Using Technology to Empower Senior Patients

The number of U.S. residents aged 65 and older is projected to more than double, from 46 million in 2016 to 98 million by 2060. Healthcare professionals face a major challenge in keeping this population healthy and independent as they age. A variety of technologies are playing an important role in helping healthcare providers address this challenge.

These solutions provide patients and care providers with a deeper understanding of a patient’s health and treatment. They also improve therapy and foster better communication among patients, healthcare professionals and others. 

“The more seniors know about their health and wellness, their therapeutic options and their responses to those options in real time on an individual basis, the more engaged and empowered they will be to maintain their own health and wellness,” says Dr. David J. Liepert, director of quality assurance and improvement at the University of Calgary’s Cumming School of Medicine.

Wear It Well

At the forefront of the senior healthcare revolution is a new generation of wearable devices. This mobile technology allows healthcare professionals to remotely and comprehensively monitor patient health data, such as blood pressure, glucose levels, activity levels and sleep behavior. “It’s essentially trying to capture a condition before it deteriorates into something more serious and requires an emergency room visit,” says Mei Kwong, interim executive director and policy adviser for the Center for Connected Health Policy.

“Being able to remotely monitor a patient’s health throughout the day while getting continuous, specific measurements can allow the senior population to live longer in the comfort of their own home,” says Barbara Casey, director of global healthcare and life sciences for Cisco Systems.

Numerous technologies are required to support wearables, including Wi-Fi and cellular networks for reliable communication to healthcare providers. Additionally, since these devices have only limited internal storage capabilities, some wearables are designed to send data to the cloud or a traditional hard-disk storage system for analysis or long-term safekeeping.

Implants Get Smart

Like wearables, smart implants, such as pacemakers, glucose monitors and sensor-equipped orthopedic devices, can communicate vital data to physicians and other caregivers — often via smartphone apps. This technology helps seniors manage their health conditions better while facilitating medical intervention when necessary.

Smart implants — like many other Internet of Things (IoT) solutions — require reliable access to a cloud or conventional data center via a Wi-Fi or cellular connection. Security protections, built into networks as well as the smart devices themselves, are also necessary.

Hit Records

Serving as a digital version of the traditional paper chart, electronic health records (EHRs) are real-time, patient-centered records that make information available instantly and securely to both patients and authorized users. EHRs give seniors greater control over their medical records and improve care by ensuring that medical professionals have immediate and comprehensive access to the latest and most accurate patient information.

Since EHRs contain a wealth of highly detailed information about a patient’s health and treatments, stringent security measures are necessary to prevent unauthorized access via user devices, including computers, smartphones and tablets. Beyond traditional access control tools like passwords, advanced security solutions, including data encryption and biometric recognition technologies, are used such as help safeguard EHRs.

Steps must also be taken to protect EHRs from network attackers. “Healthcare organizations should deploy network-based technologies like intrusion prevention systems, gateway-level anti-virus software and advanced malware sandboxing to prevent attackers from breaching the network perimeter,” says Marc Laliberte, information security threat analyst for network security firm WatchGuard Technologies. “Meanwhile, data loss prevention technologies should be deployed to prevent cybercriminals or careless employees from removing sensitive information from the network.”

“I would encourage organizations not to look at specific technologies, but rather take a complete look at the security profile, where an organization can use the network as a detection source as well as enforcement source,” Casey says.

Moving Medicine

Accessing physicians and other health professionals via fixed or mobile videoconferencing improves care, enabling seniors to live at home rather than in a care facility. Telemedicine also helps patients remember to take their medications, receive important medical advice and even summon immediate help in the event of an emergency. Extensive research has shown that telemedicine provides quality care to patients on a level that’s comparable to a face-to-face visit to a doctor’s office.

“Like IoT technology, telemedicine helps keep patients close to their physicians without the need for frequent trips to the doctor’s office,” Laliberte says. “Seniors can maintain more freedom in their everyday lives while still having quick access to medical expertise when necessary.”

Seniors often have trouble traveling. “Telemedicine can allow them to stay home and gives them far more freedom to live where they want,” says Rob Enderle, principal analyst at the Enderle Group, a technology research firm.