Use Case – Senior Living

Remote Patient Monitoring improve medication and care plan compliance.

Poor medication compliance costs $300BB a year and is to blame for about 125,000 deaths per year, as well as 10 percent of hospital and 23 percent of nursing home admissions.

Almost 90 percent of people living with type 2 diabetes are overweight or obese. Just a small amount of weight loss could decrease the medication needed and improve quality of life.

We are learning from a group of seniors that even they will embrace senior friendly applications that improve compliance.

Over the last six months, we at VitalTech have learned a lot about changing people’s habits for their well-being. Maybe a better term, nudging their habits just enough to improve quality of life and in many cases resulting in better health outcomes.

Use case example

• Just under 100 seniors.
• Two-thirds reside at senior living communities and extended care facilities with an average age of 87.4. One based in California and one based in Ohio.
• One-third live in their own homes under the care of concierge doctors. Ages range from 65-75.

We have found;

• Older users not only have proven remarkably adaptable to technology but in many cases embrace it full-heartedly. In both extended care facilities, users are competing to get higher step counts in a day or track nutrition and compete against each other for health-related goals.
• Appreciation and excitement from family members and loved ones to be able to help monitor their parents and one’s vitals and activities.
• There is excitement for users to move away from devices that are bulky and have a lot of wires and complicated controls
• Users like the UI and ease of use our platform and devices provided
• Easy for nurses/existing staff to adapt
• Easily exportable user health records
• Easy to transfer kit to a different user

The most surprising outcome to date has been the compliance numbers of the users across all three groups. A pleasant surprise even for the doctors and nurses. 95% of all of the users used the system every day.

The system makeup:

• Device agnostic cloud-based platform called VitalCare.
• An optional smart tablet preconfigured and designed for a senior’s eyes.
• All devices BLE enabled, wireless
• A VitalBand smartwatch, adds fall-detection and SOS alerting
• A Blood Pressure CuffA scale
• VitalCare also has integrated Nutrition and Medication management applications
• Video telehealth is included making it easy to collaborate with caregivers, patients, and loved ones.

Additional User feedback and lessons learned.

Numerous patients including a 98-year-old retired doctor have stated that they have embraced the technology because it is easy to use, but more importantly, the data is very informative and valuable. Giving them both piece of mind and encouraging them to take action when needed because they are always aware and empowered.

Selecting the Right Wearable Device

When seniors, and those who care for them, look for wearable devices to assist with the activities of daily living, they look for a device with a spectrum of functions.

A device with no stigma attached is essential.

Many wearable devices designed for seniors are noticeable, obtrusive and aren’t always something users want to wear. To seniors, they can be a visible indicator of aging. Often these devices serve a single function and offer no ability to customize to the specific needs of the user.

Users Want Seamless Technology

When considering user experience for any digital healthcare product, ease of use can’t be overlooked. Bringing automated solutions together can create environments where solutions transcend single devices to create a meaningful impact on people’s lives.

Pete Ianace, SVP, Corporate Development