The pandemic served as a spur for the use of digital health technologies, particularly in the senior care sector. During lockdowns, older individuals utilized video conversations to stay in touch with their relatives, while telemedicine allowed seniors to consult with their doctors from the comfort of their own homes. Seniors today are more technologically sophisticated than they were in the past, and this is likely to have an influence on the way they engage with healthcare in the future.
Seniors will rely on technology more than ever in the next year to improve their healthcare, from feeling comfortable utilizing virtual care technologies in the home to wanting more technology in independent living communities and being more active with their own health data. The following are the top three senior care trends to watch in 2022:
1. The Hospital-at-Home Model of Senior Care will continue to be utilized.
'Hospital-at-home' is a developing trend in healthcare, thanks to the increased usage of virtual care technology, which enables the care of seniors with acute diseases to be provided in the comfort of their own homes. According to an AARP poll conducted in 2018, 76 percent of seniors aged 50 and older choose to remain in their homes and communities, aging in place, rather than relocating into an assisted living or retirement complex. As reported by the American Hospital Association, studies have demonstrated that the hospital-at-home care delivery model may lower costs while simultaneously improving results and improving the patient experience.
This care delivery approach, which makes use of telehealth and remote patient monitoring to bring treatment to the patient's home, has a place in traditional healthcare organizations' plans.
According to Kristin Molina, business leader for enterprise care cooperation at Philips, "healthcare no longer needs to be defined by the walls of the hospital." The use of interoperable, cloud-based technologies that guide data-driven choices allows doctors to keep insight over their patients' well-being while they are away from the hospital.
2. Organizations will create Tech Concierge positions to assist senior citizens with their technological needs.
During the pandemic, older persons boosted their technology ownership, adoption, and use, with over half of those questioned by AARP stating that they utilized video chats more frequently than they had previously. Seniors are utilizing more technology than ever before, and this trend is expected to continue as the usage of texting, email, cellphones, and wearable gadgets all expand in popularity among the elderly.
Increased technology use, on the other hand, might create an extra stress on the personnel of independent living facilities, who may be called upon to fix technical problems. Responding to this need, several organizations are establishing tech concierge positions to assist elders with technology concerns and the setup of new equipment.
"As older folks choose whether to remain in their current house or relocate to a retirement community, they will undoubtedly consider the technological capabilities available. Where is Wi-Fi more readily available? Will there be compatibility for a number of different devices? "Why would they want to relocate into an independent living community if they are already receiving such help at home?" says the author. Jessica Longly, a business development strategist with CDW Healthcare, posed the question in a blog post. In order to provide residents with individualized experiences, care organizations for older individuals should consider integrating technology-based inquiries as part of their onboarding process (if they have not already done so)."
She points out that one city discovered that inhabitants were prepared to pay for a tech concierge service since technology was vital to them, and she shares her findings.
As staffing constraints persist through 2022, many elder care facilities will be forced to rely on solutions such as the tech concierge to satisfy the technological demands of their residents and patients.
3. Seniors will have greater control over their health as a result of consumerization.
Consumers' health data is now in their hands thanks to wearables and apps. The Cures Act Final Rule, issued by the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology, would force healthcare companies to give individuals with all of their health information starting next year, resulting in even greater patient engagement in healthcare.
This trend will provide older persons with more knowledge and enable them to participate more actively in health-related decision-making.
According to a recent poll by AgingChoices, 92 percent of prospects questioned anticipate a tailored experience from the communities in which they are interested. One method of providing personalisation is to provide actionable insights based on patient data and to include older persons in their healthcare journey.
Older individuals are becoming more familiar with technology, which is having an influence on their participation in independent living community selection committees, who are making decisions about the technologies the community will purchase. This is another effect of consumerization on senior care.
Consumerization and the demand for personalisation are predicted to have an influence on the sorts of technology that older adults choose and that independent living communities provide, as well as the methods in which seniors interact with digital health solutions, as we go forward into the year 2022.
