Improved life-spans, shifting demographics, and shrinking families have led to a large number of seniors who are susceptible to loneliness and lack of care, especially in the developed nations. In the developing nations conventionally the family members were the primary caregivers. Today, this is observed to be rapidly changing, creating a huge proposition of senior healthcare. Irrespective of the cultural differences specific to particular countries and socio-economic layers, elder care or elderly care is now one of the key priorities for governments and welfare associations across the world.
In the US, assisted living is gaining wide popularity to provide senior care for elders who cannot live independently or want assistance owing to medical conditions. In other countries as well, seniors are relying on government provisions for better healthcare and living. And this is exactly why the importance of technology in healthcare is more crucial than ever. Technology is offloading senior care concerns and it is preferred to extend reliable, efficient, and affordable senior healthcare. The world of IoT and connected devices has streamlined senior care, let’s see how:
Most of the elderly population across the world live by themselves. They are subjected to loneliness as well as the burden of performing multiple day-to-day activities on their own. Smart homes and virtual assistants help seniors in carrying out simple tasks such as making to-do lists, setting alarms & reminders, and driving home automation systems- from home security, lighting to microwave operations.
If a senior runs into any medical emergency, providing instant medical care and attention is a key priority and IoT devices such as smartwatches can help in detecting falls, amplified health vitals, etc. These IoT devices and smartphones can also help in tracking the live location of the seniors, helping immensely in tracking seniors with special needs such as Alzheimer’s disease. Further, mobile devices provision instant communication tools helping seniors in living a safe and joyous life.
For professional caregivers working in assisted homes or pension homes, digital devices such as tablets can help in maintaining health records, medical reports, and current medication details to ensure a smooth transition between shifts or patient transfers.
For the elderly, there are quite a few limitations in using technology. It includes physical limitations such as chronic pain and arthritis, Parkinson’s disease, stroke, Dementia that limits them from using handheld laptops, tablets, or mobiles or visual or hearing impairment due to ageing that doesn’t allow them to leverage the digital devices to full capacity.
But another more grave challenge includes skepticism or mental block to embracing technology. First, they need to be educated on the usage of devices. Furthermore, the vast information available on digital devices such as tablets can overwhelm and confuse, resulting in the aversion to using technology.
Hence, provisioning the devices used for senior care with only essential applications is important. The devices also need to be up-to-date, loaded with vital health/activity apps and secure, to ensure that critical personal information is not misused.
To overcome the iota of physiological as well as practical challenges involved in using technology for senior healthcare, an MDM for healthcare tool can prove to be immensely useful.
Let’s know how Scalefusion MDM for healthcare helps mitigate the above-mentioned challenges:
Scalefusion MDM for healthcare reforms the way technology is used in senior care and is certainly a forward-looking aspect critical to futuristic healthcare systems.