Technology helps improve elder care
COVID-19 has served as an eye opener when it comes to healthcare for people worldwide. The focal point has been the senior care system. When the time is challenging, technology has stepped up to provide revolutionizing solutions in elderly care services.
Why is technology in early care essential? It is because the ratio of healthcare helpers for every citizen is not adequate. Hence, people aged over 60 are not being able to get proper healthcare.
Technology offers wearable, smart IT health systems and more solutions to overcome the growing unhealthy gap between elderly care and the healthcare system. Let’s look at why we should include technology to promote good healthcare for the elderly.
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Hospital-at-home model for elderly healthcare
There is a growing trend of hospital-at-home in the domain of healthcare. This trend is primarily because it was hard to reach and get medical assistance in a hospital during the peak of COVID-19. Virtual care assistance allows seniors to help in the following ways:
- It provides primary healthcare services for acute conditions from the comfort of elderly homes.
- It saves them from the hassle of multiple visits to the hospital, especially when they are already sick.
- It relieves the elderly from mental stress as they are familiar with their home setup.
With the help of interoperable, cloud-based tools, clinicians can experience better decision making to maintain the visibility of patients’ well being at home.
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Increase in tech caregiver roles to improve elderly care services
As per the AARP reporting, the adoption and use of technology increased by half during the pandemic. More and more patients opted for video chats over in-person visits. There is an increase in wearable devices, which helps monitor heart rate, oxygen rate, and more to get timely updates and diversions. Since technology can be overwhelming and an additional burden for senior citizens, the role of healthcare assistant to help them to solve tech issues is increasing.
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Technology will facilitate direct control over healthcare for elderly
The primary tech advancement in healthcare is the continuous monitoring of patients remotely, point-of-care imaging, at-home sample collection, on-the-spot test results at home, and a seamless communication system. Hence, how tech is supporting primary care alone is increasing. This enables the elderly to have more control over their health because now the healthcare system is meeting them where they are, decreasing the chances of emergencies.
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Technology will help in reminding about medicine schedule
When elderly people experience difficulty with memory, it can be dangerous for them to fail to remember a prescription portion and for them to remember whether they previously took their medication. Thus, senior adults need updates about their medicine, so phones and tablets can be set to vibrate or ring when the time has come to take their medicines.
Conclusion
The exploration and knowledge of technology using smart devices help elderly people live independently. Technology can be beneficial for elderly people in many ways. For that, the health care assistant should patiently explain the merits of using technology. They should explain the concepts simply and let them use the features. They should also talk about security measures that need to be taken while exploring the gadgets. Using smart devices can be confusing and intimidating for older adults, but the benefits of these have far-reaching positive impacts. Technology can enable grown-up adults to live their best lives for longer.
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