No more downloads required! We will also be going back and systematically adding our past recordings from 2012 over the next few weeks.

“PERS – More Than a Button & a Box”?! with Bill Lyon

 

As always our viewers will be able to find direct links to the recordings from DealerWeb and our Blog.

Rounding the Circle of Love: Growing Up As She Grows Old

Now available from Amazon.com

“How many of us will need to care for aging parents?” … “Fact filled book with easy reference. When you keep an elder in her home, she receives more personalized care than might otherwise be the case. Her world can be adapted to meet her needs, something that might not be possible within an institutional setting. Because it offers these obvious advantages among many others residential care has become a national trend. In spite of this, a strong warning seems warranted. Though it is often described in glowing terms, this arrangement demands a great deal from caregivers, placing them under considerable stress.”

GrandCare Systems featured in Harriet Tramer’s newest book.

We are happy to support author and journalist Harriet Tramer as she shares with us her discoveries and insights on caring for an aging parent. Not only is this book a fantastic resource guide, but it also provides support to caregivers. Harriet knows first hand how daunting and demanding providing long term care can be, and offers valuable ideas and worthwhile technologies that can turn distress into success.

GrandCare Systems is featured in ‘Chapter 7 – Alternatives to Residential Care’ under “Living at Home but Monitored Electronically”. The book contains a total of 8 fascinating chapters: Care Givers and Stress, One Size Does Not Fit All, Building Memories, How One Woman Came to Value Art Therapy, Paying the Bills, Can She Come Home?, Alternatives to Residential Care, and One Family’s Story. These chapters include valuable information on finding a adult day center that’s right for you, how to take advantage of respite care, finding help, and makes the top studies on aging simple to read and easy to understand.

Thank you Harriet for the great opportunity and congratulations on your book.

GrandCare Systems listed by AARP blogger as a top technology must have

GrandCare is honored to be listed by AARP blogger, Sally Abrahms as one of the top 9 technology must haves.

9 Need-to-Know Technologies for Caregivers

“Can you say the Jetsons? Increasingly, family caregivers are getting a helping hand through high-tech products and services.

Bone up on these trends:

GPS safety technology provides the location of the wearer: devices can be used on the wrist, as a clip-on, or on a pendant. Some cars and smart phones have them – enabling you to speak or touch your desired destination – and see or hear turn-by-turn instructions.

With some devices, the caregiver sets the parameters of where the recipient can be – sometimes referred to as ‘geo-fencing’. If the person goes outside those areas, the caregiver is alerted via phone, text, or email. At any time, the caregiver can log on to a website and track the location of the elder

Personal emergency response systems, known as PERS, also contain GPS technology. It’s the Medic Alert model—if in trouble, the wearer can press a button and be connected with a call center that can dispatch help and notify caregivers. Many PERS devices only work at home, but a few allow the wearer to get help wherever they are—on the golf course, in the car, around the block.

Other safety technology includes wireless sensors around the house (in the bathroom, on the bed, door, or refrigerator, for example) that that let caregivers know if there is activity out of the ordinary i.e. not leaving the bathroom. A fall, perhaps?”

…

GrandCare, on the market since 2006, is a fully-featured care management platform designed to solve the healthcare crisis and aging boom. 

The GrandCare solution is the most comprehensive system available today, combining 6 technologies into ONE system with extensive remote caregiving capabilities.

Read the whole article HERE