Tag Archive for: Aging and technology conference call

Technology For Seniors

Does it Work? Yep. And Now We Can Prove It.

 

We have always believed that technology could keep seniors safe, healthy, and connected. This belief is why we do what we do at GrandCare. But can we prove it really is effective for clinical situations? Well that’s an easy answer. Yes. And we have the data to back it up. GrandCare does help the senior and disabled population to stay healthier, while bringing down the cost of care.

In recent case studies, the clients used GrandCare in conjunction with 24/7 case management services. GrandCare automatically recorded patient vitals, reminded patients when to take vitals or medications, passively monitored activity patterns, and triggered rule-based alerts to notify caregivers if something seemed amiss. Caregivers could preventatively address situations, often with simple and inexpensive remedies. These included everything from phone calls, HIPAA-compliant video chats, med changes or, if needed, clinical care. Many clients eligible for nursing home care were able to remain at home.

Overall, the results were remarkable. Patients were healthier, ER visits and hospital readmissions dropped, and senior satisfaction was much higher.

Hospital Readmission Studies

  • One Georgia study used GrandCare technology in conjunction with case management services and found hospital readmissions reduced by 51% from pre-pilot rates.
  • Another study with older adults eligible for nursing home care utilized GrandCare’s passive technology to monitor ADLs and IADLs and found fewer acute hospitalizations, ER visits, LTC days, and SNF admissions.
  • Maryland participants in a GrandCare program saw a 58% reduction in acute care admission rates, for a savings of $372,672.
  • These Maryland participants also experienced a reduction in the all-cause 30-day readmission rate to 4.5% (compared to the 15.95% state average), for a savings of $25,880. The cost to deliver this technology-enabled care was only $6,600.

Emergency Department Utilization

  • One initiative using GrandCare Technology to manage patients with high emergency department utilization achieved a 75% reduction in ER visits.
  • In a passive technology pilot with nursing home eligible patients at risk of falls and living alone, utilization of ER, long-term care and SNFs were all reduced by at least 10%.

Improved Self-Management

  • A patient population using GrandCare Technology demonstrated 88% adherence to their medical device and medication reminder treatment regimen.
  • Participants using GrandCare reported a willingness to become more engaged and felt an increased awareness in self health.

Improved Satisfaction

  • Participants in the Maryland study reported high levels of patient satisfaction.
  • For patients in the Georgia group, 93% reported satisfaction with services.
  • In a pilot of 22 patients using GrandCare, 100% of respondents agreed with the statement, “I have no difficulty telling others about the benefits of the system.”

Chronic Disease Management

  • Patients using GrandCare with Uncontrolled Diabetes demonstrated improvements, with A1C (blood glucose) values at or below their baseline.
  • In those patients managing Congestive Heart Failure (CHF) with the combination of GrandCare telehealth monitoring and care coaching, 96.5% of them maintained or improved their baseline NYHA classification score.
  • For patients managing Hypertension with GrandCare, care coaching, a BP cuff and telehealth tools, 84% were able to maintain or improve their JNC-7 classification score.

Cost-Effectiveness

  • One study found that the initial investment in technology was recouped in 1-3 years due to reduced costs of care.
  • The total savings in reduced acute admissions was $372,672 for patients using GrandCare with RPM and care management, while the cost to administer this technology-enabled care was $64,500. Leaving the total cost savings at $308,172.

GrandCare facilitates better care, better outcomes, lower costs, while improving patient satisfaction. We always knew that was true. And now we can prove it.

Transforming Social Media for the Senior Community With Brian Lang

Thursday, March 1st 2pm ET – 1pm CT – grandcaresystems.webex.com
Call in: 1-408-600-3600 – Pin: 660 464 102#

Today 40 million people are over 65 – the largest and fastest growing demographic in America. With Baby Boomers retiring, over 10,000 people a day turn 65, a trend that will continue over the next decade. Americans age 50+ are increasingly likely to have a cell phone, a laptop or tablet, or a game console, and represent the fastest growing age segment to adopt to social networking and hypernet technology. What’s the opportunity? A connected lifestyle that blurs boundaries across home, work, leisure, and retirement, smoothly connecting our online and offline lives. Unfortunately, this tech-enabled lifestyle is not yet widespread among older age ranges, hampered by technology choices that are complex and difficult to use. To enable a connected living and social aging experience for older consumers, vendors need to begin to design for all, and entrepreneurs and the venture community need a more dynamic relationship with this huge and underserved growth market.

Brian Lang, CEO of Seniors In Touch

Brian is a serial entrepreneur and social media executive with over 20 years of experience with interactive media. During the late 90′s he founded an online venture that partnered with Digital Equipment Corporation to create OnePlace.com, one of the earliest and still one of the most successful faith-based online communities. He has been a thought-leader dating back to 1999 when he authored the pioneering book, “Making the Internet Family-friendly,” for Thomas Nelson Publishers.

Brian is a champion of combining social media and health care for senior adults, is a speaker at senior living industry events, and authors for noted health care publications. His company provides a touchscreen and cloud-based social media and health care solution to senior living communities nationwide.

Join Us Tomorrow for Our First Webinar of 2012!

Adapting to Healthcare Reform: Technologies to Put Your Agency in the Driver’s Seat as Your World Changes

With guest speaker Tim Rowan

Thursday,January 19th 2pm ET – 1pm CT
grandcaresystems.webex.com
Call in: 1-408-600-3600 Pin: 660 339 211#

When hospitals begin to select post-acute partners they can trust to lower their readmission rates, they will look for home care agencies that monitor patients between visits, improve medication compliance, reduce falls, communicate with family caregivers and submit regular readmission reports based on reliable data. Based on his 18 years in home care technology, consultant and writer Tim Rowan will explain the systems you will need to deploy to thrive in the very different reimbursement world that starts later this year.

  • Avoidable Hospital Readmissions will be THE topic of 2012, more important than winning referrals.
  • Hospitals will look to teams of post-acute care providers to form partnerships in the effort to curb readmissions. They will not rely on home health care providers alone.
  • Home health care providers invited to participate on these post-acute teams will be the ones with proven rehospitalization track records and with the latest remote patient monitoring technologies.

Join Us for Tomorrow’s Webinar!

Thursday, December 15th at 2pm ET – 1pm CT

Where The Heart Is: Using Technology To Remain At Home

With Beth Paterson

Seniors have always wanted to remain at home. Now with the housing market where it is, seniors are staying at home even longer. We’ll discuss how using technology adds benefits to remaining at home. More Information

In this webinar you will learn:

  •     How housing conditions are impacting seniors remaining in their homes longer.
  •     The benefits of using technology to remain at home.
  •     How using technology can be cost effective and expand the time one can remain at home vs moving to senior housing.

Sponsored By AgeTek

http://www.agetek.org/

To promote the awareness, benefits and value of products and services for our aging society while directly benefiting our members by evolving into the world’s leading aging-focused technology consortium.

12/15/11 Webinar “Where The Heart Is: Using Technology To Remain At Home”

Thursday, December 15th
2pm ET – 1pm CT

Download/Playback

Seniors have always wanted to remain at home. Now with the housing market where it is, seniors are staying at home even longer. We’ll discuss how using technology adds benefits to remaining at home.

In this webinar you will learn:

  • How housing conditions are impacting seniors remaining in their homes longer.
  • The benefits of using technology to remain at home.
  • How using technology can be cost effective and expand the time one can remain at home vs moving to senior housing.

Our Speaker: Beth Paterson

Beth Paterson is the Executive Vice President of Reverse Mortgages SIDAC. She is an expert on reverse mortgages, with responsibilities including educating, marketing, and originating loans, as well as training and supervising loan officers. She has testified before the Minnesota legislature, met with the Assistant Attorney General, and provided amendments to legislation on reverse mortgages. She is the author of several books and articles on the topic, and has appeared as an expert speaker on radio and television shows. She also hosts, directs and produces a metro cable TV show called Savvy Seniors… Talking with Experts About Senior Resources. She attended PurdueUniversity, but found that the most valuable part of her education came from real-life experiences, particularly in the wake of a car accident in 1995. She decided to use her experiences to help others facing life’s challenges.

Sponsored By AgeTek

http://www.agetek.org/

To promote the awareness, benefits and value of products and services for our aging society while directly benefiting our members by evolving into the world’s leading aging-focused technology consortium.

Join us for Tomorrow’s Webinar

Preparing for Future Technology- Enabled Care Models

Date: Thursday, November 17th, 2011
Time: 2pm EDT (1pm CDT / 12p MDT / 11am PDT)
Location: http://grandcaresystems.webex.com
Dial In: 1-408-600-3600   Pin: 666 610 551#

This presentation will outline innovative technology-enabled care models and describe key enabling technologies that CAST encountered in its recent Scenario Planning effort.

1. See how the field of aging services is rapidly evolving under health reform pressures, among other things.

2. Learn about emerging long-term and post-acute care models that CAST encountered in its Scenario Planning exercise.

3. Learn about key enabling technologies for the emerging future models.

Our Sponsor: Presto Services

Presto is a combination of the Presto Printing Mailbox and Presto Mail service. It allows you to use the convenience of email to communicate with loved ones who don’t use a computer or the Internet.
Presto Services is offering an exciting cross-promotion for AgeTek members: participating companies may receive ≈200,000 free ad impressions to promote their products to caregivers and family members.

Seeking a sponsor for our Thurday, September 1st webinar – “One Patient, Many Providers”

If you enjoy the free bi-weekly webinars created and hosted by GrandCare Systems, consider a $50 webinar sponsorship!  The sponsorship helps to defray costs for the webinar service. Sponsorship includes listing in all social media, Company Description & log inclusion in 2 email blasts sent out to over 1500 subscribers prior to the topic date. If you would like to support this webinar, please contact us at info@grandcare.com or dial 262-338-6147

Please include a company one paragraph description as well as a logo. Thanks! Your friends at GrandCare Systems!

Thursday September 1st Aging & Technology Webinar:

Date: Thursday, September 1st, 2011
Time: 2pm EDT (1pm CDT / 12p MDT / 11am PDT)
Location: http://grandcaresystems.webex.com

Topic: “One Patient, Many Providers: A Blueprint for Successful Care Transitions”

In this webinar you will learn how effective care transitions play a critical role with both clinical outcomes and patient satisfaction. This timely program addresses effective care management techniques that improve care transitions, identify the main causes of avoidable hospital readmissions and describe how to use simple project management techniques to manage complex patients across the care continuum.

Purpose of Presentation:

  1. Define main reasons for re-hospitalization.
  2. Describe practical methods to prevent “bouncebacks.”
  3. Learn how care management and coordination based on project management techniques assists patients and families with their own self managed care.

Our Speaker: Kathleen Heery RN, MS, CCM

Kathleen Heery is a certified, RN Geriatric Care Manager and Homecare Consultant and owner of Healthcare Solutions for You. Kathy’s approach focuses on an elder’s ability to remain independent in the community and the capacity to fund needed services. Kathy has served as national director for a large homecare company, global director of care management services and has developed/implemented care coordination program/services for various organizations. Additionally, she is an active member of the National Association of Professional Geriatric Care Managers.

Kathy has been managing care transitions for the past few years and has recently coauthored a book on Ending Hospital Readmissions: A Blueprint for Homecare Providers.”

Tomorrow’s Webinar: “Nutrition & Fitness: Promoting Healthy Aging”

Just a friendly reminder…

Please join us for tomorrow’s webinar

Our Topic: “Nutrition & Fitness: Promoting Healthy Aging”

2pm EDT – 1pm CDT – 12pm MDT – 11am PDT

 Join us at: http://grandcaresystems.webex.com

 Or simply call dial-in: 1-408-600-3600   Pin 669 416 193#

Open to anyone interested in the aging & technology industry. Our purpose is to discuss relevant aging topics, showcase available technologies, network, and learn from one another.

Over the years good nutritional behaviors has gotten a little complicated to figure out…we’re going to make it easy for you! Good nutritional behaviors are not just about the food you put in your mouth.  It’s back to the basics with the ABC’s: Adequacy, Balance, and Choices. Don’t just “complete” (finish) your plate but learn how to make a “complete” plate a reap the rewards of a healthy diet.

Purpose of Presentation:

To focus on good nutritional behaviors

To learn the ABC’s of nutrition

To learn how to make a “complete” plate

For complete information on tomorrow’s webinar Click Here

What is GrandCare and How do I use it?

GrandCare Systems Special Event!

Tomorrow, Wed May 11th

3p ET/ 2p CT / 1p MT / 12p PT

 Join us http://grandcaresystems.webex.com

  • Learn about how GrandCare started in 2005

  • Informative overview of the System Components

  • See a LIVE Demo of the Online User Interface

  • Participatate in an interactive Question/Answer Session

See our full E-invitation HERE

Informal NO-HOST AgeTek meet up planned April 27th, San Francisco before ASA!!!! ALL ARE WELCOME!

JOIN US!  All are welcome!  AgeTek Members and non members welcome!

No host Meet & Greet PRE-ASA Conference

Wednesday April 27th, 2011 7pm

Where: Johnny Foleys – http://www.johnnyfoleys.com

243 O’Farrell Street
San Francisco, CA 94102
415.954.0777

Why: To get together, network, learn more about the Aging Technology Alliance and have a good time.

NO RSVP needed!  Just stop in!

Hope to see you there!!!!

Laura Mitchell, VP Marketing, GrandCare Systems (AgeTek Board Director)