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Tech for Caregivers
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Tech for Caregivers
Our caregiving expert, Amy Goyer, recently published a blog about the value of technology as a caregiver. She discusses ways in which technology helps make life easier (ex: finances and organization) to what to consider when using tools. You can read the blog HERE.
What types of apps/technology help make your experience as a caregiver easier? What would be something you would like to see invented or developed?
Caregiving Concierge
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There's also a new company out that helps long distance family members be part of the caregiving team by supporting the person giving care through bundled respite services at a discount (kind of like groupon). So for example they can bundle two or three hour respite break with a trip to get your hair done or attend a class. They also offer a program where a staff member who has been or is a caregiver as well does a daily call, video chat or text to check in on the caregiver and also allows caregivers to contact the service when they've reached their breaking point and can't do it anymore. The person is there on the other end of the line, to not judge, listen, be a shoulder and offer resources if needed. I thought three hours was not exactly helpful, until I finally got three hours to do whatever I wanted and it let me come back to care for my dad in a better state of mind and not feel resentment towards him like I had been. The service is called Karetree.
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I found a neat reminder app for Androids on the Google Play Store. It works three ways. The built in Calendar on the tablet for folks with no internet. If you have internet you can sync the Calendar with google or Yaahoo or ... and there is a web site the tablet can connect to. I use it synced with google calendar.
I put in reminders for meds, birthdays, Dr. appointments. DW loves the photo slide show. Those old pics get her remembering and talking. I like that!
I think it's called Alzcom Calendar on the play store. It's free, really free, no ads or purchases. I couldn't believe it. According to the web site it's two computer guys that are caregivers and built this stuff to help them with their LO. Looks like technology is finally starting to come to the caregivers.
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I've been using the eCare21 app for over a year now with great success. I can connect to many different wireless health and fitness monitoring devices to monitor my blood pressure, heart rate, glucose, activity (steps, calories), sleep time and sleep efficiency, weight, and I manually enter my temperature and medication. I also set up a care plan that reminds me of the activities I need to do to stay fit and healthy. The app has a great dashboard that allows me to see a more complete picture of my digital health. All the readings from the connected devices are displayed in almost real time and I can also track the trends over the past week or month for the entire year and see it in a nice graph. Best of all, I can share my data securely with just the people that care for me so they can view my data from anywhere in the world to give them peace of mind knowing I'm ok, active, and keeping to my care plan. It also allows secure messaging and sends me notifications, medication reminders and alerts. I also like the GPS location feature. It allows me to monitor the location of the people I care about so I don't have to worry. What a relief this has been. I use it on my iPhone and iPad and my wife uses it on her Andriod phone. Very easy to use. Very intuitive. Love the app!
I too have used the ECare 21 app for monitoring my blood pressure and vitals . I have brought my IPad to the doctor and showed him my BP history and he was imppressed with the capability.
My main reason for using the app was to keep a remote eye on Dad who is 84 and lives alone. I live over an hour away and it gives me piece of mind to be able to see that he is well base on vitals and his whereabouts with the GPS portion of the app. This is a God send when you call and get no answer.
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Hey Jen,
What a great topic. I'm looking forward to the specifics of things like, medication management, how to prevent folks from wandering (having tried a few low tech solutions myself for some clients), and the home camera thing.
Thank you, Amy, for this addition to the 'armamentarium' for caregivers!
Jane
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The company caring for my relative is using a specialized tablet that serves as a portal for communication with the nurse(s), therapists and administrative staff (we can contact them anytime directly through the device.
It also has a daily calender that must be filled in every day to confirm that meds were taken at the correct time, weight measured, blood pressure taken --- all within a specific window of time. If we fail to ensure that the data is enterered (blood pressure, weight, meds taken, etc.) by the deadlines specified, we'll receive a call from the nurse asking why it hasn't been done yet and telling us to get on it ASAP.
Other features include educational videos about heart disease (I imagine they have other videos for patients with other conditions), and quizzes that allow the patient to test their knowledge of their disease, dietary restrictions, etc.
We can have video chats with the nurses, therapists and case managers.
While it is a modern tablet (I think with an Android OS), the functionality is limited to that which directly relates to the care of my relative (meaning we can't use it to just browse the web or install apps).
Basically, it's like having a nurse in the home 24/7, only without the costs of paying a nurse to be in the home at all hours.
I don't know the name of the software or the company that makes it, but if you're interested let me know and I'll see if I can find out.
The presence of this device inside our home has made life much easier for family members and my opinion of the company taking care of her couldn't be any higher.
I was literally shocked when they introduced the tablet and instructed us on how to use it. I had no idea that in-home care technology had advanced to the point it has. This is nothing short of remarkable.
Update - 01/03/17
Okay, I did find out the details about the companies utilizing the software described in my initial post, in the event anyone's interested. The company that makes the special tablets is called Medalogix, and the technology they're introducing into the marketplace is going to revolutionize in-home caregiving.
The home health agency that Medalogix is partnered with for the trial of these new devices is called Egan Home Health Care and Hospice. The latter is the one that sent the nurses and therapists out to the house a couple times a week until she no longer needed their assistance and was discharged.
Before being discharged, I made sure to find out the name of the two companies partnering on this software/tablet tech project that made our caregiving duties as relatives 1000x easier and gave us even more peace-of-mind. I highly recommend anyone who has a relative undergoing in-home care look into these two companies and see if they operate in your region.
To quote from the press release Medalogix apparently put out when the agreement between the companies was reached:
“Medalogix came to us with a predictive analytics technology that will help us identify the most appropriate levels of care for our patients,” said Peter Egan, Chief Executive Officer of EGAN Home Health & Hospice. “It will benefit our healthcare delivery system by identifying at an early stage those who may be at risk for health decline and their need to go to the hospital or emergency room. It allows us to put in place interventions to change this. Being able to provide the right level of care at the right time is every health provider’s goal and we believe our partnership with Medalogix will help us greatly in this regard.”
“EGAN is a forward thinking home health and hospice agency that embraces technology in their mission to provide the best patient care,” said Dan Hogan, CEO of Medalogix. “We’re proud to work with them to incorporate analytics and operational intervention workflows into their patient care plans.”
All I can say is that there is no possible way to overstate the importance or the impact of this technology. I would bet that within five years every patient who is ordered home health care for any extended period of time will be receiving one of these nifty little tablets, being shown how to use it and how doing so plays an integral role in the care plan and in making sure the patient is compliant with diet, medicines and whatever else the doctor orders. From their perspective, they want to keep home health patients right there in their homes as opposed to them going back to the hospital. I can definitely see how these tablets woud help to achieve that ends.
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Our early-stage startup is focused on combatting the negative effects of loneliness/isolation on seniors and helping alleviate caregiver concerns -- with the use of innovative technology.
If you're a senior with a relative as your caregiver or a caregiver of a senior relative, please share your thoughts via our survey or share with others. We would greatly appreciate your valuable insights, so we can create the most effective product for seniors and caregivers!
https://fs8.formsite.com/VUxFsP/enkqnwpqok/index.html
*All eligible respondents who complete a survey will also be entered for a chance to win a $100 Target or Amazon gift card (winner announced in March)*
If you have questions/concerns, please feel free to contact Jennifer at seniorfocusgroupaustin@gmail.com
Thank you.
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@GeauxToBed wrote:The company caring for my relative is using a specialized tablet that serves as a portal for communication with the nurse(s), therapists and administrative staff (we can contact them anytime directly through the device.
It also has a daily calender that must be filled in every day to confirm that meds were taken at the correct time, weight measured, blood pressure taken --- all within a specific window of time. If we fail to ensure that the data is enterered (blood pressure, weight, meds taken, etc.) by the deadlines specified, we'll receive a call from the nurse asking why it hasn't been done yet and telling us to get on it ASAP.
Other features include educational videos about heart disease (I imagine they have other videos for patients with other conditions), and quizzes that allow the patient to test their knowledge of their disease, dietary restrictions, etc.
We can have video chats with the nurses, therapists and case managers.
While it is a modern tablet (I think with an Android OS), the functionality is limited to that which directly relates to the care of my relative (meaning we can't use it to just browse the web or install apps).
Basically, it's like having a nurse in the home 24/7, only without the costs of paying a nurse to be in the home at all hours.
I don't know the name of the software or the company that makes it, but if you're interested let me know and I'll see if I can find out.
++++++++++++++++++++++
Hey Geaux Tigers, I'd love to know more about this. It sounds phenomenal. What i want to know is, who's behind it? is it a benefit of the company that owns the home? is it a benefit of the health insurance? i'd love to google it and learn more. sounds like such a great idea. thanks for sharing about this.
Jane
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