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Aging in the digital age: seniors and smart devices

March 8, 2024Age Tech,Senior CareBlog

Use of digital and other tech devices is commonplace among younger adults, but less so among seniors. However, this reality is changing, and largely due to the broad embracement of “Smart” devices. According to the Pew Research Center, 61% of adults aged 65 and older now own a Smartphone. While this is in comparison to 95% of adults aged 30-49 (plus 83% aged 50-64) the gap between Smartphone adoption among younger adults and seniors is rapidly shrinking. There are now actually a tremendous variety of “Smart” devices that can make life easier and safer for senior-aged adults. The following describes four of the categories of “Smart” devices that can be especially helpful to seniors in their daily lives. 

Voice-activated digital and tech-driven devices 

The ability to voice-activate digital devices can be a crucial aid for seniors, due to age-related health conditions that can limit finger dexterity or mobility. From turning on the overhead lights in the morning to unlocking the front door, voice-activated “Smart” devices such as Alexa and Google Assistant – paired with a Smart Home gadget – can simplify routine daily tasks. Six other tasks that this type of voice-activated device can do are: 

• Let the device user know the day’s weather forecast; 
• Turn on (and off) a coffee-maker, microwave oven, or robotic vacuum cleaner; 
• Adjust the thermostats in the home to align with the desired temperature; 
• Play selected music or an audio book; 
• Add a food item to a digital list of groceries to purchase at a supermarket; 
• Remind the user of a daily task to be performed such as picking up prescription medications from the drugstore 

Around 47% of all adults aged 65 and older have diagnosed osteoarthritis (OA). Meanwhile, nearly 26% of senior-aged people have hand/finger OA. Therefore, voice-activated “Smart” devices can enable seniors living with OA to perform activities that would otherwise be far more difficult, if not impossible. 

“Smart” medical alert systems 

Medical alert systems that automatically dial 9-1-1, request an ambulance, and/or contact a patient’s doctor can be life-savers for senior-aged people. Three-fourths of all strokes occur in adults aged 65 and older, per a medical research article published in Aging. Without fast treatment, even a mild stroke can result in paralysis. Likewise, heart attacks require immediate medical intervention. For diabetics, a sudden spike in blood sugar level can necessitate obtaining an insulin injection to prevent slipping into a diabetic coma. 

While medical alert systems – that paired a device similar to a landline telephone with a wristband (or neck pendant) containing an activation “button” – have existed since the 1980s, “Smart” alert systems now exist on most cell phones and many other types of digital devices. 

Medication reminder and dispensing systems 

It can be hard to remember to take a prescribed pill at any age, and this is particularly so for senior-aged adults. One reason that remembering to take prescribed medications can be more difficult for seniors is that adults aged 65 and older tend to take more daily pills than younger adults. More than half of all senior-aged adults take at least five daily prescription drugs. Telling those pills apart can be hard, and especially in elderly people with worsening eyesight or early Alzheimer’s disease. In turn, this can lead to a mix-up of taking too many pills each day of one prescribed medication and not enough of another. 

While a medication reminder can be provided utilizing various “Smart” devices (such as a Smartphone), there are far fewer that can dispense the medications. The Ōmcare Home Health Hub® is one of those “Smart” devices that can dispense medications, as well as provide a reminder to take them. 

“Smart” fitness trackers 

Engaging in regular daily exercise is important for overall health, and this can be vital in senior-aged people to prevent heart disease. Notably, daily exercise has been found to ward off cognitive decline (such as short-term memory loss) in older-aged people. Mechanical devices such as pedometers have long been recommended to track steps per day. 

However – ever since the first Fitbit was marketed to the public in 2009 – there has been an explosion in the availability of “Smart” fitness trackers. Not only have these been used by people (including senior-aged adults) while engaging in fitness activities, but they also have enabled their users to monitor heart rate, respiration rate, and blood pressure.  

Overall, utilizing a “Smart” device can assist seniors in maintaining their personal independence, as well as boosting the likelihood of preserving health. Thus, this type of device can aid in reducing the likelihood of developing a preventable disability. By choosing the Omcare Home Health Hub, you can access its diverse capabilities that would otherwise require owning many different “Smart” devices.

by Ōmcare

The rise and fall of healthcare trends since the pandemic

February 21, 2024Age Tech,Senior CareBlog

Trends in healthcare are constantly changing to adapt to hospital, physician, and patient needs. The Covid-19 pandemic necessitated new ways of delivering patient care that reduced the likelihood of infecting clinicians and patients. Meanwhile, technological advances enabled the development of more collaborative approaches by physician teams to treat patients. However, no change happened so quickly and dramatically as the shift toward providing online “telehealth” services to patients (per a medical research article in 2020). The following describes three rising healthcare trends since the onset of Covid-19, and three healthcare system “norms” that are fading away. 

Three rising trends in healthcare delivery to patients 

• Increased adoption of team-based approaches to providing patient care: 

The high cost of treating chronic disorders such as heart disease, Diabetes Type 2, and asthma has led public health leaders to promote healthcare provider team-based approaches to care. Likewise, the health complications commonly found in hospitalized Covid-19 patients after their discharge required more collaborative efforts.  

For example, kidney damage was found in at least 30% of people hospitalized due to Covid-19. Without long-term physician care, daily medications, and dietary changes, people with kidney damage can progress to the life-threatening disorder of kidney failure. By enabling collaboration between primary care doctors (PCPs), specialist physicians, mental health therapists, and nutritionists, a post-hospitalization care approach for recovered Covid-19 patients with kidney damage could be quickly developed and implemented. 

Videoconferencing software linking networks of healthcare providers boosted the capacity for healthcare teams to collaborate more efficiently. This continues to enable increased collaborative efforts, and is a rapidly-growing nationwide trend.  

• Providing “telehealth” patient care as opposed to requiring a doctor’s office visit:

The use of videoconferencing software and digital solutions has exploded since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic. Besides enabling people diagnosed with Covid-19 to interact with their healthcare providers without infecting them, telehealth visits also enabled outpatient clinicians to provide help each day to more patients. This was because there was no need to clean and re-stock an exam room for each new patient, since the interactions were conducted online. In addition, it eliminated the necessity for patients to travel to the healthcare provider’s office to receive care. 

Elderly patients tend to have an especially difficult time in finding a way to travel to a healthcare provider’s office. Many people aged 70 and older either no longer drive or are unable to use public transportation to reach their healthcare provider’s office. This is especially problematic for seniors without any adult children living close to them, or who have physical disabilities that limit walking.  

The huge advantage of “virtual” office visits is that it enables people to receive care from their clinicians without leaving home. Consequently, this has led to an expansion in the capacity of “virtual” technological solutions to deliver healthcare to patients. Not only have healthcare providers and patients embraced “virtual” visits since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, mental health therapists are hopping on the bandwagon in large numbers. 

• The use of robotic devices to perform surgery:

While the first robotic device used to perform surgery was FDA-approved in the early 2000s, advances in robotic device mechanisms have led to increased usage of robotic devices to perform surgeries. This is especially the case for surgeries requiring finger dexterity beyond that normally possible for the human hand. Outside of use by the military in field hospitals, FDA-approved surgical robotic devices are most often utilized in hospital operating rooms to assist in performing minimally-invasive (laparoscopic) procedures. For example, in 2021, the Hominis Surgical System was approved by the FDA to perform transvaginal hysterectomies. 

The use of robotic devices to perform surgical procedures has enabled surgeries to occur with just the presence of a surgeon and one or two assistants, rather than numerous Operating Room (OR) staff members. Therefore, the daily scheduling of more minimally-invasive surgeries per day by hospitals is possible. Due to its revenue-boosting potential, use of robotic devices to perform surgeries is an increasing trend that we imagine will only continue to rise. 

Three falling (and disappearing) trends 

• Short waiting times in hospital Emergency Rooms (ERs): 

Healthcare staff “burn-out” is contributing to fewer personnel to assist patients who walk into a hospital Emergency Room (ER), rather than arriving in an ambulance. However, another reason waiting times are lengthening is that an increasing number of community hospitals are closing, with more people seeking ER care at the remaining hospitals.  

• Manual healthcare billing systems: 

Billing systems used in physician group practices that send out invoices manually are going the way of the dinosaur. In their place, technologically-driven systems, that can quickly identify correct billing codes and spot billing errors, are becoming a standard practice.  

• Rapidly finding an available bed in a nursing home when needed: 

Since 2016, more than 500 nursing homes have closed, and many more plan to do so. A chief reason specified by nursing home owners is that they simply cannot afford to stay in business. Meanwhile – as a consequence of the Covid-19 pandemic – it has also been harder for nursing homes to find and hire new nursing aides willing to work for low pay while risking a Covid-19 infection. Since a minimum staff-to-patient ratio is required by state governments, nursing homes cannot accept more patients than they have nursing aides on staff to care for them. Therefore, finding an available nursing home bed to take your elderly family member who can no longer safely live at home is taking far longer than in the past. 

These are just some of the changed trends currently occurring across our healthcare system. Advances in Artificial Intelligence (AI) medical research, the development of mRNA cancer treatments, and the continuing shift toward value-based payments by both Medicare and private insurers are other trends that are gathering steam. 

Among its numerous capabilities, the Ōmcare Home Health Hub® can enable you to engage in virtual healthcare visits as well as appointment/medication reminders and medication dispensing allowing home to be the site of care.

by Ōmcare

Is technology the cure for the loneliness epidemic?

February 9, 2024Age Tech,Senior CareBlog

Senior-aged adults experienced a loneliness surge during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic. Yet, even before the pandemic, 40% of adults over age 65 reported feeling lonely. This makes sense when we consider that social isolation is a major cause of loneliness in senior-aged adults. Despite fewer Covid-19 hospitalizations, the Covid-induced increase in social isolation continues to persist among senior-aged adults. Technology use was embraced by many seniors during the pandemic mainly due to its capacity to enable online interpersonal connections. Medical research findings published in 2022 confirmed this increased Internet and digital device utilization among the elderly due to the Covid-19 pandemic.  

The causes of senior-aged social isolation 

Nearly four in 10 senior-aged adults live with extended family worldwide. However, those in the US rarely do. As of 2020, 28% of community-dwelling seniors lived alone. While death of a spouse or dementia in a spouse are major reasons for increased social isolation among older-aged adults, an increased amount of disability and death among longstanding friends is another cause. The following are four other causal factors: 

• Relocation by adult children to a new residence far from their senior-aged parents; 
• Worsened eyesight, leading to reduced driving to engage in social interactions; 
• Chronic health disorders and physical disabilities that limit visiting family and friends; 
• Higher risk to contract an infection resulting from large social gatherings.  

At least 50% of adults aged 60 or older are at risk for social isolation, with 33% expected to experience a high degree of loneliness in future, per a recent article in BMC Public Health. In turn, this reveals that a loneliness epidemic in senior-aged adults requires immediate attention. 

The link between loneliness, depression, and chronic health disorders  

Loneliness can lead to chronic depression in both younger and older adults. However, chronic depression in seniors is also strongly-linked to the development of the following chronic health disorders:  

1. High blood pressure; 
2. Heart disorders such as arrhythmia; 
3. Obesity; 
4. Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias

According to the National Institute of Mental Health, chronic depression also increases the risk for chronic pain. In addition, it increases the risk for sleep disorders such as insomnia. Notably, sleep disorders are linked to an increased risk for depression and numerous chronic health conditions. Most of all, chronic depression and sleep disorders both tend to lessen the brain’s release of certain biochemicals – such as Serotonin – that boost mood and stave off depression. 

Mental health benefits of technology utilization in the elderly 

At 70 years of age, two out of three adults in the US have some level of cognitive impairment, most commonly short-term memory deficits and worsened reflexes. Overall, mental health is worsened by cognitive impairments (such as decreased problem-solving capacity). Since chronic depression as well as diverse chronic health disorders can foster increased cognitive impairments, engaging in digital “brain health” activities in can be beneficial for preserving cognitive functioning.  

Brain plasticity & technology use 

Brain plasticity—meaning the capacity for creating new nerve pathways in the brain—boosts cognitive ability and overall brain health. While younger brains have a higher degree of brain plasticity, findings published in Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience have shown that the elderly can also boost their brain plasticity. This is a particular reason that learning new information and skills (such as the use of tech gadgets) is especially beneficial for the mental health of senior-aged adults. 

Additionally, continuous learning activities have been clinically recognized as protective of cognitive functioning in senior-aged adults. Therefore, learning new technology programs and digital devices can aid elderly individuals to both preserve their level of cognitive function, as well as interrupt further cognitive decline.  

How technology can address the loneliness epidemic 

While technology by itself cannot “cure” the loneliness epidemic, it can certainly help. Senior quality-of-life can be improved by interacting with others via technological approaches, which can boost both mental/emotional well-being and overall health.  

Videoconferencing programs and social media have enabled interpersonal communication to continue among adults living with disabilities that limit their capacity to attend “in-person” social activities. This is especially the case for disabled senior-aged people who can no longer venture far from home. In this way, technology utilization can both lessen social isolation and loneliness – thereby reducing the likelihood of worsened mental health and physical health. 

Ōmcare not only serves as a medication reminder and telehealth interface, but it also connects seniors to loved ones with the simple touch of a button. To learn more about how we’re bringing health and connection into the home, visit omcare.com.  

by Ōmcare

Why medication adherence is important and how to improve it 

July 17, 2023Age Tech,Senior CareBlog

Most adults with chronic health disorders are treated with medication, vitamins and minerals, or hormones. However, 50% of adults in the US living with chronic disorders do not take their daily medication (or other self-administered oral or IV therapies) as prescribed. According to a research article in The Permanente Journal, this results each year in around 100,000 preventable deaths and $100 B in preventable healthcare costs. Forgetfulness is not the only reason that medication nonadherence is so widespread, but this is a particular problem for the homebound elderly. Besides leading to worsened health status, not taking medication as prescribed is contributing to a worldwide public health problem. 

Impact of antibiotic nonadherence and drug-resistant infections 

The diagnosis of a skin, urinary tract, respiratory, or other bacterial infection often requires treatment with an oral antibiotic for five to seven days to eliminate the infection. However, people typically begin to feel better earlier than the last prescribed dosage day, so discontinue taking the prescribed antibiotic pills. Consequently, the bacteria that cause human diseases are becoming more drug-resistant. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) reports that 2.8 million drug-resistant infections occur in the US per year, and with an estimated 35,000 resultant deaths. Therefore, the common occurrence of patients not taking a prescribed antibiotic for the full course prescribed to them has led to more bacteria becoming resistant to all antibiotics. 

Methicillin is an antibiotic that is a derivative of penicillin, and people afflicted with Methicillin-Resistant Staph. Aureus (MRSA) infections are 64% more likely to die from this type of antibiotic-resistant infection. Since Staph. aureus is one of the most common skin infection-causing bacteria (as it is commonly found on our skin), the increasing ability of this bacteria to survive all antibiotic treatments is causing tremendous medical concern. Meanwhile, surgical patients remain the ones at highest risk for developing a Staph. aureus infection in the incision site, but MRSA can also be transmitted by an infected person to someone else through hand-to-skin contact. In 2019, 27,314 MRSA-infected people in high-income countries alone (and 93,767 elsewhere) died due to their antibiotic resistance. 

Nonadherence to blood pressure medication and consequences 

Nearly 66% of people diagnosed with hypertension who are prescribed drugs to lower their blood pressure are nonadherent to medication treatment, per an article in Medicine in 2017. Since 70% of adults aged 65+ have hypertension – and hypertension is strongly linked to a heightened risk for heart attack and stroke – lessening the prevalence of hypertension (high blood pressure) has been a major US healthcare goal to curb national healthcare costs. Meanwhile, heart disease is the foremost chronic health disorder in the US, and the leading worldwide cause of death in adults. 

Diabetes Type-2 and nonadherence to medication 

Study findings published in Patient Preference and Adherence revealed that 45% of adults with diabetes (Type-2) are not able to maintain glucose control, and poor medication adherence is a major reason.  The lack of taking medication aimed at glucose control can result in diabetes-afflicted people developing diabetes complication such as peripheral neuropathy (nerve pain), heart disease, and kidney failure. In turn, these complications can result in permanent disability and a far lower overall “quality-of-life”. 

Reasons for medication nonadherence 

Described in a medical research article in 2019 are the following five dimensions that affect patient adherence to their prescribed medication:  

• Social and economic factors (such as ability to afford the prescribed drugs); 
• Therapy-related factors (such as understanding why the drugs are necessary); 
• Disease-related factors; 
• Patient-related factors; 
• Healthcare system-related factors 

For adults aged 65+ who are enrolled in a Medicare Part D drug plan, there are wide variations in the cost of a prescribed medication that must be borne by the enrollee. If not enrolled in a Part D drug plan (or without any other drug coverage), the older-aged person may be faced with paying for the medication “out-of-pocket”.  

The average annual cost of taking an oral glucose-lowering medication to manage diabetes (Type-2) in 2017 was $2,727 – which had increased by 147% from 2015. It is well-recognized that the cost of prescribed medication to control diabetes (Type-2) is high, and this is a main reason that diabetics do not take the prescribed medication that could preserve their health and prevent premature death. Therefore, seniors – many of whom are living on fixed incomes – often fail to take their prescribed medication. 

A tremendous problem for elderly people is polypharmacy – which is the daily taking of many prescribed drugs aimed at different health disorders. For example, a senior living with diabetes (Type2) may also need to take medication for heart disease, nerve pain, a scrape on the foot that has become infected, low thyroid level, and many other health problems. Consequently, mixing up pills (and taking too many of one drug and not enough of another) can easily occur. 

Cognition worsens during aging – even in elderly adults not living with Alzheimer’s Disease – so remembering whether a given pill was taken or not with breakfast every day can become difficult. This type of forgetfulness can leave any older-aged person who has been prescribed multiple medication feeling extremely frustrated. Furthermore, the Alzheimer’s Association notes that around one in nine adults aged 65+ has Alzheimer’s Disease, so forgetting to take prescribed medication (and/or mixing them up) is even more likely in these senior-aged adults. 

Strategies that foster improved medication adherence 

Physician office phone calls to remind older-aged people to take their prescribed medication have been found to be effective in promoting medication adherence, as have daily text messages and automated reminders on digital wearables. Meanwhile, calls from pharmacies – and especially if an existing medication prescription is not re-filled – have been found to be effective, as well.  

Besides reminders, physician-initiated discussions about the financial impact on a patient of a prescription can enable recognition if cost is the main factor. In that case, helping the patient to learn about ways to reduce the cost (such as through enrollment in a clinical trial where drug cost may be covered) can boost adherence to prescribed treatment.  

Learning that a different Medicare Part D plan covers the cost of a specific prescribed drug (and then switching plans during Medicare’s “open enrollment” period) may be all it takes for a person with a history of medication nonadherence to change that behavior. The ease of comparing health insurance plans is increased for seniors through access to computer training in combination with ownership of a computer, so independent and assisted living facilities geared to older-aged adults can be part of the solution by engaging their residents in utilizing technological devices. 

The Ōmcare Home Health Hub is an all-in-one home telehealth device aimed at senior-aged adults, and that can be used to promote medication adherence.

by Ōmcare