Tag Archive for: home health technology

Finding Opportunities for Health Care Technology Integration – Residential Systems Reports

Lee from Residential Systems does a nice job of discussing the opportunities in Digital Home Health. GrandCare’s VP of Marketing, Laura Mitchell & CEDIA’s Dave Pedigo weigh in on the dealer/integrator opportunities in home health technology and why the in-home health care providers should be listening…  NOTE: the technology called Health Fronts, should be HealthSense

RX Integration
By Lee Distad, September 6, 2011

Full story: http://residentialsystems.com/article/63422.aspx

inding Opportunities for Health Care Technology Integration

Technology is getting to the point where in-home technology can do things that help medical professionals monitor their patients remotely, long term.

In the AV and automation channels there are categories that are widely adopted, such as AV distribution, as well as ones that are less so, such as energy management. At least at present, home health care is a category that is in the latter group. But a partnership between CEDIA and manufacturers of these technologies is seeking to make it both better known and a successful profit center for integrators.

CEDIA’s director of technology, Dave Pedigo, has been personally embedded in home health care research for the past year. As he puts it, “The elevator to get on and understand the category would be to take away the technology for a second and look at sheer numbers: there are 100 million in the U.S. alone who are reaching retirement age. At the same time there’s a serious shortage of doctors: as many as 150,000 fewer than needed according to the Wall Street Journal.”

With the growth of an elderly population and decreasing number of medical professionals, the question becomes how that disparity is going to be handled. Pedigo explained that, “Technology is getting to the point where we can do things that help the medical professionals.” By which he means the ability to remotely monitor patients, long term.

The home health care market is very much in its infancy, according to Laura Mitchell, VP of marketing for GrandCare Systems. Although she warns that it’s not as undeveloped as some people might believe. “Maybe it’s better to say that it’s an adolescent with braces,” she joked, going on to assert that the category has been around for some while now and is seeing more vendors and more advanced technology.

Mitchell explained that when GrandCare was being developed in 2005 there were only three major players: GrandCare, QuietCare, which is now a part of GE, and Health Fronts. While educating the market is still ongoing, Mitchell said that it was more of an uphill back then, requiring her to get out in the field, telling people that the technology exists, and getting health-care professionals to accept it. “I went from place to place,” she said, “including long-term and in-home care providers, many of whom saw us as competition.”

Mitchell said that her mission was to teach health-care professionals that home health-care technologies are supplemental to the health-care workers, and not a replacement for the human touch. “A baby monitor is not a replacement for a mother,” Mitchell said, noting, “Our products enable a better standard of care and a bigger picture of wellness.” For example, a computer algorithm can see patterns of behavior and vital signs that a family member or in-home care provider might miss. That said, the system is simply reporting information. “The smartest part of the system is the caregiver who’s making assessments based on that information.” She concludes.

GrandCare Systems’ Laura Mitchell said that her mission has been to teach health-care professionals that home health-care technologies are supplemental to the health-care workers, and not a replacement for the human touch.

What it Means to Integrators

So why should integrators consider home health care? According to Mitchell, with an aging boom under way in the USA “This is something that has to happen, and must happen to assist Americans coping with the aging boom.”

According to Mitchell, there is a lot of education that needs to be done. As far as people outside the industry are concerned, home health care is synonymous with PERS, the Personal Injury Service, and better known by the iconic commercial tagline, “I’ve fallen, and I can’t get up!” Mitchell said. “One of the biggest hurdles is explaining that this category is more than that. With crisis management, you push a button and something happens. But that’s a reactive technology. Other solutions, such as what GrandCare focuses on are proactive, preventative solutions.”

It’s Mitchell’s assertion that prospective clients should not wait until an emergency to get a home health-care system in place. Rather, that they should be looked at in the context of ongoing wellness; using the feedback and data from the system for preventative care. “Think of these systems as being in place as ‘no news is good news’ systems,” she explained.

Technology continues to progress, with recent innovations including medication management and GPS-enabled reporting, for tracking when a subject has gone beyond their normal parameters.

“Some of the medication technology can dispense medication at the right time and provide health and dose advice,” Mitchell explained.”

Although she points out that without a throat camera, there is no verification that the meds have been swallowed. Even then, technology is being developed with tablets that can alert the system that they’ve been dissolved. While that remains a future technology, monitors that track blood pressure, bodyweight, movement around the house, including frequency of bathroom breaks, and sleep patterns exist now, and these provide care givers with a more complete picture of a subject’s well-being.

Pedigo suggested that there are dual issues in play that make home health care ideal for integrators. The first is that there is a large potential client base, which translates to lucrative recurring revenue opportunities. The other is the nature of the technology itself.

“I don’t think it can be cookie cutter, which makes it ideal for integrators; we’re used to installing motions and dry contacts, and we’re already installing other systems,” Pedigo noted.

CEDIA’s Role

So what’s CEDIA doing to help raise awareness of home health care with integrators? “Well, we’re doing a couple of things,” Pedigo replied. “We’ve formed the Home Health Advisory Group, which comprises manufacturers that are advising us on what we should be doing for the industry, and helping CEDIA develop training materials.”

GrandCare Systems Laura Mitchell says that one of the biggest hurdles to selling home health-care category, is explaining that it’s more than just, “I’ve fallen, and I can’t get up!” technology synonymous with with PERS, the Personal Injury Service.

A big part of CEDIA’s outreach is clarifying what home health care really means. “We’re taking this nebulous concept and honing it so that our members can sell it,” Pedigo explained.

At the moment, the home health-care field is wide open, yet with risks and unknowns that integrators will need to sort out.

“I think that at the moment there are few specific certifications involved, but I can foresee that changing,” Mitchell said. However, she pointed out that if integrators get involved with offering any healthcare devices, like blood pressure monitors, they have to be HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act) compliant.

“GrandCare has a HIPAA compliance officer, and we are teaching a course on this on September 7, 2011, before CEDIA EXPO begins,” Mitchell noted. This introductory course is an eight-hour session that covers everything integrators need to do to receive HIPAA certification. HIPAA compliance means that vendors are unable to sell to a dealer unless that dealer has achieved certification.

Mitchell also noted that integrators need to address the category with their commercial insurance provider, and be prepared to educate them. “From an insurance point of view there really are no rules yet,” she said. “The insurance companies still view it as a crisis system, like fire alarms, even though it isn’t that at all.”

Integrators may need to explain to their insurance carriers that they aren’t selling lifesaving devices; they are selling wellness devices.

And the business model itself may be more “industrial” than retail. Rather than being a quickbuck business, it requires cultivating connections in the health-care field and a potentially large list of decision makers who need to agree to the installation, including health care professionals and family members.

“Our dealers have an average of three meetings with the principal decision makers before a sale is made,” Mitchell said. “It’s not a quick cold call.”

As a result, she strongly recommends partnering with a care provider that specializes in aging, whether in a long-term care or a home-care capacity. Those partners understand how to have this conversation with prospective clients without sounding like a door-to-door salesman. “Dealers should stick to what they’re best at, which is the installation” Mitchell said. “A person who is used to dealing with the elderly has the patience and empathy that will help build your credibility.”

Lee Distad (www.leedistad.com) is an Edmonton, Alberta-based writer.

 

GrandCare SUPER-HEROES…

The GrandCare System was designed to help individuals stay independent at home for longer, reduce hospital readmissions, reduce the need for paid in-home staff visits, turn caregivers into “SUPER” caregivers allowing them to be multiple places at once.

Our system is simply placed into a home and offers two aspects:
1. Remote Monitoring: remotely monitor activities of daily living (sleeping, eating, med access, door openings), vitals (blood pressure, weight, pulseox, glucose). Caregivers can customize automated phone/em/text alerts (if someone doesn’t get out of bed, noncompliance, door opens during the night, etc.)

2. Communication/Socialization: 2-way interactive video chat via skype, incoming messages, emails, reminders, voicemails, games, videos, weather/news, calendar appts, etc – RIGHT on an interactive touch panel. Zero computer experience is needed.

 

AgingCare.com: Secrets our Loved Ones hide and How GrandCare can help….

Aging.com reported on 10 secrets that our aging parents keeps from us and some ways to deal with and approach them. I couldn’t help but think of all sorts of technology solutions (remote monitoring like GrandCare, Internet technology, etc.) that could assist in dealing with these 10 “secrets” shared in the story.

Of course, technology is only one piece to the puzzle. We are not quite at the point where technology comes immediately to mind when we are thinking about how to care for a loved one. It’s scary to embark upon caring for an aging parent and using a tool that is relatively new.  We did not grow up seeing technology used this way.  Many of us in today’s parenting generation have cared for children using all kinds of technologies (baby monitor, video monitor, bed monitor to detect SIDS, etc), but we don’t think to apply this to an obviously similar need among our aging parents. I get it, though, because although the caregiving process and stress can be similar to taking care of a child, it’s a completely different beast.

Children grow more and more independent as you guide them to do more and more things on their own. With an aging loved one, the opposite will occur. It’s much easier to give more freedom, obviously, than taking it away. I can imagine that it would be difficult to have someone tell you that you cannot or should not do things anymore.

Given this, we can’t be too surprised when a loved one hides or covers up certain things. I even think about my own kids cleaning up a mess they make, BEFORE I see it to avoid punishment or having things be taken away.

So what to do? How do we know if/when someone hides something? And what if it’s something that could be unsafe, unhealthy or potentially life-threatening? What steps could we or should we take to “get to the bottom” of things? How can we more closely monitor? How do we confront? I don’t know that there is an easy answer. I remember my parents having to “take away the keys” from my Grandpa. That was a hard day and it took him a while to get used to the loss of independence. It was the right thing to do (He was not even noticing if I passed him on the road and was repeatedly honking and wildly waving). Even though it was the responsible choice, it did not make it any less difficult.

The aging.com article lists 10 common things that people tend to “hide” or not reveal to those helping care for them. As I read the list I started to think that there really are some high tech and low tech solutions that could help out. Perhaps a telehealth assessment, a SKYPE visit, or even a remote activity of daily living monitoring solution, like GrandCare Systems.

Below is a list of the 10 secrets and the ways that I believe technology could be a piece of the puzzle:

1. Falls – – Technology can detect the actual fall itself, but even if they are not wearing anything…many technologies like GrandCare could alert a family member if they were not “up and about” as usual.
2. Pain – – So obviously technology can’t tell you WHAT they are feeling emotionally or physically, but can give you hints on it. For example, you could have SKYPE visits with a loved one and “see” how they are doing. Systems like GrandCare also have touch-based assessments that the loved one can fill out every day. People tend to be more comfortable telling a machine how they are feeling, versus “complaining” to their family. It can be a helpful resource and indicate if pain levels are there, swelling, happiness, etc. Activity Systems like GrandCare could also portray if a person was moving less than usual, which might be a good indication of a potential problem or pain.
3. Dizziness – – can be caused by many things such as low blood pressure or medication noncompliance…these things can all be remotely monitored by a tele-wellness system like GrandCare. GrandCare has several wireless, bluetooth enabled blood pressure, weight scale, pulseox, glucometer devices that can indicate a potential wellness issue. The medication dispenser could send out an alert if the meds were not accessed.
4, 5, & 6. Money Shortages, Frivolous Purchasing, Financial Abuse – – I put these together because I think they can be managed together. Technology is of great assistance as caregivers can check bank accounts, checks and credit card statements online. Not to mention, one of GrandCare’s initial goals was to help mitigate tele-marketing scams (the co-founder’s mother had an investment banker in Sun City West, AZ scam her, which gave a huge wake up to the entire family). GrandCare has a caller-ID sensor that can alert family members or primary caregivers of unusual, repeated incoming calls, etc. to help stop SCAMS!

7. Elder Abuse – – there are several factors to take into account with elder abuse. It can be very difficult to diagnose this, but technology systems in place can help. Technology can play a big role when determining neglect (caregiver is NOT arriving when they should be, patient is not being “turned”, fridge is NOT being accessed during mealtime, etc). SKYPE is a great way to “see” into the home and look into a loved one’s eyes to really determine what might be happening…

8. Auto Accidents or Driving Infractions – – Although technology won’t play much of a role with determining whether or not a loved one has gotten a ticket or driving infraction, it can share information about how your loved one is behaving in general. Is he/she wandering (could be indicative of sundowners, dementia or even seizures), is he/she complying with medications, eating regularly, normal vitals? sleeping well? All of these factors can help to give a bigger picture idea of what’s happening behind closed doors and allow family members to make educated, healthier and smarter decisions for a loved one.

9. Alcohol or Drug Abuse – – Again, technology can really give a better overall indication that all is well or not well at home. Eating/sleeping patterns, vitals, daily behaviors can help to give an educated view on what might be happening in a loved one’s life. In severe cases, it could be possible to use a monitoring system to monitor access to the liquor cabinet.

10. Gambling – – technology can help to assess when a loved one leaves the home and if they have their GPS enabled Cell phone, shoes or watch, a worried caregiver could be notified if they leave a designated perimeter (mostly used for wandering, dementia, etc)

Granted, there are many other (additional) ways to detect and mitigate these 10 secrets, but I wanted to note that there are some assistive technology solutions out there that are designed to enable a caregiver (call it a super caregiver) to become more aware (even if they don’t live close by) of how a loved one is doing. Because, after all, that’s what we all desire – for our loved one to be safe, be able to stay home (if that’s where he/she would like to be), stay virtually connected/socialized and continue to go about normal daily activities. These technologies were created so these four things could easily & instantaneously happen!

by Laura Mitchell, VP Marketing, GrandCare Systems

GrandCare is a comprehensive digital home health system combining aspects of home automation, activity of daily living monitoring, telehealth sensors, video chat, Internet communications and Social media, using a simple interactive TouchScreen (requires zero previous computer experience).

www.grandcare.com   dealers@grandcare.com   262-338-6147

Read the entire article:

Top 10 Secrets That Aging Parents Keep and what to do about it

Source: AgingCare.com

Your aging parent may be keeping secrets from you. Not necessarily lies, but withholding of information that may be important to their health, safety or general well-being.

Often, as people age, they become embarrassed when they have to ask for help, or require assistance in their care. So they cover up bruises, accidents and money trouble in an attempt to maintain their independence.

From falls to spending habits and from abuse to car accidents, there are a range of “secrets” that elders tend to keep, according to Marilyn Sharbach Ladew, MSW, a nationally recognized expert in senior caregiving….

pre-CEDIA 90 Min HIPAA BootCamp – Wed Sept 7th, 4-530p

Please join us before CEDIA at our 90 minute HIPAA Intensive!!!
GrandCare’s Security and Compliance Officer, Kristin Bayer, will be leading us in helping us to understand what exactly IS HIPAA, why it’s important to you, how to become compliant and steps to get started.

 

When: Wednesday September 7th, 2011

Where: Indianapolis, IN (Hotel location TBA) 4p – 530p EDT

Price: $129 per person (GrandCare Dealer & AgeTek Member Discounts apply)

Why: According to new government regulations, all resellers/installers of tele-health devices (blood pressure, weight, pulseox, glucose, etc.) MUST be fully HIPAA Compliant….it is more than just the declaration. There are steps involved, policy/quality statements, etc. Kristin will tell us exactly what it takes!!!

MIXER/NETWORKING SESSION: Directly after, you can join the GrandCare team and AgeTek Board members at the no-host pre-CEDIA MEET & GREET (location TBA).

To sign up, contact: info@grandcare.com or call us: 262-338-6147

Thanks and we’ll see you at CEDIA 2011!!!!!

Your friends at GrandCare Systems

 

Why America Needs Seniors to Remain Healthy and in Their Homes – Huffington Post

I recently saw an article in the Huffington Post by Kenneth Thorpe called “Why America Needs Seniors to Remain Healthy and in Their Homes”. While I absolutely agree with the article, I felt a critical piece of the puzzle was completely left out of the article.  He didn’t mention the symbiotic use of in-home/digital home health technologies…  It’s true that in order to save this country from entering a black hole of debt (with the HUGE aging boom) we need to figure out new ways to stay independent, safe, happy and healthy at home! We need to utilize not only home health providers, but also embrace technology that can show the big picture/long term trends e.g. increased/decreased motion, restless sleeping patterns, abnormal vitals, etc. Benjamin Franklin once said an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, I sure wish we took this more to heart. Hospitals are used too often because we didn’t focus at all on prevention. Hospitals should ONLY be used for cure. In-home technologies like GrandCare gathers info about the household (when/if someone gets out of bed, if  front door opens during the night, meds not accessed, abnormal vitals, fridge not accessed during mealtimes, heat not working, etc…)  The caregiver can then respond to the alerts. A socialization component allows online care & calendar coordination and communication with the Loved One (notes, emails, videos, pictures & SKYPE  through a simple touchscreen interface). Tech WITH hands-on Care will be the ultimate solution. There is no reason that a person needs to stay awake 24 hours a day caring for a Loved One, when a system can gently wake them and notify them if assistance is needed. It’s not a matter of If, but a matter of when! Discovery Channel did quite a nice piece on the future of aging, they talked about everything from Medication Dispensers to remote monitoring systems to SKYPE and GPS-enabled shoes…take a look: http://dsc.discovery.com/videos/discovery-channel-cme-future-family-part-2.html#mkcpgn=fb3

Thanks to the Huffington Post for dedicating time to this critical topic!

Take a look below

Kenneth Thorpe

Chair of Dept. of Health Policy & Mgmt. at Emory University’s School of Public Health

Why America Needs Seniors to Remain Healthy and in Their Homes

With many Republicans forecasting the end of Medicare for those under 55 and few members of my own Democratic Party willing to propose sweeping reforms to preserve it, several Washington insiders speculate that serious Medicare reform will remain a third rail of American politics.

Yet based on my experience, common ground on Medicare is possible and, in the short term, policymakers have an immediate and time-sensitive opportunity to prevent and manage costly chronic illnesses such as cancer, diabetes and hypertension through a coordinated approach to treating patients led by home health care. By strengthening options that let people get much-needed care at home, policymakers can save money, give older Americans what they want and address the chronic disease epidemic facing our nation.

Consider the following: Nearly three quarters of those who live to 85 will eventually need health assistance ranging from simple help around the house to 24-hour skilled nursing care. According to the Department of Health and Human Services, a week in a private nursing home room costs about $1,500 while a week of home health care costs considerably less.

If Congress accelerates already planned cuts in home health care (currently under consideration) or raises fees on seniors even more, it will encourage many to enter costly nursing homes and, eventually, increasing the overall cost of the Medicare program. This defies fiscal and political logic.

Moreover, policies that force seniors into nursing homes through cuts to home health spending will directly impact our efforts to prevent and manage chronic disease. The cuts reduce the capacity to provide health care services to chronically ill patients at home. Patients with chronic disease account for 75 percent of U.S. health spending and the numbers are higher in entitlement programs. Eighty-three percent of every dollar in Medicaid is spent on chronic disease and 99 percent in Medicare.

The best chance America has to alleviate this burden is by creating a coordinated team-based approach to health care in which doctors, nurses, nurse practitioners, home health aides and patients are all working together to treat and get in front of chronic conditions. While some individuals have needs that require care only institutional settings can provide, few should leave friends, family, and familiar places simply because they need extra help.

Home health aides spend much more “face time” with seniors and disabled persons than doctors and nurses. Our medical system must take advantage of this. With better information technology — interoperable electronic medical records in particular — and improved integration between health providers of all sorts, home health workers can serve as a “front door” to a better-coordinated medical system. Improved coordination of care, in turn, can save money (it’s almost always cheaper to treat problems early), reduce medical errors, and improve quality of life for Americans on Medicare.

Such home and community-based solutions should appeal to both ends of the political spectrum. Republicans intent on cutting the budget should know that they’ll save money by reducing the need for institutional care. Democrats who want to raise the quality of public services should be secure in the knowledge that home health care spending will do just that. Providing opportunities for patients to receive their health care services at home rather than at more expensive institutional settings is a common sense solution.
To see the entire article: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/kenneth-thorpe/medicare-cuts_b_885195.html

CEDIA presents: Home Health Technology And You…In 60 mins or less…led by GrandCare

Home Health Technology and You…in 60 minutes or less

July 26, 2011 at 3:00 p.m. EDT

Presented by Laura Mitchell, VP Marketing for GrandCare Systems

The statistics are in – the aging population is growing faster than ever and service providers and family caregivers are turning to technology as a solution. Find out why this industry is growing so fast, why dealers/integrators are a necessary component and 10 steps to quickly get started! 

Laura Mitchell, VP Marketing, GrandCare Systems

  Laura is a founding member of GrandCare Systems, a software technology that combines aspects of Home Automation, Social Networking, Video Chat, Entertainment, Activity of Daily Living monitoring and Tele-health assessment into one flexible and easy-to-use system.  A significant part of her role was to bring the product to market through the development of a nation-wide distributor/dealer network while getting the GrandCare brand known throughout the industry.  Laura specializes in Social Media and non-traditional guerilla marketing.  Laura was a 2011 recipient of the Flame Award for Excellence in Leadership and Innovation from the What’s Next 2011 Boomer Business Innovation Awards.

Laura speaks throughout the country on Social Media, Go-to-market Strategies and Enabling Technologies in the Aging Industry.

She is a founding member and serves as a Director on the AgeTek Alliance board (www.agetek.org), is a key organizer for the EHX and CEDIA Home Health Pavilions and Educational Tracks, and is the creator/host of the bi-weekly, industry-wide GrandCare Aging and Technology webinars.

Laura is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin in Madison and lives in Wisconsin with her husband and her two little boys.

For more information on this webinar, visit: http://www.cedia.net/education/elearning_webinar.php

GrandCare chosen as Home Health Component in PCBC Home of Innovation

[et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ admin_label=”section” _builder_version=”3.22″][et_pb_row admin_label=”row” _builder_version=”3.25″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”3.25″ custom_padding=”|||” custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_text admin_label=”Text” _builder_version=”3.27.4″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat”]GrandCare has been selected to display our comprehensive in-home health technology in the Home of Innovation, at the PCBC Conference. GrandCare will be exhibited and fully functioning within the Home of Innovation. Come and see the GrandCare System LIVE IN ACTION AND meet GrandCare founder and CEO, Charlie Hillman

THE HOME OF INNOVATION
The Home of Innovation, a 2,000 SQ FT exhibit floor show home, will explore the opportunities – and challenges – of incorporating next generation connected technologies, new smart energy infrastructure, and the latest sustainable products in tomorrow’s new homes and communities. More info: http://www.pcbc.com/theshow/Exhibiting/onthefloor/homeofinnovation.html

PCBC 2011 / June 22-24 / Moscone Center / San Francisco

CONFERENCE EDUCATIONDesigned to elevate the industry’s dialogue and explore new perspectives, PCBC offers numerous opportunities to contribute to the advancement of the art and science of community building. 
 

www.pcbc.com

PCBC Advancing The Art + Science of Community Building
California Building Industry Association
California Homebuilding Foundation

How technology, energy and
innovation are converging to
shape home and community.

GENERAL SESSION KEYNOTES

imageimageimage

Guy Kawasaki | Chip Heath | Joseph Coughlin

Open to all registered attendees and exhibitors







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Pre-CEDIA HIPAA Boot Camp in 90 minutes or less….
SIGN UP DEADLINE AUGUST 31st…There will be no extensions, so please make sure to sign up before the 31st!!!!


GrandCare Systems Presents:


pre-CEDIA 90 Min HIPAA BootCamp – Wed Sept 7th, 4-530p




Please join us before CEDIA at our 90 minute HIPAA Intensive!!!

GrandCare’s Security and Compliance Officer, Kristin Bayer, will be leading us in helping us to understand what exactly is HIPAA, why it’s important to you, how to become compliant and steps to get started.


When:




Wednesday Sept 7, 2011 4p – 530p Eastern Time


Where:

Indianapolis – Crowne Plaza Hotel: Historic Union Station


Cost:

$129 per person (GrandCare Dealer & AgeTek Member Discounts apply)


Why: According to new government regulations, all resellers/installers of tele-health devices (blood pressure, weight, pulseox, glucose, etc.) MUST be fully HIPAA Compliant….it is more than just the declaration. There are steps involved, policy/quality statements, etc. Kristin will tell us exactly what it takes!!!


MIXER/NETWORKING SESSION: Directly after, from 6-8p, you can join the GrandCare team and AgeTek Board members at the no-host pre-CEDIA MEET & GREET (location TBA).


To sign up, contact: info@grandcare.com or call us: 262-338-6147


Thanks and we’ll see you at CEDIA 2011!!!!!


Your friends at GrandCare Systems


Why wouldn’t available Technology be used for good?
I was inspired when reading this article http://www.itweb7.com/health/healthmonitoring-technology-helps-seniors-living-home/#comment-206084  Health-Monitoring Technology Helps Seniors Living at Home


The author discusses what seems like the obvious, technology actually does help seniors to remain independent at home. But, we need more articles like this showing that technologies have always improved our lives (as a whole) and why wouldn’t that be applicable to seniors too?

***Note that  technology can be abused (like anything else in the world), and should be used responsibly.

Since the beginning of times, enabling technologies have always entered, making our lives easier, better, faster and allowing us to become more connected (distance becomes less of a barrier). Can you believe that people weren’t really even actively using the Internet about 15 years ago? Now look at us today!! How fast the world changed!!! Disruptive demographics have always been followed up with enabling technologies. In the late 1800s, New York City had a problem of too much manure, and dead horses piling up city blocks. A blue ribbon commission was called in to “fix” this disruptive demographic. Their solution was that there is NO solution! In a few years time, they predicted that NY City would be many feet high in manure. Well, as we all know, that did not happen. A professor (Daimler) was in Germany coming up with the Internal Combustion Engine. This enabling technology came in as a solution! Today we are facing another disruptive demographic, the massive aging boom. Technology ABSOLUTELY will play a vital role as an enabling solution. But much like a car, the technology will do very LITTLE good without people (cue the drivers) analyzing and assessing the ADLs and tele-wellness as well as using the tech to connect to their elders and to promote long distance, virtual socialization. At GrandCare, we write the software and use computer hardware, but we say the smartest part of our system is the ‘Wetware’ and that is the person sitting in front of their PC, taking a look at the vitals, looking at the graphs, setting up the alert rules and sending the communications (TRUST THE WETWARE).


GrandCare Systems combines Home Automation, Activity of Daily Living Monitoring, Telehealth Assessment, Social Networking, Video Conferencing and Internet Communications into ONE comprehensive and simple to use system!!!!


www.grandcare.com / info@grandcare.com




GrandCare Discussed on Senior Care Corner Online Radio!
Note from GrandCare: Thanks Barry & Cathy and for including GrandCare Systems in your radio program! This is a great idea and I enjoyed listening to your thoughts!  GrandCare is customizable and fully expandable. We go from a more economic and basic model, to fully-featured, luxury models. Pricing starts low and increases (depending on the model chosen: interactive vs. non-interactive and the sensors deployed).  GrandCare is a complete communication, cognition and monitoring technology – designed to keep individuals safe, healthy, happy and independent at home. Using a series of wireless activity (door, temp, motion, bed, etc.) and telewellness (bp, weight, pulseox, glucose) sensors, a care-partner can automatically be notified if anything is amiss. Family can can connect by two way video chat AND send pictures, messages, emails, videos and other communications to an easy-to-use touch monitor in the loved one’s home. Loved ones need ZERO technical experience to fully enjoy the GrandCare System!  THANKS AGAIN and I am spreading the word on your radio program :)




<a href = “http://seniorcarecorner.com/scc-4-senior-home-technology-1#comment-541“>SCC #4: Senior Home Technology 1 </a>




senior digital home


In this episode we discuss technology that can help improve the lives of seniors in their homes and the peace of mind of seniors’ families.  We highlight some companies targeting the needs of seniors and point out where the consumer electronics industry misses opportunities with the senior marketplace.


Home technology is making a difference in the lives of most people and seniors are no different.  Technology can not only improve the life of seniors but enable them to safely and comfortably live in their homes long than before, even if they are living alone.  Senior Care Corner is following technology for seniors closely and this is our first podcast report.


The largest showcase for home technologies is the annual Consumer Electronics Show from the Consumer Electronics Association.  Our visit to the most recent showed the industry has a ways to go in targeting the needs of seniors with their products.  At the same time, there are a number of companies with technology products targeted to specific needs of seniors and their families… To read more: http://seniorcarecorner.com/scc-4-senior-home-technology-1#comment-541


They discuss GrandCare Systems, a few other in-home health technologies (Presto, Sonamba, Telikin) and the Connected Living for Social Aging: Designing Technology for All (an AARP report)