Patients and healthcare providers around the world have come to realize that relying solely on hospital systems will no longer be a viable option. Industry experts believe that ongoing advances in home health care devices and services will help ease the current pressure on the global health care system.
Technology has proven extremely critical to home health care. Current and future advances in home health care technologies are not only designed for effective disease management, but also encourage and enable people to live independently.
Technological interventions were complex and expensive in the past. However, the growing need and demand for convenient and effective remote patient monitoring, the development of new and innovative technologies, and the availability of sufficient funds have led to increased accessibility to low-cost technologies and devices.
New, affordable home devices aren’t just popular with geriatricians looking to age in place. The customer base has rapidly expanded to include new patient groups such as those with chronic illnesses, children and diabetics. This will surely pave the way for a better future for both patients and healthcare providers.
Increasing use of biosensors to monitor geriatric health
When it comes to home health care for the elderly, there are a number of innovative technologies and devices that have been seamlessly integrated into the senior or assisted living industry, or what is more widely known as geriatric care services. Speaking from a strictly medical perspective, recent technologies for monitoring the health of the elderly include blood pressure monitoring devices, oxygen therapy devices, patient temperature monitoring devices, and cardiac monitoring and heart rate monitoring devices ( CRM).
An NBC News article sheds light on the growing adoption of sensor technology in the US, especially for seniors. Enabling improved estimation of the metabolic status of a patient or individual in a remote location, biosensors enable constant monitoring of those older people who suffer from a number of different ailments but choose to live independently, outside of hospitals and nursing homes. . The NBC article discusses the use of such sophisticated sensors to track an elderly couple’s walking speed, heart rate, and even sleep patterns. This unobtrusive technology also sends alerts in case of emergencies, allowing timely intervention by family members or caregivers. Like several medical device companies, research organizations, and medical universities, ElderTech, Missouri, has been studying the importance of environmentally integrated home sensor networks and their relevance to sensing changes in adult health. greater.
Development of wearable digital devices for remote monitoring of cardiac conditions
As the medical device industry undergoes a tectonic shift with the advent of telemedicine, the cardiology field has also felt the resulting benefits. The increasing incidence of cardiovascular disorders and the subsequent need for constant monitoring of outpatients have resulted in a demand for cardiac monitoring and cardiac rhythm monitoring (CRM). Home health care is a leading end user of these devices, with ever-increasing demand for ECG and cardiac monitors, Holter monitors, event monitors, and ILRs (implantable loop recorders).
Interviewing the founders of Eko Devices, The New York Times talks about the growing competition in the telemedicine business. Eko is one of the many cardiovascular care companies that have been capitalizing on the home health care industry.
In a recent development, the company developed a digital stethoscope specifically for heart patients at home. This innovative palm-sized device, called the DUO, has the potential to disrupt the way cardiac patients are monitored. By combining an electrocardiogram or EKG and an electronic stethoscope in a single device, DUO provides unprecedented insight into cardiac functions. This includes rapid monitoring and review of heart rhythms and sounds to enable advanced bedside analysis and, if necessary, remote care.
Need for constant glucose monitoring drives demand for diabetes devices
With medical devices becoming more interconnected thanks to the increasing penetration of the Internet, the growing use of smartphones and a host of other medical devices, and the expansion of hospital networks, detecting and managing diabetes at home has become not only convenient but also effective. Today, there is a wide range of diabetes devices available that promise fast and accurate results. The user-friendly designs of most devices and the increased levels of awareness among the diabetic population around the world have resulted in a fairly massive market for self-monitoring devices for use in home settings.
A recent research article sponsored and reviewed by Avantes BV, a leading innovator in the development and application of miniature spectrometers, focuses on the need for non-invasive diabetes diagnosis and monitoring. To detect and treat diabetes before it spirals out of control, consistent glucose control and maintenance is crucial, and for a long time, existing diagnostic standards and therapies were immensely invasive. In addition, the management of this disease outside the hospital setting was extremely difficult. However, advanced medical screening technologies have enabled easy, non-invasive blood glucose monitoring and diabetes testing. The latest innovations have also ensured convenient and easy-to-use insulin self-administration devices.
Wearable technology has been one of the most prominent innovations to benefit and empower diabetics around the world. These devices have allowed diabetics to take charge of their own health outside of the doctor’s office and manage the condition effectively. Interestingly, smartwatches have shown immense potential to enable needle-free glucose monitoring over time. Apple Inc. is reportedly working on developing sensors to monitor blood sugar levels, a breakthrough that could turn devices like the Apple Watch into a means of monitoring important vital signs. The goal is to develop sensors that can noninvasively monitor and regulate blood sugar levels to help diabetics treat the condition from the comfort of their homes.
conclusion
An article in The New York Times recently shed light on the shrinking community of home health aides or personal care aides in the US, according to Paul Osterman of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Sloan School of Management As home health care continues to decline, the country will face a shortage of around 350,000 paid care providers by 2040. This alarming fact makes the development of advanced remote patient monitoring devices all the more crucial.
With this need in mind, companies are looking for tagline technologies that will somehow replace human service providers with digital home health care assistants. To put this in perspective, home health aides are now testing Amazon’s Echo platform as a home health care assistant. The researchers hope that the online companion app will increasingly respond to customer needs, keep family caregivers informed at all times, and effectively optimize alerts, reminders, and features.
This opportunity is sure to catch the interest of tech giants like Google, Apple, and Amazon, giving them a chance to emerge as pioneers in home health care.