The vision for this blog is to create a community of harmonious professionals across the care continuum who encourage each other in exploring digital media as a way to support businesses and families dealing with elder care.
Written on December 14th, 2010 by tasha
How do we appropriately refer to older adults, especially in the world of search engine optimization? Boomers have made it abundantly clear that they do not like the term “senior.” They/we will never get “old.” (Remember the shock when Ringo actually DID turn 64?) We live in ageist society. Sigh…
With the leading edge of Boomers born in 1946, they are just starting to enter the official realm of senior citizens. Okay, so “senior” is NOT a term to use when addressing this group. But what about persons in their 80’s and 90’s today? What do they want to be called? And when Boomers go to the Internet—78% of them do—what terms do they use to search about information on caring for their aging parents?
Read the rest of this entry »
Written on October 19th, 2010 by tasha
The field of elder care technology for the home is booming. With so many options, the choices can be overwhelming! Laurie Orlov, magnificent Age in Place Technology blogger, recently gave a webinar that presented the best overview I’ve seen in a long time. I found Laurie’s framework to have a very clean simplicity to it that has the ring of real utility. For even as the technologies evolve, her paradigm can help you categorize and keep all the devices and services mentally in context. Read the rest of this entry »
Written on August 24th, 2010 by tasha
Nothing is free, unfortunately. And much as I am impressed with the options for video-conferencing, there are important elements to keep in mind.
Deborah Randall of Deborah Randall Consulting, gave a superb overview of things you will need to consider in her excellent session at the Boston NHPCO conference on delivering care across the continuum. Here are some of her observations, along with some commentary of my own:
Written on August 17th, 2010 by tasha
For me, the most exciting session at the Boston NHPCO care continuum conference was on telehealth. (That’s saying a lot, because the conference included presentations on some truly innovative programs. You could see the creative sparks flying between presenters and members of the audience. I go to several conferences a year and have to say these were really fun sessions!)
What struck me in particular about the telehealth session was the discussion of video conferencing. New regulations and cheaper technologies make this medium worthy of a second look, even in the high touch sectors of hospice and geriatric care management.
Certainly as we strive to increase access (especially in rural areas) and discover greener ways to deliver care (less travel time) responsible leaders will need to consider how to leverage technology to meet these goals. (P.S. I am also getting the very strong feeling that productivity goes up with telemedicine because staff do not need to spend so much time in transit. Staff cost per patient goes down, making this also a worthy option to consider financially.) Read the rest of this entry »
Written on August 4th, 2010 by tasha
Smooth transitions of care require a solid understanding of medication needs and changes. Often the management of new regimens falls to family members. How to be sure they understand what the new medications are, when to take what, and any special instructions?
In this blog post I’m excited to share a free service available to families at MyMedSchedule.com. (I receive no financial compensation for my description, by the way. I’m just impressed by what they offer.)
