Written on October 4th, 2011 by tasha
I’ve been on a blogpost roll with search engine optimization techniques. But spending these last few days in Las Vegas at the Conference of the National Association of Home Care and Hospice, I decided to break things up a bit and post about highlights that have jumped out at me so far:
- Concise summary of current Medicare issues for hospice (aka, “if you’re feeling tired, there’s a reason!”)
- Gee whiz technology innovations (some of which we may be incorporating into our educational web templates)
Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: Care continuum, telehealth
Posted in Collaboration, Internet Marketing, Technology, Uncategorized
Written on February 2nd, 2011 by tasha
Over the next two weeks we are running a series on family caregiver receptivity to technology solutions.
Check out our factoids on Facebook and subscribe to our periodic e-notes to receive my full analysis of a report on family caregivers and technology released by the National Alliance for Caregiving. Based on the online responses of 1000 technology-using family caregivers, the report looks at their interest and perceived barriers to 12 different categories of technology that could help with caregiving activities:
- Personal health record tracking for storing care recipient’s information online, allowing for password-protected access 24/7, anywhere there is Internet access.
- Video phone system for real time visual interaction even across long distances.
- Caregiver training simulations such as online videos to learn specific skills (e.g., transferring from bed to chair)
- Online caregiving coordination systems to request and accept help from others
- Symptom monitoring and transmission to track blood pressure, pulse, weight, blood sugar, etc.
- Interactive system for care recipient’s entertainment (e.g., a Wii)
- An online display of local transportation options
- A caregiver mentor-matching service
- A passive movement monitoring system
- A caregiving decision support tool
- Caregiver coaching software
- Medication support system
I was surprised at some of the results. I have worked with family caregivers over the last 15 years and was not aware of some of the misconceptions they seem to hold about technology. And I was in some ways surprised to discover who was most receptive to hi tech solutions. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: National Alliance for Caregiving, telehealth
Posted in Family Caregivers, Research Results, Technology
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:
Tags: telehealth
Posted in Elder Care, Family Caregivers, Technology
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 »
Tags: NHPCO, telehealth
Posted in Collaboration, Elder Care, Research Results, Technology
